liralen's review
2.0
The concept of this book is great - who among us hasn't heard a woman (or, for that matter, a man) complain about her weight/shape or dress as quickly as possible in a corner?
Unfortunately, the author didn't deliver. Although I appreciated how quick a read it was, this book was also a very light read, with insufficient research and methods that wouldn't get past a decent peer review.
Goldman spent her "research" hours sitting in the locker room of her upscale gym, pretending to paint her fingernails or read a magazine while eavesdropping on (and eyeing) other women. Her observations are interesting and to some extent ring true, but she's hardly an objective writer, and her "witticisms" and revelations generally felt more like complaints - for example, the (free) razors that her gym handed out were not great (Oh! The horror!) when compared to a fancier razor bought at the store. (I... I'm sorry your fancy gym isn't fancy enough for you?) The book would have benefitted greatly from more range - perhaps Goldman could have ventured outside her gym, for example, and talked to women at the YMCA, or perhaps she could have conceded the point that wearing a pregnancy belly for an afternoon does not tell somebody who has never been pregnant how it actually feels to be pregnant (never having been pregnant myself, this is conjecture, but I suspect that it's fairly accurate nonetheless).
Read it if you want an easy read or if you like the opportunity to shout at your book in annoyance. Don't read it if you're looking for anything resembling good research or objectivity.
Unfortunately, the author didn't deliver. Although I appreciated how quick a read it was, this book was also a very light read, with insufficient research and methods that wouldn't get past a decent peer review.
Goldman spent her "research" hours sitting in the locker room of her upscale gym, pretending to paint her fingernails or read a magazine while eavesdropping on (and eyeing) other women. Her observations are interesting and to some extent ring true, but she's hardly an objective writer, and her "witticisms" and revelations generally felt more like complaints - for example, the (free) razors that her gym handed out were not great (Oh! The horror!) when compared to a fancier razor bought at the store. (I... I'm sorry your fancy gym isn't fancy enough for you?) The book would have benefitted greatly from more range - perhaps Goldman could have ventured outside her gym, for example, and talked to women at the YMCA, or perhaps she could have conceded the point that wearing a pregnancy belly for an afternoon does not tell somebody who has never been pregnant how it actually feels to be pregnant (never having been pregnant myself, this is conjecture, but I suspect that it's fairly accurate nonetheless).
Read it if you want an easy read or if you like the opportunity to shout at your book in annoyance. Don't read it if you're looking for anything resembling good research or objectivity.
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