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blmonahan's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, it took me forever to read this book. I left it in the car and would read three page snippets while waiting for my children to finish whatever activity they had going on.
But now I am done and I will be lending this to a friend and then to another friend and then to get another friend. Because good friends lend good books about feminism to other friends.
But now I am done and I will be lending this to a friend and then to another friend and then to get another friend. Because good friends lend good books about feminism to other friends.
novacha's review
5.0
It represents feminism perfectly; it's not about hating men like some people assume it is.It's about equality and being treated the same way as men get treated .All of these women perfectly reflect of how they deal with unequality in politics,jobs or just at home. It's such an inspiration for young women like me with stories about grandmas already fighting for their rights back in the days and it shows that we shouldn't stop because we will be heard if we keep it up.
ria_mhrj's review
4.0
This book was fascinating - a bit like conversing with 50 smart, opinionated ladies and being awed by their smarts. This was thought provoking and frustrating and funny and the next time someone starts a conversation with me about feminism I will have much fuel for discussion.
bibliobethreads's review
4.0
I attended a meeting recently in London for The Fawcett Society which campaigns for equal rights for women in the UK on issues such as pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics. The meeting featured talks by popular authors Kate Mosse and Lisa Appignanesi, both of whom were truly inspirational and we had an opportunity to buy their books afterwards over drinks and nibbles, obviously an opportunity I jumped at! Fifty Shades of Feminism appealed to me immediately as it features short essays from fifty women all from different cultures, religions and professions on what feminism means to them personally.
Generally speaking, the book was fantastic although certain essays spoke more to me than others, but they were all interesting and it was fascinating to read all their points of view. It was only after I finished the book that I realised that feminism and equality for women is still such a real issue today obviously enough for some developing countries where religion and culture may be an issue, but certainly still today in Western society. Equality is STILL a huge problem in certain industries, some of which may be a surprise like in the literary world, but others like law and politics perhaps less so and where women are sorely under-represented.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a bit of a myth or stereotype about feminism in that we are all butch, angry man-haters. Yes, there will always be extremes of the scale but this book proves the stereotype completely wrong. There’s something for everyone in this book and it ranges in emotion from melancholy and serious to very humorous. Jeanette Winterson writes a very funny piece on the porn industry for example which had me chuckling and shaking my head in disbelief at the same time. Jane Czyzselska, the editor of Diva magazine wrote a wonderful piece about the stigma she receives for being a heterosexual-looking lesbian which proves that prejudice is rife even within the gay community. I was a bit shocked by this particular article and perhaps a bit naïve as I did not think that this sector (who are often subject to gross mistreatment themselves) would be so discriminatory.
Other favourites included Sandi Toksvig’s essay which explored the reasons why women continue to wear high heels that cause them pain and rip their feet to shreds and the final entry written by Alice Stride who won a competition to write a short piece for the book. She wrote a short rant about how she convinced her younger sister not to shave off all of her pubic hair just to make it more appealing to men. It was hilarious, poignant and very, very honest and I challenge anyone to read it on public transport while maintaining a straight face. I failed miserably of course!
This is a book I will definitely be keeping and it’s the sort of book that you can just dip in and out of at your own leisure. It was only after I had finished it that I realised that equality for women is still a contentious issue and we need to carry on fighting for the female sex not only here, but round the world so that we are no longer seen as “the second” and inferior sex. My only slight niggle is that I would have loved to see a few opinions from men for comparison and because I realise there are some wonderful male feminists out there who support the cause. Apart from that, it’s a brilliant read that I would recommend to anyone interested in the topic and for all young girls everywhere as a must read.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
Generally speaking, the book was fantastic although certain essays spoke more to me than others, but they were all interesting and it was fascinating to read all their points of view. It was only after I finished the book that I realised that feminism and equality for women is still such a real issue today obviously enough for some developing countries where religion and culture may be an issue, but certainly still today in Western society. Equality is STILL a huge problem in certain industries, some of which may be a surprise like in the literary world, but others like law and politics perhaps less so and where women are sorely under-represented.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a bit of a myth or stereotype about feminism in that we are all butch, angry man-haters. Yes, there will always be extremes of the scale but this book proves the stereotype completely wrong. There’s something for everyone in this book and it ranges in emotion from melancholy and serious to very humorous. Jeanette Winterson writes a very funny piece on the porn industry for example which had me chuckling and shaking my head in disbelief at the same time. Jane Czyzselska, the editor of Diva magazine wrote a wonderful piece about the stigma she receives for being a heterosexual-looking lesbian which proves that prejudice is rife even within the gay community. I was a bit shocked by this particular article and perhaps a bit naïve as I did not think that this sector (who are often subject to gross mistreatment themselves) would be so discriminatory.
Other favourites included Sandi Toksvig’s essay which explored the reasons why women continue to wear high heels that cause them pain and rip their feet to shreds and the final entry written by Alice Stride who won a competition to write a short piece for the book. She wrote a short rant about how she convinced her younger sister not to shave off all of her pubic hair just to make it more appealing to men. It was hilarious, poignant and very, very honest and I challenge anyone to read it on public transport while maintaining a straight face. I failed miserably of course!
This is a book I will definitely be keeping and it’s the sort of book that you can just dip in and out of at your own leisure. It was only after I had finished it that I realised that equality for women is still a contentious issue and we need to carry on fighting for the female sex not only here, but round the world so that we are no longer seen as “the second” and inferior sex. My only slight niggle is that I would have loved to see a few opinions from men for comparison and because I realise there are some wonderful male feminists out there who support the cause. Apart from that, it’s a brilliant read that I would recommend to anyone interested in the topic and for all young girls everywhere as a must read.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
losthitsu's review
4.0
A wonderful idea and equally well executed, the one missing star is just a reminder anthologies like this would benefit greatly from having a wider multi-cultural reach. Feminism is not just a matter of Western Europe and Americas with a couple of Indian, Arab and Chinese ladies thrown into the mix for good measure, and especially as the book was compiled within the UK, it's a shame that not even the huge Polish minority was asked for their voice.
pardysf's review
4.0
A good friend got this for me for Christmas because she knows I like puns and feminism! This book is an awesome collection of feminists from all walks of life, exploring the myriad of reasons why we all need feminism in our lives. It's an easy way to get exposed to different thoughts and experiences that I quite frankly will never experience. We should all be feminists: but how we do so is up to us.
hayley_bopp's review
3.0
Not exactly a page-turner or a particularly entertaining read but there were some thought-provoking pieces.