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redheadreader73's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a feminist but I loved Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing too! (Now I understand why).
alicemaryblanks14's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
chelsevie's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75
I'm so glad that I discovered this book (and subsequently, the podcast) at this particular point in my journey to becoming a better feminist, better ally, and a more pro-active member of society.
Inspiring, uplifting and very informative. Deborah has a great, inclusive and witty writing voice and I'd certainly seek out anything else she penned.
I can only wish more people, particularly young women, would (could) read this book.
Inspiring, uplifting and very informative. Deborah has a great, inclusive and witty writing voice and I'd certainly seek out anything else she penned.
I can only wish more people, particularly young women, would (could) read this book.
aliceturner's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
jessmmm's review against another edition
4.0
I got into the podcast a little late and I am still joyfully listening through the back catalogue (and recently enjoyed going to a live show!) One of the most enjoyable parts of the book is reading some anecdotes I had heard on the podcast as I find it easier to engage more with them in writing, and I know I can refer to parts of the book that resonated with me without trying to find a particular podcast episode again.
I enjoyed the interviews with previous guests and co-hosts, which provided different perspectives, particularly on intersectionality. One thing discussed in the podcast and the book which I love is that none of us are perfect and are all still learning; language and culture change quickly, and what seems appropriate and sensitive now (especially in terms of language), may later evolve. The best lesson to take away is to stay engaged with different viewpoints and people from different backgrounds, wherever you get your information from; books, podcasts, news, social media, movies, TV.
The only niggle I have with the book is that it feels like this is a book for the initiated; I don’t know that someone not interested in feminism or equality would pick it up, though I do think it could be accessible to those starting out on exploring the issues raised in the book!
I enjoyed the interviews with previous guests and co-hosts, which provided different perspectives, particularly on intersectionality. One thing discussed in the podcast and the book which I love is that none of us are perfect and are all still learning; language and culture change quickly, and what seems appropriate and sensitive now (especially in terms of language), may later evolve. The best lesson to take away is to stay engaged with different viewpoints and people from different backgrounds, wherever you get your information from; books, podcasts, news, social media, movies, TV.
The only niggle I have with the book is that it feels like this is a book for the initiated; I don’t know that someone not interested in feminism or equality would pick it up, though I do think it could be accessible to those starting out on exploring the issues raised in the book!
charlotteweal's review against another edition
5.0
A really refreshing take on modern feminism. Highly recommend!
diana_skelton's review against another edition
5.0
'Politicians are people we pay to do a job. We trust them to spend our collective money and make good choices on our collective behalves. If you'd paid someone to look after your elderly nan and you popped in unannounced and discovered the carer had taken the money you'd given them to pay for your nan's food and electricity and spent it on drones to bomb other nans, you wouldn't just say, "Oh well, what can you do? This guy's on a four-year contract. No point firing him. I'd just have to hire someone else, and they're all as bad as each other." You'd have a word. You'd do whatever you could to make a change. This is the exact situation we are in in austerity Britain. Feminism can't exist in principle. It needs the oxygen of action. We are its life force. If not us, who? If not now, when?'
'The reason the patriarchy doesn't feel right to many of us is that it is not how our brains evolved to survive and thrive. Women didn't evolve to be oppressed by men, and men didn't evolve to dominate and mansplain. One of humanity's closest relatives, the chimpanzee, operates in a dictatorship run by the alpha male. Paleoanthropologists often theorise that the reason human beings developed language, community and even human consciousness was to resist alpha male dominance. It's possible that what separates us from the animals is actually feminism. That's a t-shirt waiting to be made if ever there was one.'
'It's a myth sold to us by the sugar industry that we can't stop eating M&Ms, and it's fake news from the diet industry that we need constant expensive supervision to provide the discipline that our runaway bodies lack. [...] We've lived in an experiment since birth, trying to subliminally convince us we are hungry all the time and constant want foods with very few nutrients. Why on earth would our bodies want that? Our bodies want us to survive and thrive. Our patriarchy-trained brains should not be running this particular show. Our brains are good for reading maps, learning French verbs, and writing strongly worded emails to our MPs, but they are appalling at knowing what food we need. Our brains can be controlling, oppressive and sometimes abusive. [...] It might take months to unpick the co-dependent, scrambled, controlling relationship between your mind and your body. That doesn't mean we have to shrug and give in to our conditioning.'
'When women are mentored, we're often treated as remedial. We're given a programme, a tiny pot of money and someone to guide us, and a Noblesse Oblige scholarship for Best Female Woman. When men are mentored, they get a Top Gun approach: "You're the best of the best. We're going to make you better." Notice that men are allowed to boldly fail over and over again until they get it right. (That is literally the plot of Top Gun.) Women are traditionally given one shot. Even if they succeed, they're often not funded again because then they're not seen as remedial any more and told they should be able to make it on their own now -- as if the landscape has magically changed to allow that.'
'Follow the past of most resistance. If something scares you/makes you nervous/makes you doubt your tenacity, strength, courage, talent, then you probably should be doing that very thing.'
'In Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, she talks about a woman having to be escorted by a man to the library in a university college. This seems outrageous. For most women, the idea of having to be escorted somewhere that men have access to feels like part of history. Yet being escorted through buildings is a reality for disabled people in many public places or buildings they use in their everyday life. It is the only way to access the building. Taken in through a side entrance. The decision to enter or leave mediated through the permission of others. And that's if you can get in the building.'
'The reason the patriarchy doesn't feel right to many of us is that it is not how our brains evolved to survive and thrive. Women didn't evolve to be oppressed by men, and men didn't evolve to dominate and mansplain. One of humanity's closest relatives, the chimpanzee, operates in a dictatorship run by the alpha male. Paleoanthropologists often theorise that the reason human beings developed language, community and even human consciousness was to resist alpha male dominance. It's possible that what separates us from the animals is actually feminism. That's a t-shirt waiting to be made if ever there was one.'
'It's a myth sold to us by the sugar industry that we can't stop eating M&Ms, and it's fake news from the diet industry that we need constant expensive supervision to provide the discipline that our runaway bodies lack. [...] We've lived in an experiment since birth, trying to subliminally convince us we are hungry all the time and constant want foods with very few nutrients. Why on earth would our bodies want that? Our bodies want us to survive and thrive. Our patriarchy-trained brains should not be running this particular show. Our brains are good for reading maps, learning French verbs, and writing strongly worded emails to our MPs, but they are appalling at knowing what food we need. Our brains can be controlling, oppressive and sometimes abusive. [...] It might take months to unpick the co-dependent, scrambled, controlling relationship between your mind and your body. That doesn't mean we have to shrug and give in to our conditioning.'
'When women are mentored, we're often treated as remedial. We're given a programme, a tiny pot of money and someone to guide us, and a Noblesse Oblige scholarship for Best Female Woman. When men are mentored, they get a Top Gun approach: "You're the best of the best. We're going to make you better." Notice that men are allowed to boldly fail over and over again until they get it right. (That is literally the plot of Top Gun.) Women are traditionally given one shot. Even if they succeed, they're often not funded again because then they're not seen as remedial any more and told they should be able to make it on their own now -- as if the landscape has magically changed to allow that.'
'Follow the past of most resistance. If something scares you/makes you nervous/makes you doubt your tenacity, strength, courage, talent, then you probably should be doing that very thing.'
'In Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, she talks about a woman having to be escorted by a man to the library in a university college. This seems outrageous. For most women, the idea of having to be escorted somewhere that men have access to feels like part of history. Yet being escorted through buildings is a reality for disabled people in many public places or buildings they use in their everyday life. It is the only way to access the building. Taken in through a side entrance. The decision to enter or leave mediated through the permission of others. And that's if you can get in the building.'
azuiker's review against another edition
4.0
Inspiring! Although I got a bit bored at the end of the book. Too much repetition at that point.