nerdberger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
lilbroccoli's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this collection of essays about words used to diminish women. Each essay takes a word that has been used against its author, explores it, and then many of the essays go on to reclaim the word. This collection is important, and it will definitely make me examine my unconscious bias and use of some of these words going forward. Lots of food for thought.
aregan's review against another edition
4.0
Like any anthology there are some I loved and some that were not my favorite. The best part of short stories is if you don't love it you do not have to read (or in my case listen) for too long. My absolute favorite was "Nurturing". Overall I enjoyed the collection of stories and would recommend, it made me think about words we use to describe others and the deeper meaning and impacts they may have.
samanthadilley's review
5.0
I went into this one thinking it was something very different and I couldn’t be happier I was wrong! This was such a great selection of essays on the words used against those who consider themselves a woman. There isn’t a way that every situation or type of individual could be included but this did a great job spanning many races, body types, sexuality, etc. Highly recommend the audiobook!
hannah_bierbaum's review against another edition
3.0
While I appreciated certain chapters (especially those which spoke to me personally, the book as a whole felt disjointed. I appreciate the various viewpoints provided by authors of different ages, sexual orientations, races, experiences, but certain chapters seemed to wander. The chapters "Too" by Adaora Odoji and "Effortless" by Amy S. Choi would be good readings for high school entry to women and gender studies.
laleha's review against another edition
4.0
I will now share the following collection of gems that I transcribed from this enjoyable collection of essays on being anything that defies the status quo while female.
“I was and am driven by relentless curiosity. I wonder about everything all the time. I ask endless questions because the world fascinates me. And this has made me very, very good at my job” by Adaora Udoji (0:40:40).
“To make our arguments heard, in debate and in public discourse, our voices must first and foremost give comfort to men. The way we learn to combat being called a harpy is by having gummy smiles and shiny hair and a general aura of being ever eager to please as if we were golden retrievers, not equals” (1:51) from “Shrill” by Dahlia Lithwick.
“I want people to be better people, even if that means they have to do hard things. And I would like to be better as well” (5:00) from “Nurturing” by Raquel D’Apice.
“As if pink, and tulle, and lace, and other accoutrements of pretty were inherently disempowering. They are not. They don’t have to be. And that’s a lesson that does not apply only to literal girls. It applies to me. Sometimes I feel pretty. Sometimes I wonder what took me so long” (5:17) from “Pretty” by Stephanie Burt.
“I was and am driven by relentless curiosity. I wonder about everything all the time. I ask endless questions because the world fascinates me. And this has made me very, very good at my job” by Adaora Udoji (0:40:40).
“To make our arguments heard, in debate and in public discourse, our voices must first and foremost give comfort to men. The way we learn to combat being called a harpy is by having gummy smiles and shiny hair and a general aura of being ever eager to please as if we were golden retrievers, not equals” (1:51) from “Shrill” by Dahlia Lithwick.
“I want people to be better people, even if that means they have to do hard things. And I would like to be better as well” (5:00) from “Nurturing” by Raquel D’Apice.
“As if pink, and tulle, and lace, and other accoutrements of pretty were inherently disempowering. They are not. They don’t have to be. And that’s a lesson that does not apply only to literal girls. It applies to me. Sometimes I feel pretty. Sometimes I wonder what took me so long” (5:17) from “Pretty” by Stephanie Burt.
krissy_reads's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I wish everyone would read this before ok. So insightful!
somepoeticsomething's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
sarhslbr's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
2.5
womens history month <3