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A review by bookph1le
How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
3.0
This book is an excellent example of how you can really like something, think it has plenty of good points, yet still find things about it that need to be critiqued. I am alarmed whenever someone thinks that pointing out and discussing the problematic elements in things you enjoy is a bad thing. Blind allegiance to anything is bad, in my opinion.
Moran isn't saying much here that's new or that hasn't been covered by other feminists. So what? I don't get that view. Should feminism books be one and done, game over? Moran has a particular skill set that I think will help her reach audiences other feminist voices might not reach. That's a GOOD thing. We want that to happen. There can't be too many people out there reading feminist critiques and thinking, "Huh, you know, there might be something to that!" If Moran's books reaches people who didn't think much about feminism before, I'm all for it. Maybe they'll pick up books by other feminists and learn even more.
Her writing is both hilarious and painfully honest. She talks about all kinds of taboo topics here, and I think she particularly shines with chapters like Abortion. Sometimes you have to slay a few sacred cows to get to the heart of a matter, and I think it's commendable that Moran has the courage to stand up and do it. I also thought her pointed commentary on plastic surgery was well worth reading. Sure, we do want to encourage an atmosphere where women feel free to do what they like, dress how they want, and have all the surgery they can get, should they so desire, but I agree with her that it's important to look at the root cause driving those decisions. Do women really want to wear high heels that mutilate their feet, or do they really want to have painful, invasive surgery for themselves? If so, go for it. But the way society is does bear a lot of soul-searching on these issues.
What I don't like about her book is I think it has a tendency to demean transgender people and it's rather reductionist when it comes to other members of the LGBT community. I also intensely dislike the use of the word "retard" as an adjective. It's offensive, every bit as offensive to me as racist or sexist slurs. I don't think Moran is claiming to have all the answers, and it seems pretty clear to me she could use some more information about people who aren't white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, and able-bodied but, then, couldn't a great many of us? Even though I think these are serious flaws in her book, I don't think they negate the many good points she's making here.
I find it heartening that feminist theory and feminism itself is rearing its head more and more often. Like everyone else, feminists are a wide, varied group that cover the whole spectrum of socio-economic status, race, sexual orientation, etc. Feminism is not any one thing, and trying to define it as such risks making it irrelevant. To me the most important thing is to get the conversation started, and I think Moran's book can be a very good place for the novice to start.
Moran isn't saying much here that's new or that hasn't been covered by other feminists. So what? I don't get that view. Should feminism books be one and done, game over? Moran has a particular skill set that I think will help her reach audiences other feminist voices might not reach. That's a GOOD thing. We want that to happen. There can't be too many people out there reading feminist critiques and thinking, "Huh, you know, there might be something to that!" If Moran's books reaches people who didn't think much about feminism before, I'm all for it. Maybe they'll pick up books by other feminists and learn even more.
Her writing is both hilarious and painfully honest. She talks about all kinds of taboo topics here, and I think she particularly shines with chapters like Abortion. Sometimes you have to slay a few sacred cows to get to the heart of a matter, and I think it's commendable that Moran has the courage to stand up and do it. I also thought her pointed commentary on plastic surgery was well worth reading. Sure, we do want to encourage an atmosphere where women feel free to do what they like, dress how they want, and have all the surgery they can get, should they so desire, but I agree with her that it's important to look at the root cause driving those decisions. Do women really want to wear high heels that mutilate their feet, or do they really want to have painful, invasive surgery for themselves? If so, go for it. But the way society is does bear a lot of soul-searching on these issues.
What I don't like about her book is I think it has a tendency to demean transgender people and it's rather reductionist when it comes to other members of the LGBT community. I also intensely dislike the use of the word "retard" as an adjective. It's offensive, every bit as offensive to me as racist or sexist slurs. I don't think Moran is claiming to have all the answers, and it seems pretty clear to me she could use some more information about people who aren't white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, and able-bodied but, then, couldn't a great many of us? Even though I think these are serious flaws in her book, I don't think they negate the many good points she's making here.
I find it heartening that feminist theory and feminism itself is rearing its head more and more often. Like everyone else, feminists are a wide, varied group that cover the whole spectrum of socio-economic status, race, sexual orientation, etc. Feminism is not any one thing, and trying to define it as such risks making it irrelevant. To me the most important thing is to get the conversation started, and I think Moran's book can be a very good place for the novice to start.