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caitlyn888's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like this book is ahead of its time in terms of the chapters on sexuality and identity politics. I found some of the ideas she presents challenging, but as she mentions, it might be due to where we are currently at in our patriarchal society and the battles we're facing in this moment. This book definitely left me with a lot to think about.
teebird's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant.
Will be absorbing and thinking about this for ages.
Can’t wait to read more of what Emer puts out into the world
Will be absorbing and thinking about this for ages.
Can’t wait to read more of what Emer puts out into the world
not_always_hope's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
hollydunndesign's review against another edition
5.0
As a feminist and theatre studies major Emer O’Toole is perfectly placed to write this exploration of what it means to be and to perform as a woman in today’s society. Largely autobiographical, this book looks at the things that we do in order to be the ‘right sort of woman’ and what happens when we deviate from this. A lot of this book has to do with hair: short hair, long hair, hidden hair, body hair. Most of these were arguments that I had heard before (really it all comes down to nature vs. nurture and asking why certain things, including hair, are gendered) but O’Toole takes them beyond hypotheticals and into a real-world context with her own experiences and experiments. Early on in the book she tells of how one Halloween she decided not to dress in one of the outfits prescribed for women (sexy witch, sexy superhero, sexy - and I’m not even kidding - Chewbacca) and instead dresses as a boy. In assuming a different identity for that night she learns a great deal about how the sexes interact, her male friends even ‘squaring up’ when she approached, before realising who she was. For this episode she has her long hair hidden beneath a hat, but at other times in the book she has short or even a shaved head. The most interesting part though, is when she experiments with not shaving any part of herself for a year and the reactions that she gets from people around her. This book has certainly changed the way I look at myself and made me question why I do certain ‘gendered’ things, like wear make-up, shave my legs and very occasionally wear high heels. This thinking has also caused a minor existential crisis, but in a good way, (I think). I tweeted this to the author and she said she was glad to have “reduced [me] to existential confusion!”
zovisnap's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
yekelekey's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant and hilarious as well as educational. Emer articulates everything that you feel about and towards the patriarchy but can't verbalise yourself. Will be one of those books I read over and over again!
alyssalindz's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0