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A review by mminson
What Would Cleopatra Do?: Life Lessons from 50 of History's Most Extraordinary Women by Elizabeth Foley
2.0
I’ll be blunt: this book infuriated me. I got this a few years ago as a gift for one of my sisters and now I’m so glad she never read it. I loved the idea of discussing historical women and different ways to see their legacy and get inspiration. And this book does include historical figures that are really interesting to read about, some of whom I’d never even heard of before. But there was so much in this that was just harmful and wrong.
The book is presented, in my opinion based on the introduction and description, as a collection of inspiring female figures and necessary because of the harm perpetuated against women now and forever, with the introduction mentioning the #MeToo movement as a marker of the severity at this time. It is meant to be somewhat instructive. That’s ok. I expected that and it has its place.
But the “irreverent” in the description for the language used in the collection should really be closer to demeaning. Readers, especially the younger readers this seems marketed towards, do not need to be so spoken down to. I know I’m slightly above the intended age for it, but if I read this at 10 or 15 or anytime, I would be furious that someone believed I would better receive inspirational stories if slang was heavily used, slang that isn’t even in vogue. The women in the collection deserve more than for their lives to be reduced to hashtag lines and the like.
Also, there were a few times when I noticed the book perpetuating myths that are still actively used to harm women. One particularly striking example is the equivocation of the hymen with virginity. It also does not give a full background on the women it describes. Their portrayals are quite heavily focused on the positive, inspirational actions/events, without necessarily sharing how complicated historical figures can be. Killing a lot of people is not an automatic win, just because you did it as a female leader, for example.
I am very disappointed in this collection and thoroughly advise against it for anyone.
The book is presented, in my opinion based on the introduction and description, as a collection of inspiring female figures and necessary because of the harm perpetuated against women now and forever, with the introduction mentioning the #MeToo movement as a marker of the severity at this time. It is meant to be somewhat instructive. That’s ok. I expected that and it has its place.
But the “irreverent” in the description for the language used in the collection should really be closer to demeaning. Readers, especially the younger readers this seems marketed towards, do not need to be so spoken down to. I know I’m slightly above the intended age for it, but if I read this at 10 or 15 or anytime, I would be furious that someone believed I would better receive inspirational stories if slang was heavily used, slang that isn’t even in vogue. The women in the collection deserve more than for their lives to be reduced to hashtag lines and the like.
Also, there were a few times when I noticed the book perpetuating myths that are still actively used to harm women. One particularly striking example is the equivocation of the hymen with virginity. It also does not give a full background on the women it describes. Their portrayals are quite heavily focused on the positive, inspirational actions/events, without necessarily sharing how complicated historical figures can be. Killing a lot of people is not an automatic win, just because you did it as a female leader, for example.
I am very disappointed in this collection and thoroughly advise against it for anyone.