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avsheppy's review
1.0
I was bought this book as a gift and told it was a seminal feminist text. I appreciate that it was radical for its time (in favour of cis het white middle class women of its time) but I could not get past the transphobia, racism, homophobia and exclusionary gender essentialism. I won’t be recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how to further our collective feminist movement for liberation, as it only highlighted the plight of a small number of privileged women and not our opportunities for communion with every ally of the feminist cause.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, and Lesbophobia
georginainvisablestring22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
rabbitrabbit's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
Written in the 70s, The Female Eunuch explores the opression of women in most areas of life. Whilst it is quite pessimistic, the fact that society has changed since it was written can be uplifting at times.
What I remember most about this book is that it sagged in the middle, with what felt like an extensive tangent about medieval marriage. The most enjoyable parts for me were the often unnoticed mental illness of housewives, and how the feminine body is used against women.
I felt that it tried to cover too many topics without too much to say about each, but it was an interesting read. So if you're interested in second wave feminism, or just feminist theory or history in general, give it a go.
What I remember most about this book is that it sagged in the middle, with what felt like an extensive tangent about medieval marriage. The most enjoyable parts for me were the often unnoticed mental illness of housewives, and how the feminine body is used against women.
I felt that it tried to cover too many topics without too much to say about each, but it was an interesting read. So if you're interested in second wave feminism, or just feminist theory or history in general, give it a go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Mental illness, Addiction, and Racial slurs
Minor: Homophobia
Use of f-----, r-------, n----- in quite a casual way.
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