janedoelish's review against another edition
4.0
Smart, compelling, opinionated:
I really appreciate Laurie Penny's essays. The only reason why I withheld the final star was because I was already familiar with most of the material in this anthology; virtually all of these essays were available before, and I would have hoped for more previously unpublished essays.
Still, Penny's writing is as important as ever.
I really appreciate Laurie Penny's essays. The only reason why I withheld the final star was because I was already familiar with most of the material in this anthology; virtually all of these essays were available before, and I would have hoped for more previously unpublished essays.
Still, Penny's writing is as important as ever.
nyssahhhh's review against another edition
4.0
Yes, it took me forever to finish this. And, to be quite honest, it was partially on purpose. I didn't want to finish because it is too good. So many phrases and paragraphs I noted, so won't be typing them up this time. Thank you, Laurie, for saying things others won't, and explaining things like no one else can.
idratherread_'s review against another edition
5.0
Laurie Penny speaks the truth - an absolute must read! This collection of essays basically tackles all the crucial questions of feminism. Also, I love Penny's writing style, it's absolutely hilarious.
bunceyyy's review against another edition
3.0
This was more like 3.5 stars, and I might be being harsh as I’m not sure I was in the right headspace to be reading these kinds of essays. Penny makes a lot of very valid and interesting points, and I was relieved to find that I felt understood for the first time in a while - especially when it came to her anti-capitalist sentiments. However, I personally would’ve liked there to have been more examples of what I/we can do to challenge social and structural inequality, although I appreciate that I may have to look elsewhere for this. Some concepts were confusing and/or difficult to get my head around (not necessarily Penny’s fault) and where I found it quite jarring was in the amount of repetition there is. I was prepared for themes to be repeated/readdressed across essays, but I’m talking about word-for-word repetition of complete sentences, within the same page/paragraph. It also would’ve been interesting to have info/context accompanying each essay, relating to its original publication - when/where etc. If you’re pretty upset and/or angry about the status quo, and would like more information (or to feel less alone), I’d recommend this, but would suggest you tackle it whilst in a pretty positive/robust mindset!
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5
I read the majority of this book at a read-in at an indie used book store. After store hours, a bunch of us gathered with pillows and blankets, enjoyed pizza and coffee and tea and Gushers, and indulged in hours of "silent reading" time. It was amazing--but also incredibly difficult, for two reasons.
1) This book was so funny, I was struggling to keep from audibly snorting or laughing out loud at some of Penny's quips.
2) I was there with a good friend of mine who, like me, is very much a feminist. Every couple pages, I wanted to point something out to her and go, "Oh my god, look at this, isn't that amazing? She just nailed that. So funny, and not even false." But of course, that would mean distracting my friend from her book, as well as engaging in some degree of speaking, which would defeat the purpose of silent reading.
Then, like an idiot, I forgot to flag/highlight all those excellent quotes, and as I have since returned the book to the library, I don't have any of them readily available to use in this review. Guess that means you'll just have to read the book and find them out for yourself.
I've been on a feminist literature kick lately, inspired partially by a desire to better be able to dialogue on beliefs that I've held for a while but not had a super-firm foundation on, and partially on a need to argue with my brothers that, believe it or not, most feminists are not bra-burning, man-hating extremists who want to see a world where women have all the power, nor is it whiny for us to point out things like the wage gap, internalized misogyny, and toxic masculinity, and in fact, true feminism actually benefits men as well as women. My point is, I've been reading several books on the subject (Dear Ijeawele, Men Explain Things To Me) as well as related dystopian fiction (Vox, Handmaid's Tale last year), and this book was the clearest, most comprehensive, most relatable exploration of many major feminist issues.
(Note: This is not meant to diss any of the other writers. Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, in particular, does an absolutely incredible job of concisely explaining the necessity of feminism today; the two things that give this book an edge in my mind are that it is more centered on US and British issues, making it more relatable for me personally, and that, being far longer, it is able to cover a wider range of topics. If you don't have a ton of time, or even if you do, PLEASE read We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, because those books are both freaking amazing.)
But I digress. Laurie Penny is a real firebrand, articulately and bluntly calling out societal problems left and right, not dancing around the problems at hand but instead twisting the knife with sarcastic commentary. Her book is divided into eight sections, each of which is composed of shorter essays and articles she has written on related topics. She delves into mainstream issues like politics and rape culture, as well as more tangential ideas like the relationship between feminism and romance (there's a particularly great article about the value of being single) and problems with pop culture today (another amazing essay that really stuck with me was about the problems with James Bond, and how toxic his masculinity is, while at the same time asserting that that very toxicity is central to his character and shouldn't be changed--and how good it is that, in his most recent incarnation, Daniel Craig is able to explore the roots of this white misogyny and its impact on people long-term).
One thing about Penny's writing that really stuck out to me was her emphasis on the fact that misogyny is not a case of every man everywhere being horrible. In one essay she explicitly uses the phrase (hopefully I'm not misquoting) "not all men, but enough," using the exact anthem of many so-called "anti-feminists" to explain why men must necessarily be called out as a group in order to achieve more gender equality. She actually spends time addressing that there are many who are only unwittingly contributing to misogyny, or who are benefiting from it and simply not objecting to it, and that there are many men out there who truly do work toward feminist goals. In other words, she gives credit where credit is due, and in doing so, she makes it possible for people who might dislike the phrase "feminist" to be more receptive to what she has to say. She doesn't pardon men, but she acknowledges them for what they've done right (or at least not done wrong) before calling out the ones who are a problem and calling on all of them to make a change.
It's true, given that she was under 30 when she wrote most of these essays, they definitely skew toward a millennial/early Gen-Z audience--in other words, exactly my age group. Some older readers, especially ones who are less liberal-leaning, may not enjoy or appreciate articles on things like nonbinary gender identities or all the issues with Donald Trump. When Penny defends the millennial generation and argues that it indicates a problem with society, there are many who will naturally get immediately on the defensive. (To those people: listen, we aren't necessarily saying it's your fault, but we are saying that if we want things to get better for our generation, we need your help and for you to stop condemning us for every shortcoming.) And if I sent the book to my brothers--which, admittedly, would probably be a horrible idea--they would almost certainly object to the use of the phrase "rape culture," because while they agree rape is a problem, they think a "true rape culture" (as if there is such thing as a "fake rape culture"???) is one like in a society that thinks rape is good or at least not a crime, and that we shouldn't "exaggerate" problems in the US and Europe.
But if you are my age--or maybe not my age but strongly liberal-leaning, or even just willing to read open-mindedly, without immediately rejecting an idea just because it suggests you may not always be right--this book is a great crash-course in feminism. It tackles things that every feminist book out there talks about, and it tackles things that most people don't immediately associate with feminism (hello, intersectionality!). It is compulsively readable--the fact that most (or all?) of these essays were initially printed in online news publications means that they are generally quite short and not difficult reads--and it is easy to tackle in very small doses, while also being varied enough in topic that it can be read for four hours straight on the cold floor of a crowded bookstore without growing dull. In fact, there is some benefit to reading it all at once, as the common threads between articles become more apparent when they are immediately juxtaposed, but this is not a necessity.
In short: this is feminism made palatable to a wide audience, mixing humor and scathing truth to paint a wide-reaching, brilliant exploration of feminism today.
One final thing: Many of her essays are available online. I've linked here the two I mentioned before, the one about being single and the one about James Bond. Check them out if you want a taste of what her writing is like! (And hopefully I linked the right ones...let me know if these don't work!)
I read the majority of this book at a read-in at an indie used book store. After store hours, a bunch of us gathered with pillows and blankets, enjoyed pizza and coffee and tea and Gushers, and indulged in hours of "silent reading" time. It was amazing--but also incredibly difficult, for two reasons.
1) This book was so funny, I was struggling to keep from audibly snorting or laughing out loud at some of Penny's quips.
2) I was there with a good friend of mine who, like me, is very much a feminist. Every couple pages, I wanted to point something out to her and go, "Oh my god, look at this, isn't that amazing? She just nailed that. So funny, and not even false." But of course, that would mean distracting my friend from her book, as well as engaging in some degree of speaking, which would defeat the purpose of silent reading.
Then, like an idiot, I forgot to flag/highlight all those excellent quotes, and as I have since returned the book to the library, I don't have any of them readily available to use in this review. Guess that means you'll just have to read the book and find them out for yourself.
I've been on a feminist literature kick lately, inspired partially by a desire to better be able to dialogue on beliefs that I've held for a while but not had a super-firm foundation on, and partially on a need to argue with my brothers that, believe it or not, most feminists are not bra-burning, man-hating extremists who want to see a world where women have all the power, nor is it whiny for us to point out things like the wage gap, internalized misogyny, and toxic masculinity, and in fact, true feminism actually benefits men as well as women. My point is, I've been reading several books on the subject (Dear Ijeawele, Men Explain Things To Me) as well as related dystopian fiction (Vox, Handmaid's Tale last year), and this book was the clearest, most comprehensive, most relatable exploration of many major feminist issues.
(Note: This is not meant to diss any of the other writers. Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, in particular, does an absolutely incredible job of concisely explaining the necessity of feminism today; the two things that give this book an edge in my mind are that it is more centered on US and British issues, making it more relatable for me personally, and that, being far longer, it is able to cover a wider range of topics. If you don't have a ton of time, or even if you do, PLEASE read We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, because those books are both freaking amazing.)
But I digress. Laurie Penny is a real firebrand, articulately and bluntly calling out societal problems left and right, not dancing around the problems at hand but instead twisting the knife with sarcastic commentary. Her book is divided into eight sections, each of which is composed of shorter essays and articles she has written on related topics. She delves into mainstream issues like politics and rape culture, as well as more tangential ideas like the relationship between feminism and romance (there's a particularly great article about the value of being single) and problems with pop culture today (another amazing essay that really stuck with me was about the problems with James Bond, and how toxic his masculinity is, while at the same time asserting that that very toxicity is central to his character and shouldn't be changed--and how good it is that, in his most recent incarnation, Daniel Craig is able to explore the roots of this white misogyny and its impact on people long-term).
One thing about Penny's writing that really stuck out to me was her emphasis on the fact that misogyny is not a case of every man everywhere being horrible. In one essay she explicitly uses the phrase (hopefully I'm not misquoting) "not all men, but enough," using the exact anthem of many so-called "anti-feminists" to explain why men must necessarily be called out as a group in order to achieve more gender equality. She actually spends time addressing that there are many who are only unwittingly contributing to misogyny, or who are benefiting from it and simply not objecting to it, and that there are many men out there who truly do work toward feminist goals. In other words, she gives credit where credit is due, and in doing so, she makes it possible for people who might dislike the phrase "feminist" to be more receptive to what she has to say. She doesn't pardon men, but she acknowledges them for what they've done right (or at least not done wrong) before calling out the ones who are a problem and calling on all of them to make a change.
It's true, given that she was under 30 when she wrote most of these essays, they definitely skew toward a millennial/early Gen-Z audience--in other words, exactly my age group. Some older readers, especially ones who are less liberal-leaning, may not enjoy or appreciate articles on things like nonbinary gender identities or all the issues with Donald Trump. When Penny defends the millennial generation and argues that it indicates a problem with society, there are many who will naturally get immediately on the defensive. (To those people: listen, we aren't necessarily saying it's your fault, but we are saying that if we want things to get better for our generation, we need your help and for you to stop condemning us for every shortcoming.) And if I sent the book to my brothers--which, admittedly, would probably be a horrible idea--they would almost certainly object to the use of the phrase "rape culture," because while they agree rape is a problem, they think a "true rape culture" (as if there is such thing as a "fake rape culture"???) is one like in a society that thinks rape is good or at least not a crime, and that we shouldn't "exaggerate" problems in the US and Europe.
But if you are my age--or maybe not my age but strongly liberal-leaning, or even just willing to read open-mindedly, without immediately rejecting an idea just because it suggests you may not always be right--this book is a great crash-course in feminism. It tackles things that every feminist book out there talks about, and it tackles things that most people don't immediately associate with feminism (hello, intersectionality!). It is compulsively readable--the fact that most (or all?) of these essays were initially printed in online news publications means that they are generally quite short and not difficult reads--and it is easy to tackle in very small doses, while also being varied enough in topic that it can be read for four hours straight on the cold floor of a crowded bookstore without growing dull. In fact, there is some benefit to reading it all at once, as the common threads between articles become more apparent when they are immediately juxtaposed, but this is not a necessity.
In short: this is feminism made palatable to a wide audience, mixing humor and scathing truth to paint a wide-reaching, brilliant exploration of feminism today.
One final thing: Many of her essays are available online. I've linked here the two I mentioned before, the one about being single and the one about James Bond. Check them out if you want a taste of what her writing is like! (And hopefully I linked the right ones...let me know if these don't work!)
drunkbookclub's review against another edition
5.0
Bitch Doktrin von Laurie Penny ist eine wichtige Lektüre im modernen Feminismus.
Ich ärgere mich nicht schon früher etwas von Laurie Penny gelesen zu haben.
Obwohl ich mich viel mit dem Thema Feminismus auseinandersetze, habe ich auch hier wieder viel mitnehmen können, was mich auch in meiner persönlichen Entwicklung weiterbringen wird. Mehr kann ich von einem Buch doch gar nicht erwarten.
Ich ärgere mich nicht schon früher etwas von Laurie Penny gelesen zu haben.
Obwohl ich mich viel mit dem Thema Feminismus auseinandersetze, habe ich auch hier wieder viel mitnehmen können, was mich auch in meiner persönlichen Entwicklung weiterbringen wird. Mehr kann ich von einem Buch doch gar nicht erwarten.
samantha_winkel13's review against another edition
1.0
I ended up DNFing this book. Why? It felt like the author was whining and taking away from the actual problems at hand. Granted, these are very serious issues, but I hate it when author's whine and complain.
When I read the description of this book, it sounded promising and that I would like it. It got harder and harder to read through and I finally just gave up.
When I read the description of this book, it sounded promising and that I would like it. It got harder and harder to read through and I finally just gave up.