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A review by emi_dilli
Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard
3.0
A fun lighthearted read with some references to modern politics, media, and classical literature. Mary Beard writes in an engaging, chatty way. The style feels like halfway between blog and academic essay.
The book feels very much Eurocentric and British-centric. There are some fleeting references to Rwanda and Black Lives Matter, then Diane Abbott MP in the Afterword, but only really in passing. Much more attention is given to Lysistrata, Clytemnestra, and Medusa. Even then, her arguments are more literary inference than a critique of how social structures operate.
As an avid reader of medieval and ancient literature, I was a little disappointed at how surface-level much of the writing was. I knew all of her classical references already - little was new to me. Mary Beard discusses extremely well-known political figures and events. She generalises about “our” culture and “our” experience, when in fact gender is experienced entirely differently across cultures and gender identity. Her writing lacks a genuine engagement with the intersections of women’s experiences.
The book feels very much Eurocentric and British-centric. There are some fleeting references to Rwanda and Black Lives Matter, then Diane Abbott MP in the Afterword, but only really in passing. Much more attention is given to Lysistrata, Clytemnestra, and Medusa. Even then, her arguments are more literary inference than a critique of how social structures operate.
As an avid reader of medieval and ancient literature, I was a little disappointed at how surface-level much of the writing was. I knew all of her classical references already - little was new to me. Mary Beard discusses extremely well-known political figures and events. She generalises about “our” culture and “our” experience, when in fact gender is experienced entirely differently across cultures and gender identity. Her writing lacks a genuine engagement with the intersections of women’s experiences.