Thursday, May 5, 2016

Suicide Reviews: How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

 How to Be a Woman 

Synopsis: Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them?

Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother. With rapier wit, Moran slices right to the truth - whether it's about the workplace, strip clubs, love, fat, abortion, popular entertainment, or children - to jump-start a new conversation about feminism. With humor, insight, and verve, How to Be a Woman lays bare the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues not only for women today but also for society itself. 

Date Published: June 16, 2011
Published By: Ebury Press
Number of Pages: 312
Rating: 5/5

I have discovered a new feminist heroine in Caitlin Moran. In How to Be a Woman she examines and completely eviscerates all of the societal expectations that women are beholden to. She burns the patriarchy to the ground with a knowing smirk. And she invites everyone (women and men) to join her.

This book didn't just make me laugh - it made me shriek with laughter so often that I'm sure the neighbours thought I was keeping a hyena in my basement. Moran is so adept at painting absurd scenes that you can't help but get the giggles. And everything she writes is just so true. Whether she's pointing out the torturous lengths women go to in order to look 'stylish' or waxing lyrical about the wonders of having pubic hair, I find myself nodding along because I too have had these thoughts - but not been able to give voice to them. So I am eternally grateful for Moran's voice - one that is hilarious, insightful, and irreverent

 This book makes me want to kick down doors, smash the patriarchy, and just get out and do shit. I want to run wild and free and not be held back just because I have a vagina. Hopefully, if enough people read Moran's book, we can create a world where those born with vaginas aren't held back anymore. Maybe, just maybe, we can stop being treated like women - and start being treated like the human beings we actually are. 





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