Reviews tagging 'Racism'

In Defence of Witches: Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet

7 reviews

justagremlin's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I liked the relation of the witch hunts and how they are still relevant today. It brings a modern view of a historical period. I also felt like several of the thoughts were relatable to my life, and it made me feel a little less alone in my thinking 

My only real criticism is that while the first three chapters have a main idea that is very clear, the fourth one isn’t as clear, but that’s a very very slight criticism because it was clear after a few segments. It’s also not super new or groundbreaking thoughts, but it does give things to think about. 

Recommend For: People interested in getting into feminist nonfiction. I say this because I am a newcomer to nonfiction in general.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

Medical Trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Toxic Relationship:

Some of these topics are discussed in detail while others aren't super graphic, however they are dicussed multiple times

Colonisation, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism:

Like before these subjects are dicussed often in this book.

madmantha's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

In Defense of Witches is a spectacular book. Truly spellbinding. So much information crammed in but it’s all very digestible. Never once did it feel like I was being talked down or lectured to. 

I highly suggest this book for anyone who might consider themselves a feminist or even just anyone who knows someone who identifies as a woman. (Which is nearly everyone!) 

Very great read, definitely worth the time. I highly suggest the audiobook as well!! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Torture

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

milliecybu's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.25

Disappointing in the end but the first half was gooddddd but then got super repetitive 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

_annika__'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

moraina's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

This book’s subject matter is great - a history of witch trials, and how they shaped our society’s view of women. Chollet tackles many feminist issues, including motherhood, relationships, aging and dying, healthcare biases, etc. She makes points that I hadn’t thought about before and uses relevant examples, especially in the medical section.

That being said, this book was an absolute slough to get through. With many references to magazines, movies, and books that I’d rarely heard of, I struggled to understand the illustrated point for much of the book. This book is also translated from French, so many of these references are probably quite relevant to French culture, but totally lost on an American reader. She did reference many American movies and authors as well, but many were from the 1980s or earlier, so again lost on a 25-year-old reader that doesn’t have an academic background on this subject.

Additionally, I did take issue with huge parts of the book being quotes from other works. My lack of understanding the references aside, I wanted to hear more of the author’s viewpoints or summaries of these works, rather than read paragraphs of quotations. It just felt like it really slowed the book down, and made it difficult to follow the structure and connections she was making between sections. I also agree with other reviews saying that there definitely is not a ton of information to learn about witch trials themselves, it’s more about why the witches of the past were treated the way they were, and how that has persisted in modern society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Classism

Trigger warnings aren’t necessarily graphic descriptions in this book, but are talked about in the context of and comparing to feminist issues and historical events.

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

Sorcières : La puissance invaincue des femmes by Mona Chollet attracted attention and sales in France when it was originally published in 2018. Now as In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial translated to English by Sophie R. Lewis in 2022. Countless pages later, almost 8 hours, (x2)— I ran into toil and trouble. A longer review on my blog. Thoughts, questioning some specific parts for accuracy, clarity, comparing a little with the French edition too. Unfortunately, it came out when I had other priorities, so languished on my TBR.  Bref, ignorez les best-sellers, ne vous forcez pas! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Antisemitism, and Lesbophobia

Discussion also includes ageism and age gaps along with instances of offensive language.

lydiavsbooks's review

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Mmmm yes.

A few favourite points: the villainisation of older women (aka, women who no longer serve a purpose to men): womens reproduction rights and women who are, voluntarily, childless; and the sexism and misogyny in medicine, particularly midwifery, stemming from the fear of 'witch' healers

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism