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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'
Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker
3 reviews
arayo's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
ashleycmms's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual content
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
- I am of two minds about QUIT LIKE A WOMAN. First, I put it off for a long time because I found the title so off-putting. It's so Girl Power, and it shows in a lot of the book. It's a lot of "I just discovered the patriarchy and am gonna yell about it."
- I also found it rather baffling that she spends the first third of the book claiming that people don't know alcohol is bad for them and trying to make it a shocking reveal that alcohol companies are marketing their products in a way meant to disguise that. Am I off base here, I don't know, but I certainly don't know anyone who believes drinking every day is actively healthy.
- There's also a lot of white lady privilege on display. While she occasionally mentions how oppressive cultural systems work extra hard to keep queer people, people of color, etc. down, in the next breath she's telling you that she simply replaced drinking alcohol with traveling to Rome.
- On the other hand, she is completely, absolutely, paradigm-shiftingly right about a lot of things. Alcohol is so ingrained in our culture (and specifically, mommy and woman culture) that we can hardly conceive of moving through life without it. And we panic a little at the idea of easing off the gas even a little, because that might mean we're alcoholics, and our culture throws those people in the trash.
- Related, I think the most useful idea in this book is the idea that it's bizarre to divide people into alcoholics and normal drinkers. Like, it's super weird to ostracize people who "can't handle" a substance our bodies aren't actually built to process. Shutting people out like that only makes everyone's lives harder and more confusing.
- I also found it rather baffling that she spends the first third of the book claiming that people don't know alcohol is bad for them and trying to make it a shocking reveal that alcohol companies are marketing their products in a way meant to disguise that. Am I off base here, I don't know, but I certainly don't know anyone who believes drinking every day is actively healthy.
- There's also a lot of white lady privilege on display. While she occasionally mentions how oppressive cultural systems work extra hard to keep queer people, people of color, etc. down, in the next breath she's telling you that she simply replaced drinking alcohol with traveling to Rome.
- On the other hand, she is completely, absolutely, paradigm-shiftingly right about a lot of things. Alcohol is so ingrained in our culture (and specifically, mommy and woman culture) that we can hardly conceive of moving through life without it. And we panic a little at the idea of easing off the gas even a little, because that might mean we're alcoholics, and our culture throws those people in the trash.
- Related, I think the most useful idea in this book is the idea that it's bizarre to divide people into alcoholics and normal drinkers. Like, it's super weird to ostracize people who "can't handle" a substance our bodies aren't actually built to process. Shutting people out like that only makes everyone's lives harder and more confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol
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