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lavendercookie's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I mean, someone had to say it…
kat_ellison's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this collection of essays was thought-provoking and persistent in its analyses. Srinivasan is intersectional in all of her critiques and I felt the two strongest essays were "On not sleeping with your students" and "Sex, carceralism, capitalism" (seems most in the comment section are in agreement). In particular thought her anecdotal experiences from working in an academic space greatly strengthened her conversation on student/professor relations. She also did a brilliant job at outlining the different feminist perspectives on sex work (but imo could have been more critical of anti-prostitution/anti-sex work opinions - especially considering the relevancy of intersectionality in this context).
I also despise carceral feminism and was looking forward to reading her opinion regarding alternative approaches in the final essay but thought she *just* missed the mark by not quite going deep enough - I didn't even realise I was on the final page of the whole book. Either way, it was great, she's someone I will be keeping on my radar and I'd absolutely recommend this book!
I also despise carceral feminism and was looking forward to reading her opinion regarding alternative approaches in the final essay but thought she *just* missed the mark by not quite going deep enough - I didn't even realise I was on the final page of the whole book. Either way, it was great, she's someone I will be keeping on my radar and I'd absolutely recommend this book!
sarasey1's review against another edition
4.0
As someone who believes they’re a feminist but hasn’t really read or engaged with material beyond Instagram, I found this book to be an EXCELLENT !!!!! first look into contemporary feminist issues.
The essay structures were easy to follow, but each time the author went in a direction I didn’t fully expect. She doesn't always take a strong and clear stance, and I think that was helpful for a reader like me who is still trying to understand what the heck is going on. I really REALLY appreciate how inclusive her feminism is, and not one of her essays fails to explore an important intersection like sexuality, race, and class.
I tried to explain one of the essays to a friend but stumbled thru it, so I’m going to give it another read bc it was just so much rich information LOL
(Thank you to my dear Natalia for this recommendation over a year ago now!)
Quotes upon re-reading it:
"The central insight of intersectionality is that any liberation movement—feminism, anti-racism, the labor movement—that focuses only on what all members of the relevant group (women, people of color, the working class) have in common is a movement that will best serve those members of the group who are least oppressed."
"This is the deep contradiction at the heart of the incel phenomenon: incels oppose themselves to a sexual market in which they see themselves as losers, while being wedded to the status hierarchy that structures that market.”
“Specifically, pornography performs the speech act of licensing the subordination of women, and conferring on women an inferior civic status. Like the stampede that follows my shouting “Fire!,” porn’s effects on women are not just, anti-porn feminists think, the expected result, but moreover the whole point of pornography.” (The essay I tried to explain to my friends lol)
"When the teacher takes the student’s longing for epistemic power and transposes it into a sexual key, allowing himself to be—or worse, making himself—the object of her desire, he has failed her as a teacher." (Natalia's favorite essay)
"But these feminists might counter that they are responding to another, equally real choice, which proponents of sex workers’ rights ignore: the choice between making life better for the women who sell sex now, and bringing into existence a world in which sex is no longer bought and sold."
The essay structures were easy to follow, but each time the author went in a direction I didn’t fully expect. She doesn't always take a strong and clear stance, and I think that was helpful for a reader like me who is still trying to understand what the heck is going on. I really REALLY appreciate how inclusive her feminism is, and not one of her essays fails to explore an important intersection like sexuality, race, and class.
I tried to explain one of the essays to a friend but stumbled thru it, so I’m going to give it another read bc it was just so much rich information LOL
(Thank you to my dear Natalia for this recommendation over a year ago now!)
Quotes upon re-reading it:
"The central insight of intersectionality is that any liberation movement—feminism, anti-racism, the labor movement—that focuses only on what all members of the relevant group (women, people of color, the working class) have in common is a movement that will best serve those members of the group who are least oppressed."
"This is the deep contradiction at the heart of the incel phenomenon: incels oppose themselves to a sexual market in which they see themselves as losers, while being wedded to the status hierarchy that structures that market.”
“Specifically, pornography performs the speech act of licensing the subordination of women, and conferring on women an inferior civic status. Like the stampede that follows my shouting “Fire!,” porn’s effects on women are not just, anti-porn feminists think, the expected result, but moreover the whole point of pornography.” (The essay I tried to explain to my friends lol)
"When the teacher takes the student’s longing for epistemic power and transposes it into a sexual key, allowing himself to be—or worse, making himself—the object of her desire, he has failed her as a teacher." (Natalia's favorite essay)
"But these feminists might counter that they are responding to another, equally real choice, which proponents of sex workers’ rights ignore: the choice between making life better for the women who sell sex now, and bringing into existence a world in which sex is no longer bought and sold."
essiebes020's review against another edition
4.0
Sommige essays vond ik echt knalgoed, andere grepen me iets minder. Heb de tijd genomen en best lang over dit boek gedaan, beetje stap voor stap. Inspirerend en ze legt haar argumenten heel goed uit; dus ook als je het niet helemaal met d'r eens bent kan je goed nadenken over de onderwerpen waar ze over schrijft. Zeker een aanrader!
isaacramen's review against another edition
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
ekp10's review against another edition
4.0
I need a second read to fully absorbed the book. But it brings a lot of thoughts that people avoided talking about.
hannah_bookworm's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Outstanding essay collection, wow. This is a life-changing read.