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A review by kevin_shepherd
Sex and the Single Woman: 24 Writers Update Helen Gurley Brown's Cult Classic for a New Era by Haley Swanson, Eliza Smith
4.0
Helen Gurley Brown’s proto-feminist, how-to classic, Sex and the Single Girl came screaming into existence in 1962. So did I. That means that both of us, that book/this body, will turn 60 this year. Trust me when I say this, neither of us has aged well.
I won’t go into the details of how homophobic, fat phobic and horrifically racist Brown’s book actually is (there’s a link to THAT review at the end of THIS review). But I will say that those who rated it five stars either A) never read it, or B) don’t remember the details of it, or C) are horrible, horrible people.
That said, this 2022 reimagining of Brown’s shallow homage to skinny, privileged, heterosexual, white women is a breath of rarified air. Herein are twenty-four essays from all those demographics that Brown either minimized, dismissed, insulted or completely ignored.
If your life doesn’t revolve around the plasticine imagery of ‘Housewife Gazette,’ or you weigh more than 8 stones (112 lbs), or your skin tone is something other than alabaster, or you happen to prefer the company of same sex housemates—read this [Sex and the Single Woman] and skip that [Sex and the Single Girl].
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A few of my favorite quotes
“”You need to look glamorous every minute,” writes Helen Gurley Brown, in a siren song from beyond the grave. I’m sure wherever she is now, she’s perfectly turned out: face spackled with Max Factor Pan-Cake makeup, wig sleek and glossy, Chanel suit tailored close to the bone, hunger pangs ignored, even in the afterlife.” ~Briallen Hopper (pg 116)
“Once, I dated a Pentecostal white guy. He said it was crucial that I was baptized again with only the name of Jesus. Not the trinity, or I wouldn’t get into heaven. He performed my second baptism, pushing me under the water, and then a few days later we f**ked in a sh*tty motel room near the interstate.” ~Tiana Clark (pg 170)
“Sex workers aren’t killed because sex work is inherently dangerous. A culture of shame and violent policing is what makes sex work dangerous. If a client had decided to rape me or force me to do things I didn’t permit, he would likely face no consequences. Because reporting it to the police would mean I would be arrested, or worse, assaulted again—by the police.” ~Xoài Pham (pg 206)
“I don’t know if I sleep better when I’m alone, but when I’m alone, I’m free to sleep poorly.” ~Seema Reza (pg 217)
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4586041697
I won’t go into the details of how homophobic, fat phobic and horrifically racist Brown’s book actually is (there’s a link to THAT review at the end of THIS review). But I will say that those who rated it five stars either A) never read it, or B) don’t remember the details of it, or C) are horrible, horrible people.
That said, this 2022 reimagining of Brown’s shallow homage to skinny, privileged, heterosexual, white women is a breath of rarified air. Herein are twenty-four essays from all those demographics that Brown either minimized, dismissed, insulted or completely ignored.
If your life doesn’t revolve around the plasticine imagery of ‘Housewife Gazette,’ or you weigh more than 8 stones (112 lbs), or your skin tone is something other than alabaster, or you happen to prefer the company of same sex housemates—read this [Sex and the Single Woman] and skip that [Sex and the Single Girl].
_________________________________
A few of my favorite quotes
“”You need to look glamorous every minute,” writes Helen Gurley Brown, in a siren song from beyond the grave. I’m sure wherever she is now, she’s perfectly turned out: face spackled with Max Factor Pan-Cake makeup, wig sleek and glossy, Chanel suit tailored close to the bone, hunger pangs ignored, even in the afterlife.” ~Briallen Hopper (pg 116)
“Once, I dated a Pentecostal white guy. He said it was crucial that I was baptized again with only the name of Jesus. Not the trinity, or I wouldn’t get into heaven. He performed my second baptism, pushing me under the water, and then a few days later we f**ked in a sh*tty motel room near the interstate.” ~Tiana Clark (pg 170)
“Sex workers aren’t killed because sex work is inherently dangerous. A culture of shame and violent policing is what makes sex work dangerous. If a client had decided to rape me or force me to do things I didn’t permit, he would likely face no consequences. Because reporting it to the police would mean I would be arrested, or worse, assaulted again—by the police.” ~Xoài Pham (pg 206)
“I don’t know if I sleep better when I’m alone, but when I’m alone, I’m free to sleep poorly.” ~Seema Reza (pg 217)
__________________________________
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4586041697