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bookie936's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
biblioeuphoria's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
livingblurr's review against another edition
fast-paced
0.75
We discussed Ms.Adichie’s work in my AP English class in regards to the struggles Nigeria faces today and while she is undeniably someone who has an immense talent in regards to writing, I found this book to be lacking true substance as an entity.
After reading a chunk of it for an assignment, I had purchased the physical version and I was excited to read it with the idea that I would be introduced to feminism through a new, perhaps more intersectional approach but sadly, I found quite the opposite to be the case.
Ms. Adichie heavily relies on a heteronormative approach when discussing her idea of “feminism” since there is a continuous theme of marriage always subsequently present due to her cultural upbringing. It does not focus on the power imbalance caused by misogyny perpetuated within a broken system ran by the patriarch but much rather on the extra workload the women takes on. Which in itself is important to acknowledge but treating the symptoms in itself will not effectively rid society as a whole of the gender bias set up over hundreds of decades.
Additionally, the concept of “gender” and “sex” are constantly mingled and used as synonyms when they are not - sex describes the biological gender one presents with as birth whilst gender is an individual expression of your identity.
Further drawing from my point, I found the constant usage of “female” uncomfortable as it degraded women to something as shallow as their sex, which they are not, and appeared to have a certain bias against non cis-women.
Again, she mentioned that “Gender and class are different” but did not provide further insight on how they correlate in regards to intersectional feminism as they need to coexist in order to understand that socioeconomic status matters a lot.
It is plainly a very simple introduction to feminism that boils down to “stereotypes bad!!! We need change but men are not the source of all evil!!! But here!! More stereotypes!”
The fact that the author is a terf makes this unrecommandable
The fact that the author is a terf makes this unrecommandable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
kharlagrace's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
every single page i just said “that part”
carolinebl's review
informative
fast-paced
Adichie writes and speaks eloquently. Every section was purposeful and correct! However, this book is definitely an entry-level feminist text, so for me it felt too straightforward/simple. I’m perhaps not the target audience.