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A review by river24
How Was It for You? by Eve Smith
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
3.75/5
I am so grateful that this book exists and that I get to read from a lived experience that I would likely otherwise never get to. I loved how witty and engaging this memoir was, I loved how the author's passion and anger shone through.
However, I found that there were some negatives to this book as well. As with most memoirs, we are reading an extremely personal account of someone's life and ideology, and therefore there will almost always be aspects that we disagree with as well.
I thought it extremely insightful in most areas about sex work; about the awful stereotypes perpetuated on TV; about the radical feminists who don't actually care about sex workers' opinions on their own livelihood; and about the fact that we need to fight for decriminalisation and safety for all sex workers. But there were also parts I didn't wholly agree with and that I thought were sometimes hypocritical, I think there was some internalised misogyny and internalised classism that was never addressed or thought as critically upon. What mostly concerned me, though, were the genuinely dangerous situations the author witnessed others in and simply walked away from. I know these situations can be a lot more difficult and nuanced than others could ever imagine, but I couldn't help but feel that there were times when it was vital not to walk away. But, as the reader, we could only follow where she went.
I don't want to get too specific about these situations as I think this book deals with some very heavy themes and I don't want to thrust those upon other people without the sufficient warnings. (Please check the content warnings!)
But, overall, I think this book is a very important one and, although flawed, I think there is a lot to learn from it. It definitely forces the reader to confront any prejudices or biases they might have had, whether they realised it or not. It challenges a lot of the institutionalised prejudice that is built into our laws and our media. I gained a lot from reading this and that is why I think this is such a fascinating read. I'm very grateful that the author chose to share her experiences.
I am so grateful that this book exists and that I get to read from a lived experience that I would likely otherwise never get to. I loved how witty and engaging this memoir was, I loved how the author's passion and anger shone through.
However, I found that there were some negatives to this book as well. As with most memoirs, we are reading an extremely personal account of someone's life and ideology, and therefore there will almost always be aspects that we disagree with as well.
I thought it extremely insightful in most areas about sex work; about the awful stereotypes perpetuated on TV; about the radical feminists who don't actually care about sex workers' opinions on their own livelihood; and about the fact that we need to fight for decriminalisation and safety for all sex workers. But there were also parts I didn't wholly agree with and that I thought were sometimes hypocritical, I think there was some internalised misogyny and internalised classism that was never addressed or thought as critically upon. What mostly concerned me, though, were the genuinely dangerous situations the author witnessed others in and simply walked away from. I know these situations can be a lot more difficult and nuanced than others could ever imagine, but I couldn't help but feel that there were times when it was vital not to walk away. But, as the reader, we could only follow where she went.
I don't want to get too specific about these situations as I think this book deals with some very heavy themes and I don't want to thrust those upon other people without the sufficient warnings. (Please check the content warnings!)
But, overall, I think this book is a very important one and, although flawed, I think there is a lot to learn from it. It definitely forces the reader to confront any prejudices or biases they might have had, whether they realised it or not. It challenges a lot of the institutionalised prejudice that is built into our laws and our media. I gained a lot from reading this and that is why I think this is such a fascinating read. I'm very grateful that the author chose to share her experiences.