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sunfishcakes's reviews
246 reviews
A Pipe for February by Charles H. Red Corn
2.5
Quite slow and dry, too much so in the beginning for me. But I can still respect setting down that foundation of what the daily life and social+cultural connection are like and how it all can suddenly slide into terror, and how one still goes on with some but not everything resolved.
Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia by Kate Manne
4.5
If you're already somewhat familiar with the concepts of fat activism, fatphobia, diet culture, health at every size, etc. some of this will be fairly redundant. However, I think as a book, for laypeople, it's broad but comprehensive in its scope of dismantling cultural bias and hostility against weight gain, fatness, and fat people. Obviously it's not the only analysis on this topic, and does not pretend to be so, but I think makes for a good foundation.
In terms of what was new to me, I especially appreciated her dissections of philosophical and ethical arguments against fatphobia and diet culture. It's clearly her specialty and it's an angle I don't hear much on. Obviously, it's relatively easy now to learn about the harms of fatphobia and beauty standards. But viewing them through the lens of ethical philosophy, as stuffy as it may sound, makes for a very human approach to these issues.
In terms of what was new to me, I especially appreciated her dissections of philosophical and ethical arguments against fatphobia and diet culture. It's clearly her specialty and it's an angle I don't hear much on. Obviously, it's relatively easy now to learn about the harms of fatphobia and beauty standards. But viewing them through the lens of ethical philosophy, as stuffy as it may sound, makes for a very human approach to these issues.
My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies by Nancy Friday
3.0
There's uhhh A Lot to unpack with some sections of this book, but probably what distressed me the most was when a woman would describe past, real life experiences that were definitely assault or abuse but clearly not recognize it as such. Sometimes the women themselves would describe (and again, not in the context of simply fantasy, but real life behaviors) committing acts of assault or abuse towards others which also stressed me out. Still an interesting repository of its time though.
Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans by Jane Marie
3.0
Definitely a strongly positive 3/5, but still a 3 for me. I think the historical info is interesting and this book is the best mainly for people curious about MLMs and their issues but don't know much about them. Reading this book as a fan of the The Dream podcast is fairly redundant though. The book ultimately never shakes off what I would call Podcast Voice, which works well on the aforementioned podcast but feels kind of glib or smarmy in print.
Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape by Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman
3.5
In some ways a time capsule for what the progressive rhetoric was like at this time for integrating feminist discourse on sex and sexuality into the mainstream, but that doesn't mean the fundamentals aren't correct. As a 30 something who's been well-steeped in these lines of thought for a while, much of it struck me as basic, even if essential ideas wit an overly ostentatious delivery. Still, it generally makes for a decent starting point on these ideas. My favorite piece was "Invasion of Space by a Female" by Coco Fusco on the sexual abuse by female interrogators on prisoners in Abu Ghraib during the Iraq War. It's a topic I didn't know about before and the analysis Fusco provides is severe and thought-provoking.
You and a Bike and a Road by Eleanor Davis
4.5
Picked the new edition by mistake thinking I hadn't read it before. Still a fantastic memoir and comic. Davis is an incredible artist, even within just sketches.