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A review by nicolet2018
Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape by Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman
3.0
I picked this up after reading Jaclyn Friedman's What You Really, Really Want: A Smart Girl's Shame Free Guide to Sex and Safety. The title was catchy and made me think "Is it possible to have a world without rape?".
At first, when I found out how the authors suggested I read the book via the list of recommended titles at the end based on the themes, I was a little sceptical as I am quite a routine person who reads things cover to cover. But I tried it and surprisingly it was a fun and unique way to read the various stories and articles. I would not call this an anthology exactly but it seems more like a collection of essays and articles.
I enjoyed all of the stories I read during the first half. It had to do with not only content in the story but writing style and tone. For those which I did not enjoy as much, I still appreciated the messages they shared but I just could not vibe the style of writing. This books encompasses the landscape of United States of America but even though I do not live there, I could still relate to what I read like not feeling like an individual could speak up, feeling scared that they would be judged and laughed at. Some of the things I read, I felt uncomfortable with but I think that is normal and everyone is different.
So many of the stories talk about female sexual autonomy and it is a concept that I found hard to envision but I liked it. It felt nice to finally have in my hands a book that discusses things that usually are not talked about and avoided. To have answers to my questions, "Why is it like this?", "Why do I feel this way?".
I particularly liked that even though this book focuses on females, there are also perspectives into minority groups like African American women, immigrant women, sex workers, LGBTQ individuals and also the prejudices that come to mind when we hear about females abusing males. Until recently it was very hard for me to believe that a man could be raped, I always thought that only women could be victims of rape. I found it interesting to get a point of view of a Trans woman who can see from both the perspectives of a man and woman. Why do women seem so attracted to bad boys. This trope is so apparent in fiction especially young adult and it annoys me.
I found that this book helped me become aware of things that were unconscious to me and why they came about. I liked that I was able to see from new perspectives and this book does a good job of representing many groups. Not everyone will be open and supportive of what this book stands for. Some are not ready to have their views challenged, others need more evidence to be convinced and have misconceptions on what feminism stands for. I can see that there is still alot of work to be done but this is a great way to open minds and conversations.
To be clear, I did not rate this a 3 stars because of the content because I applaud what was shared in this book but I judge it base on the book as a whole and take into consideration content, writing style, ease of reading and how much I enjoyed each story.
At first, when I found out how the authors suggested I read the book via the list of recommended titles at the end based on the themes, I was a little sceptical as I am quite a routine person who reads things cover to cover. But I tried it and surprisingly it was a fun and unique way to read the various stories and articles. I would not call this an anthology exactly but it seems more like a collection of essays and articles.
I enjoyed all of the stories I read during the first half. It had to do with not only content in the story but writing style and tone. For those which I did not enjoy as much, I still appreciated the messages they shared but I just could not vibe the style of writing. This books encompasses the landscape of United States of America but even though I do not live there, I could still relate to what I read like not feeling like an individual could speak up, feeling scared that they would be judged and laughed at. Some of the things I read, I felt uncomfortable with but I think that is normal and everyone is different.
So many of the stories talk about female sexual autonomy and it is a concept that I found hard to envision but I liked it. It felt nice to finally have in my hands a book that discusses things that usually are not talked about and avoided. To have answers to my questions, "Why is it like this?", "Why do I feel this way?".
I particularly liked that even though this book focuses on females, there are also perspectives into minority groups like African American women, immigrant women, sex workers, LGBTQ individuals and also the prejudices that come to mind when we hear about females abusing males. Until recently it was very hard for me to believe that a man could be raped, I always thought that only women could be victims of rape. I found it interesting to get a point of view of a Trans woman who can see from both the perspectives of a man and woman. Why do women seem so attracted to bad boys. This trope is so apparent in fiction especially young adult and it annoys me.
I found that this book helped me become aware of things that were unconscious to me and why they came about. I liked that I was able to see from new perspectives and this book does a good job of representing many groups. Not everyone will be open and supportive of what this book stands for. Some are not ready to have their views challenged, others need more evidence to be convinced and have misconceptions on what feminism stands for. I can see that there is still alot of work to be done but this is a great way to open minds and conversations.
To be clear, I did not rate this a 3 stars because of the content because I applaud what was shared in this book but I judge it base on the book as a whole and take into consideration content, writing style, ease of reading and how much I enjoyed each story.