mcerrin's review against another edition
3.0
She has important things to say but parts of this just didn't flow very well and I was left looking for the point in some of her stories and reflexions.
ashlylynne's review against another edition
5.0
Synopsis
A collection of essays from Jessica Valenti relating what it’s like to be a sex object simply because she is a women. A brave correspondence from a women who has chosen to retell the things that most women want to forget. Not an easy read, but a necessary read.
Sex Object by Jessica Valenti
★★★★★
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir/Essay
Release Date: June 2016
Source: Library – Borrowed
On My Shelf: It Needs to Be
Woah, this book hit me hard. This was such a raw look at being a women–especially living in a city. (But, then again, this shit happens everywhere, so does it really matter in the end?)
This was a tough book for me to read. I related to a lot of what Valenti was saying. Although we’ve had many very different experiences, we’ve had some that are all too familiar. Sadly, I’m sure the majority of women will find at least some piece of this memoir they will be able to relate to. It’s a personal story, but the overall concept seems…no…is an umbrella one.
This book will break your heart and at times will still give you some sort of hope that we can do better. We can make this world better for our daughters and their daughters’ daughters. Still, reading many parts of this memoir it may seem that we can’t. There are so many mixed emotions, but maybe that’s just me.
Even so, I applaud Valenti’s bravery to write down her experiences. They’re not easy to talk about. I find myself often repressing certain memories, to the best of my ability, as I don’t want to remember them because remembering them can be like reliving them and such experiences are ones I pray I never have to have again. We may not always see it as brave to write these happenings down, but I’m often terrified to talk about these terrible things that still make me feel dirty and invalid and at fault (even though I know I’m not), so it takes a rare kind of courage to be so open with someone you’ve never met.
Overall, I almost want to say that this should be required reading for every. single. person. There is so much to talk about and talking about/educating leads to understanding and understanding is the first step in creating a better tomorrow. I urge you to pick up a copy of this book. If you don’t have the stomach for it due to your past experiences, I understand. These topics are hard. Still, if you can, please read this book. It might help, if only so you don’t feel so alone.
This book will stick with you.
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Ashly Reads.
A collection of essays from Jessica Valenti relating what it’s like to be a sex object simply because she is a women. A brave correspondence from a women who has chosen to retell the things that most women want to forget. Not an easy read, but a necessary read.
Sex Object by Jessica Valenti
★★★★★
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir/Essay
Release Date: June 2016
Source: Library – Borrowed
On My Shelf: It Needs to Be
Woah, this book hit me hard. This was such a raw look at being a women–especially living in a city. (But, then again, this shit happens everywhere, so does it really matter in the end?)
This was a tough book for me to read. I related to a lot of what Valenti was saying. Although we’ve had many very different experiences, we’ve had some that are all too familiar. Sadly, I’m sure the majority of women will find at least some piece of this memoir they will be able to relate to. It’s a personal story, but the overall concept seems…no…is an umbrella one.
This book will break your heart and at times will still give you some sort of hope that we can do better. We can make this world better for our daughters and their daughters’ daughters. Still, reading many parts of this memoir it may seem that we can’t. There are so many mixed emotions, but maybe that’s just me.
Even so, I applaud Valenti’s bravery to write down her experiences. They’re not easy to talk about. I find myself often repressing certain memories, to the best of my ability, as I don’t want to remember them because remembering them can be like reliving them and such experiences are ones I pray I never have to have again. We may not always see it as brave to write these happenings down, but I’m often terrified to talk about these terrible things that still make me feel dirty and invalid and at fault (even though I know I’m not), so it takes a rare kind of courage to be so open with someone you’ve never met.
Overall, I almost want to say that this should be required reading for every. single. person. There is so much to talk about and talking about/educating leads to understanding and understanding is the first step in creating a better tomorrow. I urge you to pick up a copy of this book. If you don’t have the stomach for it due to your past experiences, I understand. These topics are hard. Still, if you can, please read this book. It might help, if only so you don’t feel so alone.
This book will stick with you.
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Ashly Reads.
kickpleat's review against another edition
5.0
Highly recommended. The first section of the book does a damn fine job describing what it's like to be a woman, sexism and feminism. The second part is more memoir-ish about her kinda fucking up and figuring things out. The third part dealt mainly with giving birth and the honesty and hardships of being a mom with depression and anxiety to a premature baby. I liked how honest, unflinching and blunt Valenti is.
missmree's review against another edition
2.0
I'm really not into detailed birth stories. Just, no. The rest was okay.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
4.0
This book--and it's author--grew on me. A short memoir (the Audible version, which is read by the author, is only 4 hours long), to some degree it is about the making of a feminist, dwelling especially on her many experiences with men ranging from bad to terrible, although also describing her very difficult pregnancy and first years of motherhood. Jessica Valenti does not try to draw major lessons, redemption, nor does she put herself in the mode of Amy Schumer or Sheryl Sandberg in terms of either humor or describing an affirmative path forward. Instead, Valenti seems some combination of angry, resolved and tired--and with some of her experiences it seems reasonaly understandable.
herlifewithbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Quick and compelling. It felt like an entirely average woman's memoir - like any of my friends had similar lives and stories - but also completely awful and brutal. So I guess facing some level of awful brutality from men is average? This is probably Valenti's point, but it's still so difficult to understand and accept...
xkwright's review against another edition
3.0
At first I wasn't sure if I would finish this one - it felt so much like a catalog of unpleasant objectifying experiences, and while I believe in the value of naming the awful things and making them public, I wasn't sure I personally needed to bear witness. I'm glad I stuck it out, though. The later essays about the birth of the author's daughter and her struggles with anxiety were well worth it to me.