Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Mies tahtoo muuttua by bell hooks

10 reviews

eliotfyffe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I came to this book full of cognitive dissonance about how I fit into the feminist movement. I knew that feminism is the path to everyone's liberation- men and women alike, but I couldn't recognize how to define myself outside of patriarchy without hating myself and my personal male-ness. This book taught me to view patriarchy as the enemy, not necessarily men. She argues, like plenty of her peers, that patriarchy was co-constructed and is perpetuated by both men and women, despite men being rewarded with power by this system. She urges us to abandon the view that the ability to violently dominate others is privilege, but rather define it as the ability to love and be loved. 100/10 best thing to ever happen to me.

p.s. there is so much wisdom sprinkled in that has nothing to do with gender dynamics too- this book helped me move away from simultaneous grandiosity and self-deprecation (both self-centered outlooks), embrace radical empathy in all contexts, and gain a greater understanding of intersectionality and our current domination ethic

p.p.s. One major caveat to this book, which everyone that I've spoken to has agreed on, is that much like many leftist like to reduce things entirely to class, hooks seems to explain every social phenomena through gender. It could be me misinterpreting her examples when they're supposed to be prototypical, but that's how most people seem to interpret her writing nonetheless. Her thoughts on religion were also somewhat confusing and seemingly contradictory.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

tmchopra's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bookdragon137's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

A great work. An antidote to the disillusionment with men it’s easy to feel when faced with the rising misogyny in the world today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Misogyny

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

The Will To Change is an important introduction to the place of men in feminist and gender equity movements. hooks' sympathy for the male experience under patriarchy is critical to the fight against it, as the obvious statement that men suffer under rigid and chaffing expectations and that men need support is a radical one in some supposedly feminist spaces. Additionally, hooks' writing style is very accessible; she expounds on complex topics in plain and straightforward language, which is a breath of fresh air when it comes to reading theory. That said, not all of her ideas still resonate (as this came out in 2004) - specifically, her conceptualization of gender and sexuality is a little too binary for my tastes, but overall, it was a good read, and extremely worthwhile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Racism, Sexual violence, and Classism

keijuhylly's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

itszosia's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, War, and Classism

tessjx's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Rape

numerous_bees's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

A good, if dated, introduction to the problems patriarchal societies cause men. Other reviewers have suggested that hooks' compassion towards men excuses male violence, but I think this is a book directed at men who need help identifying the source of their suffering and reassurance that making a change that sets them at odds with the world will be worth it. 

The author paints an attractive picture of a supportive and authentic masculinity and her criticism towards feminists who actively exclude men from the work of reimaginging a non-patriarchal society is an effort to put to bed the notion that feminism and man-hating are inextricably interwoven.

I think this is a good introduction to feminism for men, and a call for men to start the work of liberating ourselves from a system that sets us up to fail - though it would have benefited from a bibliography to aid with further reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence

ingabbjarna's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

mads_jpg's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

It can be very easy to feel like men are a lost cause when it comes to educating them on feminism, and why it's needed for both women and men. But this book was really informative about just how much men are affected by the patriarchy, and how much we need them in the feminist movement. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism