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tiakiwi's review against another edition
5.0
Minor: Racism, Colonisation, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Hate crime, Abortion, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Classism, Trafficking, Murder, Miscarriage, Islamophobia, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Genocide
nat_montego's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Body shaming
kingrosereads's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
margaridams's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Homophobia, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Misogyny, and Islamophobia
samdalefox's review against another edition
2.75
I feel it necessary to say: I love Mona Eltahawy. I love her blog, her newsletter 'Feminist Giant' (which I highly recommend you sign up to), and I love her previous work on intersectional feminism. I fully support the core messages of this book. The reason I've scored 'Seven Necessary Sins' so low is because I think the writing style actually hinders the reader from fully grasping the revolutionary importance of her message. This is evidenced by two factors. One, even I, already an avid supporter who is familar with her work, found this book a slog to get through. Second, it is disappointingly obvious from reading other peoples' reviews that Eltahawy's points are often sailing right over their heads. This could have been easily rectified by cutting down on repetition and maybe giving each chapter a bit more structure, such as: subheadings, core messages, a 'how to practice this sin' ideas, or highlighting case studies. In its current form it reads like a rambling first blog draft where Mona is so caught up in her passion for fucking the Patriachy that it fails to sweep along the uninitiated. Also, please stop using the phrase 'put on notice', you're describing actions of resistance! What you are describing is no longer a warning, but the promised consequences of centuries of warnings. For those that find this book difficult I'd recommend reading this extremely short manifesto first ( Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto, by Cinzia Arruzza, Nancy Fraser, and Tithi Bhattacharya) then return to Mona's work.
Make no mistake. Each sin she discusses is vital, has solid rationale, and has glorious references. Each 'sin' is a chapter. My favourites are highlighted below.
- Anger
- Attention
- Profanity* - loved the case studies in this one, I was introduced to some amazing activists such as Stella Nyanzi
- Ambition
- Power* - loved the reframing of what power is/can be. I read this as supporting revolution rather than reform. E.g. don't aim to become the newest oppressors at the top of the hierachy, burn the hierachy to the ground a build a more equitable society recognising intersections of opporession and experience. I was introduced to the Demita Frazier and The Combahee River Collective Statement.
- Violence* - loved the examination of Mary Anne Franks's 'Optimal Violence'
- Lust* - personally enjoyed the bisexuality = rebellion shoutout. She also highlights the importance of Queerness in all its forms and the inclusion of trans WOC (women of colour, in particular Black and Muslim).
There are many quotable excerpts, below are some of my favourites:
“As a black woman, I always had to invent the power my freedom requires.” – June Jordan, Jamaican American poet.
“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” – Assata Shakur, founding member of the Black Liberation Army.
"We must teach girls to be free. We must teach girls that they have the right to live without fear of being interrupted, assaulted, insulted, or otherwise abused. We must teach gils to seek adventures and to be independent. And we must teach boys constraint. I hate that word, and I hate the idea of stamping out anybody's freedom, but if the freedom that boys are taught is that their right comes at the expenses of girls - which it does - then we are raising boys with the wrong lessons. We must teach boys that girls do not owe them time, attention, affection, or more; that the bodies of girls belong to girls, and that assaulting or abusing girls is wrong. Full stop." - Mona Eltahawy
"...the beating heart of any revolution must be the twin forces of consent and agency". - Mona Eltahawy
"Unless we impose on societal conciousness just how rife violence againist women is and how it is ordinary men who commit it - and not psychopaths - it will continue to benefit ordinary men." - Mona Eltahawy
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Islamophobia
angel_kiiss's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Abortion, Colonisation, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Trafficking
vaniavela's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Murder, and Misogyny
bobbijopmh's review
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Biphobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Suicide
richthegreat's review
4.25
The book is a bit frenetic and sometimes jumps around, but that seems to be exactly how Mona speaks in interviews and lectures.
I love her message, it is so bang on, her politics is beautiful to read.
That isn't to say I agree on all points, I think particularly in the Violence chapter that there is a more nuanced argument to be had there about the adoption and reclaiming of violence and how that might just be sort of out-patriarching the patriarchy, but still I found it really thought provoking.
Minor: Abortion, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia
tenar's review against another edition
2.75
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Religious bigotry and Torture