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A review by nanditha
Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults by Laurie Penny
The title of the book made me curious and I was wondering why a book about feminism would have the word "bitch" in its title which is not a gender-neutral term at all. Laurie clears this this for the readers in the book's introduction itself.
"Bitch Doctrine" is a collection of interesting essays around different themes related to feminism ranging from culture to agency and violence. While a lot of the ideas and data presented were interesting and informative, a few parts of the book did not sit well with me. It is difficult to articulate why I felt that way, but for once, I felt like a book on feminism was too white. Agreed, this is written by a white person and any author's writing is bound to have their lived experiences as a prism through which they write. But for some reason, this book felt a bit too white in parts. I was also not sold on the author's reasoning for women being better off economically if they did not marry.
On the whole though, it is always interesting to read different perspectives of feminism and I definitely enjoyed this book though it was not a light read.
"Bitch Doctrine" is a collection of interesting essays around different themes related to feminism ranging from culture to agency and violence. While a lot of the ideas and data presented were interesting and informative, a few parts of the book did not sit well with me. It is difficult to articulate why I felt that way, but for once, I felt like a book on feminism was too white. Agreed, this is written by a white person and any author's writing is bound to have their lived experiences as a prism through which they write. But for some reason, this book felt a bit too white in parts. I was also not sold on the author's reasoning for women being better off economically if they did not marry.
On the whole though, it is always interesting to read different perspectives of feminism and I definitely enjoyed this book though it was not a light read.