sapphiclavi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
thegreenmachine90's review against another edition
4.0
This book was an upsetting read, but every woman should at least attempt it. I had to take frequent breaks from the book because I was getting heated. Kate Manne delves into several of the main areas women still struggle with in the struggle for equality, and the male entitlement that prevents them from achieving it:
1-The Incel movement and male entitlement to a relationship with any woman of their choosing, whether that woman is interested in them or not. She explores the Elliot Roger shooting and how that inspired other acts of gendered violence from other men who felt they were owed a partner. Gendered violence is still not taken seriously enough for law enforcement to consider these as targeted attacks, just random acts of violence.
2-Sexual assault. She explores how the legal system punishes women for coming forward with stories of abuse. She discusses law enforcement’s reluctance and sometimes outright refusal to punish rapists, even with concrete DNA evidence. She explains that she reached out to 110 city law enforcement agencies, and found that in half of all sexual assault cases with evidence, charges were dismissed because they didn’t think it was worth pursuing. Recently, when 10,000 untested rape kits in Detroit were analyized, researchers found 817 serial rapists. According to county prosecutor Kym Worthy, rapists commit, on average, between seven to eleven assaults before an arrest is made. The author asks, “What does it say about your value to society when your rapist walks free, despite damning evidence against him? What does that make you, other than a kind of cut-rate person?” A statistic from RAINN shows that 0.6% of rapists will actually serve any jail time.
3-Medical care: Studies show that women are more likely to be referred to psychiatrists rather than being treated for physical ailments. Men are also prescribed painkillers far more frequently than women, and are taken more seriously by doctors for their complaints. Women are also 73% more likely to die in car crashes, as safety features are designed around crash-test dummies built like men. Women also still face high rates of maternal mortality due to not being taken seriously by doctors.
4-Bodily autonomy: The author implements quotes from several anti-choice politicians who seemingly have no idea how the female body works, yet seek to legislate control over it. She describes many examples of these laws where even in the language written, women are valued only as mothers, and the children they can provide, rather than an independent person with agency over their reproductive decisions. She also discusses the murder of Gwen Arajuro, a trans woman, who was murdered by several men after they attempted to sexually assault her. The murderers bizarrely received overwhelming support from their community, as if they were the victims.
5-Domestic labor: After the women’s liberation movement ushering women into the workforce, and decreasing wages, many women now work outside the home and pay half the bills. But overwhelmingly they are still doing all the housework and childcare. Even in instances where men do offer help, the emotional labor and delegation still falls on women, “encompasses, among other things, the keeping track and anticipatory work…knowing what is where, knowing who needs what, the grocery list, the family’s budget, the family’s calendar, and so on–not to mention packing endless bags, from diaper bags to suitcases”. One woman states, “I carry in my mind exhaustive lists of all types, not because I want to, but because no one else will”. I would have liked to see her touch on the weaponized incompetence many men implement, or statistics I’ve seen elsewhere that show how single mothers with children often feel less stressed towards household tasks than married women with children.
6-Mansplaining: In an article in the Guardian, the reporter covered a photography exhibit called “Me and My Vulva”, the correct word for women’s external anatomy. A man proclaiming he was a doctor responded to the article telling the reporter “The correct word is ‘vagina’”-confusing the external parts with the internal parts. Apparently this happens a lot, as the author describes. An academic describes meeting someone at a dinner party who she discussed photography and film with. The man spoke over her numerous times, acting as if he were an expert on the topic due to a book that he kept suggesting she read–she was actually the author of that book. She had to share this information with him several times until he realized. Every woman has undoubtedly been spoken over and talked down to by men who assume they know more than them, no matter what topic is at hand.
She covered so much, and yet I still felt as if she had barely broken the tip of the iceberg. That realization was quite chilling.
1-The Incel movement and male entitlement to a relationship with any woman of their choosing, whether that woman is interested in them or not. She explores the Elliot Roger shooting and how that inspired other acts of gendered violence from other men who felt they were owed a partner. Gendered violence is still not taken seriously enough for law enforcement to consider these as targeted attacks, just random acts of violence.
2-Sexual assault. She explores how the legal system punishes women for coming forward with stories of abuse. She discusses law enforcement’s reluctance and sometimes outright refusal to punish rapists, even with concrete DNA evidence. She explains that she reached out to 110 city law enforcement agencies, and found that in half of all sexual assault cases with evidence, charges were dismissed because they didn’t think it was worth pursuing. Recently, when 10,000 untested rape kits in Detroit were analyized, researchers found 817 serial rapists. According to county prosecutor Kym Worthy, rapists commit, on average, between seven to eleven assaults before an arrest is made. The author asks, “What does it say about your value to society when your rapist walks free, despite damning evidence against him? What does that make you, other than a kind of cut-rate person?” A statistic from RAINN shows that 0.6% of rapists will actually serve any jail time.
3-Medical care: Studies show that women are more likely to be referred to psychiatrists rather than being treated for physical ailments. Men are also prescribed painkillers far more frequently than women, and are taken more seriously by doctors for their complaints. Women are also 73% more likely to die in car crashes, as safety features are designed around crash-test dummies built like men. Women also still face high rates of maternal mortality due to not being taken seriously by doctors.
4-Bodily autonomy: The author implements quotes from several anti-choice politicians who seemingly have no idea how the female body works, yet seek to legislate control over it. She describes many examples of these laws where even in the language written, women are valued only as mothers, and the children they can provide, rather than an independent person with agency over their reproductive decisions. She also discusses the murder of Gwen Arajuro, a trans woman, who was murdered by several men after they attempted to sexually assault her. The murderers bizarrely received overwhelming support from their community, as if they were the victims.
5-Domestic labor: After the women’s liberation movement ushering women into the workforce, and decreasing wages, many women now work outside the home and pay half the bills. But overwhelmingly they are still doing all the housework and childcare. Even in instances where men do offer help, the emotional labor and delegation still falls on women, “encompasses, among other things, the keeping track and anticipatory work…knowing what is where, knowing who needs what, the grocery list, the family’s budget, the family’s calendar, and so on–not to mention packing endless bags, from diaper bags to suitcases”. One woman states, “I carry in my mind exhaustive lists of all types, not because I want to, but because no one else will”. I would have liked to see her touch on the weaponized incompetence many men implement, or statistics I’ve seen elsewhere that show how single mothers with children often feel less stressed towards household tasks than married women with children.
6-Mansplaining: In an article in the Guardian, the reporter covered a photography exhibit called “Me and My Vulva”, the correct word for women’s external anatomy. A man proclaiming he was a doctor responded to the article telling the reporter “The correct word is ‘vagina’”-confusing the external parts with the internal parts. Apparently this happens a lot, as the author describes. An academic describes meeting someone at a dinner party who she discussed photography and film with. The man spoke over her numerous times, acting as if he were an expert on the topic due to a book that he kept suggesting she read–she was actually the author of that book. She had to share this information with him several times until he realized. Every woman has undoubtedly been spoken over and talked down to by men who assume they know more than them, no matter what topic is at hand.
She covered so much, and yet I still felt as if she had barely broken the tip of the iceberg. That realization was quite chilling.
gloomyboygirl's review against another edition
3.0
Solid read but a bit more entry level and less rigorous than Down Girl.
kindledspiritsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This month I was saddened, shaken, but not shocked, by the tragic death of Sarah Everard and felt prompted to pick up this book. I loved Kate Manne's first book Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny because of her forensic and tightly argued examination of what misogyny actually is and how it serves to reinforce patriarchy. Her background as a professor of moral philosophy means that she comes at the problem from a refreshing angle and breathes new life into concepts that to some may seem tired. Entitled hones in on the particular problem of men's sense of entitlement - to sex, admiration, power, knowledge and more - and how this contributes to a range of societal ills including medical discrimination, massing killings by 'incels' and the pervasive notion that women just aren't 'electable'. The only criticism of Down Girl that I'm willing to accept was that it was written in highly academic language that would make is inaccessible to the average reader and I'm delighted that Entitled goes some way to alleviating this. I personally found this a much easier read than Down Girl and whizzed through it in a couple of days (though I was partly fueled by feminist rage). The other difference between this book and Down Girl that I particularly enjoyed was the ending. Down Girl ends on a despondent note, with Manne unsure to what extent the societal issues of misogyny and sexism can ever be fully tackled. But in Entitled Manne is much more optimistic - she has to be, as she was pregnant with her first child, a daughter, as she was writing the book. She ends Entitled still unsure as to how these problems can be tackled but driven to find a way somehow so that her daughter can live a better life. I was deeply moved by her choice to end the book with a list of all the things she wanted her daughter to feel entitled to and I share her sense of determined optimism, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
bookishcapricorn's review against another edition
5.0
Reading this post the overturning of Roe v. Wade in conjunction with the anti-trans legislation that has seen a rapid uptick this year is truly a different experience. Woof.
"I want her to know she is entitled to speak, period." I enjoyed this, it's short, but inclusive and hard-hitting.
"I want her to know she is entitled to speak, period." I enjoyed this, it's short, but inclusive and hard-hitting.
zendegi's review
5.0
Succinct, clear essays covering a range of currently important topics. Not too much new if you've been paying any attention to women's lives in the United States. 4.5, rounded up.