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v_____'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
4.25 ⭐
2008
Ich weiß immer noch nicht, warum Sallie und ich überhaupt zu dieser Party am Waldhang oberhalb von Aspen gegangen sind...
- Wenn Männer mir die Welt erklären, p. 1
In 9 Essays seziert Rebecca Solnit was es bedeutet als Frau im Patriarchat zu leben. Angefangen von der selbstverständlichen Überheblichkeit von Männern gegenüber Frauen bis zu #YesAllWomen. Sexual entitlement, Kassandra-Syndrom und Großmutters Spinne.
Ein lesenswertes Buch, welches ich mit 5 Seiten Notizen in Docs beende :)
... Die Emanzipation der Frau wurde oft als Bewegung dargestellt, die darauf abzielt, die Macht und Privilegien von Männern zu beschneiden oder sie ihnen ganz wegzunehmen... wir sind entweder gemeinsam frei oder gemeinsam unfrei. Wer glaubt, er müsse gewinnen, dominieren, bestrafen und uneingeschränkt herrschen, ist mit Sicherheit alles andere als frei...
- Wenn Männer mir die Welt erklären, p. 55
... Frauen ans Haus gefesselt, um ihre erotischen Energien unter Kontrolle zu halten, was in einer patrilinear organisierten Gesellschaft erforderlich... In matrilinearen Gesellschaften ist diese Art von Kontrolle eher unwesentlich...
- Wenn Männer mir die Welt erklären, p. 99
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
bloupibloupreads's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
I was anticipating a lot more, but I need to keep in mind that this book was released in 2014, a whole decade has passed since then. I'd like to think that feminism has come a long way and all the information in this book is merely basic knowledge, to be honest it's almost just feminism 101.
The first few essays were very interesting to me, as they discussed the lack of space for women to express themselves and the violence they face, we were also met with some of Solnit's personal experiences. There was a lot of room for discussion, but unfortunately no conclusion was drawn by the end of the book.
I feel like many unimportant things were mentioned, which made me lose interest. For example, we get an explanation of what the IMF is and the economical impact of this group for multiple pages (everything could have been said in shorter terms) and there was an entire chapter dedicated to a Woolf/Sintag debate that did not add anything to the essay. I didn't see the correlation between this and men silencing and belittling women's intelligence but maybe I'm just missing the point.
The first few essays were very interesting to me, as they discussed the lack of space for women to express themselves and the violence they face, we were also met with some of Solnit's personal experiences. There was a lot of room for discussion, but unfortunately no conclusion was drawn by the end of the book.
I feel like many unimportant things were mentioned, which made me lose interest. For example, we get an explanation of what the IMF is and the economical impact of this group for multiple pages (everything could have been said in shorter terms) and there was an entire chapter dedicated to a Woolf/Sintag debate that did not add anything to the essay. I didn't see the correlation between this and men silencing and belittling women's intelligence but maybe I'm just missing the point.
Solnit's failure to address intersectionality is the biggest flaw of the book, she says: "Violence doesn't have a race, a class, a religion, or a nationality, but it does have a gender" (chapter 2, The Longest War) despite the fact that this statement has been proven to be false multiple times, but given that the book was released 10 years ago, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.
Another petty critic of mine is how often Solnit mentions that “it is not all men!!" while mentioning the violences and crimes that men perpetrate against women. I just think it's tiresome to keep mentioning that we know not every man is a dangerous threat to women.
"Here let me just say that my life is well sprinkled with lovely men" (chapter 1, Men Explain Things to Me) / "Here I want to say one thing: though virtually all the perpetrators of such crime are men, that doesn't mean all men are violent" (chapter 2, The Longest War) / "There are lovely and wonderful men out there" (chapter 2, In Memory of Jyoti Singh) and more.
Overall, I would say that 'Men Explain Things to Me' is a somewhat good collection of essays, althought it never goes deeper and only skims the surface of its subjects. For people who want to understand feminism at its basic level, this book could be a great option.
Overall, I would say that 'Men Explain Things to Me' is a somewhat good collection of essays, althought it never goes deeper and only skims the surface of its subjects. For people who want to understand feminism at its basic level, this book could be a great option.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence
coleanne's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
beanith's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
This collection is about 10 years old now and while many of the feminist ideas are eternal, it feels a little basic in the year 2024. Still, I tried to read each essay with that in mind and tried not to hold it against the work. Also, even if the ideas are basic, it’s crucial to be reminded 1) how far we have come 2) that we are not crazy.
‘Men Explain Thing to Me’ - 5/5
‘The Longest War’ - 4.5/5
‘Worlds Collide in a Luxury Suite’ - 4/5
‘In Praise of the Threat: What Marriage Equality Really Means’ - 4/5
‘Grandmother Spider’ - 4.75/5
‘Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable’ - 5/5
‘Casandra Among the Creeps’ - 5/5
‘#YesAllWomen: Feminists Rewrite the Story’ - 4/5
‘Pandora’s Box and the Volunteer Police Force’ - 3.5/5
‘Men Explain Thing to Me’ - 5/5
‘The Longest War’ - 4.5/5
‘Worlds Collide in a Luxury Suite’ - 4/5
‘In Praise of the Threat: What Marriage Equality Really Means’ - 4/5
‘Grandmother Spider’ - 4.75/5
‘Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable’ - 5/5
‘Casandra Among the Creeps’ - 5/5
‘#YesAllWomen: Feminists Rewrite the Story’ - 4/5
‘Pandora’s Box and the Volunteer Police Force’ - 3.5/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault
glitterdeww's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I wasn't prepared for how much I'd love Rebecca Solnit's writing. Immediately picking up more essays by her.
Like any essay collection, there were some I know I'll reread and recommend multiple times and others that weren't in a subject where I have the most interest. But they are all excellent.
Like any essay collection, there were some I know I'll reread and recommend multiple times and others that weren't in a subject where I have the most interest. But they are all excellent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting
rainbowarpaint's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
manisitdas's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
salsbookcorner's review against another edition
reflective
3.75
Not what I was expecting and was definitely reflective and informative, a lot of statistics shared. I did become distinctly aware that this writing was coming from an American cis white woman’s perspective and it failed to take into account some women’s perspectives outside of that point of view, but an important read nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder
The author shares a lot of important statistics on violence and crime against women and some of these crimes are described.josefineh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence
freyaboobac's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Islamophobia, Abortion, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism