A review by ellenorange
Nasty Women by Laura Jones
4.0
Published by 404 Ink, this collection of essays illustrates the issues which are affecting women in the modern day West. The essays are expansive - covering everything from women's reproductive health to witchcraft. It testifies to the plurality of experience, with stories from women with completely different identities, with perspectives from women of colour and those from LGBTQ+ communities.
The stories that these women tell are enlightening and stand out examples are Jen McGregor's highly personal account of how her contraceptive has physically harmed her. This sense of believing you are protecting your body while in fact inadvertently damaging it is poignant through her letter writing style, scattered through her account of what happened. It is also a sharp reminder of how research into women's health and how we deal with this is appallingly poor.
There are a number of pieces which explore musical communities, particularly the punk rock scene, perhaps offering a slightly disproportionate perspective towards this - although since the book and writers are Scottish, this may be something that is more prevalent there. However, it is interesting to explore this scene as a microcosm for wider society.
The perspectives of women of colour are particularly interesting from exploring the importance of names to that of online spaces where people of colour can find representation and expand their communities. These essays were enlightening in highlighting the experiences of British women of colour, so often overlooked in conversations around race where American stories are the primary focus.
The book is short and each writer's style is refreshingly different. However, all converge around one central theme - 'nastiness'. What does it mean to be nasty? In what ways are women labelled as nasty? All of these writers are dealing with the issue of being too outspoken, committing practices others don't like, being in places others don't want them - ultimately all 'nasty' acts. The defining achievement of this is that it reminds us just how far we still have left to go in the fight for equality and is a must read for anyone who doesn't quite feel they understand the issues of modern feminism.
I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.
The stories that these women tell are enlightening and stand out examples are Jen McGregor's highly personal account of how her contraceptive has physically harmed her. This sense of believing you are protecting your body while in fact inadvertently damaging it is poignant through her letter writing style, scattered through her account of what happened. It is also a sharp reminder of how research into women's health and how we deal with this is appallingly poor.
There are a number of pieces which explore musical communities, particularly the punk rock scene, perhaps offering a slightly disproportionate perspective towards this - although since the book and writers are Scottish, this may be something that is more prevalent there. However, it is interesting to explore this scene as a microcosm for wider society.
The perspectives of women of colour are particularly interesting from exploring the importance of names to that of online spaces where people of colour can find representation and expand their communities. These essays were enlightening in highlighting the experiences of British women of colour, so often overlooked in conversations around race where American stories are the primary focus.
The book is short and each writer's style is refreshingly different. However, all converge around one central theme - 'nastiness'. What does it mean to be nasty? In what ways are women labelled as nasty? All of these writers are dealing with the issue of being too outspoken, committing practices others don't like, being in places others don't want them - ultimately all 'nasty' acts. The defining achievement of this is that it reminds us just how far we still have left to go in the fight for equality and is a must read for anyone who doesn't quite feel they understand the issues of modern feminism.
I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.