Status
Available
Publication
London : Ebury, 2012.
Description
Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them? Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother. With rapier wit, Moran slices right to the truth--whether it's about the workplace, strip clubs, love, fat, abortion, popular entertainment, or children--to jump-start a new conversation about feminism. With humor, insight, and verve, How To Be a Woman lays bare the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues not only for women today but also for society itself.… (more)
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Media reviews
The joy of this book is just that: the joy. What Moran is really arguing for is more female happiness. Women spend too much of their time worrying, beating themselves up, going along with time-wasting, restrictive, often expensive, sexist mores. The triumph of How To Be A Woman is that it adds to
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women's confidence. It reminds us that sexism, and all that is associated with it, is not only repressive, it is tedious and stupid. It is boring. Best give it a body swerve and get on with having fun Show Less
book
Great job author, I really like your writing style. I suggest you join N0velStar’s writing competition, you might be their next big star.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rivkat
I had the impression that this was the British cesperanza, and having read the book I don’t think I’m wrong. Profane and lushly detailed about bodily functions and the terrifying process of becoming a woman (in Thatcherite Britain specifically, but also more generally), the book is hilarious
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and gleefully over the top. I have a rule of thumb that allows me to judge— when time is pressing and one needs to make a snap judgment— whether some sexist bullshit is afoot. Obviously it’s not 100 percent infallible but, by and large, it definitely points you in the right direction. And it’s asking this question: “Are the men doing it? Are the men worrying about this as well? Is this taking up the men’s time? Are the men told not to do this, as it’s “letting our side down”? Are the men having to write bloody books about this exasperating, retarded, time-wasting bullshit? Is this making Jon Stewart feel insecure?” Show Less
LibraryThing member JessicaReadsThings
I. Love. This. Book. Why? Well, let's start with all the reviews I've read of it. This is a love it or hate it book, so lots of 5 star and lots of 1 star reviews. The best part, all of the reviews, high or low, intelligently (or at least thoughtfully) explain the reasons for the love or the hate.
Second, I love that this book makes me feel that I am normal. That I might just be a woman and not have known it for a while. I don't have it all together; I'm only beginning to figure out how to look at myself in a mirror without seeing a list of problems to fix. But, I have done things, and fixed things, and learned things, and have tried to take some of my share back from the patriarchy, dammit. I AM A STRIDENT FEMINIST. Regardless of whether I like handbags and shoes and the occasional frilly accessory. And that's what I love about this book. What I devoured it within a span of 20 hours. My problem with those one star reviews is that they are taking this thing way too seriously. Why can't feminism be fun? Why can't feminism be full of inappropriate language and some flat-out bitching, and revelation of our inner lives?
One of the seemingly most contentious parts of this book, according to reviews, is not the frank discussion of the positive consequences of an abortion, or the chapter about the subtle sexism that just happens without people immediately realizing it's happened until, suddenly, you're faced with the thought that, hey, maybe that was sexism. No, instead, the most controversial part of the book seems to be the discussion about women's need to have something to call their lady bits. Which, quite frankly, is a discussion I feel like I've been having since 8th grade. But I love that this is what is causing 1 star reviews. This says, to me, that the other, arguably more 'feminist' parts of the book are regarded not as controversial, but as discussions we should already be having.
This book is not going to be for everyone. Moran's writing is in your face, often includes curse words, frank discussions of sexuality, body hair, and employs a great deal of all-caps, exclamation-pointed fragments. But I do hope it is something every woman would be willing to read, if for no other reason than to hate it and disagree with everything Moran says. Because that is where feminism truly is, isn't it? In the formation, discussion, and ownership of one's opinions and the belief that these opinions matter.
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AND ALL OF THOSE REASONS HAVE TO DO WITH FEMINISM. We are discussing feminism. On Goodreads. How can that be anything but good. Second, I love that this book makes me feel that I am normal. That I might just be a woman and not have known it for a while. I don't have it all together; I'm only beginning to figure out how to look at myself in a mirror without seeing a list of problems to fix. But, I have done things, and fixed things, and learned things, and have tried to take some of my share back from the patriarchy, dammit. I AM A STRIDENT FEMINIST. Regardless of whether I like handbags and shoes and the occasional frilly accessory. And that's what I love about this book. What I devoured it within a span of 20 hours. My problem with those one star reviews is that they are taking this thing way too seriously. Why can't feminism be fun? Why can't feminism be full of inappropriate language and some flat-out bitching, and revelation of our inner lives?
One of the seemingly most contentious parts of this book, according to reviews, is not the frank discussion of the positive consequences of an abortion, or the chapter about the subtle sexism that just happens without people immediately realizing it's happened until, suddenly, you're faced with the thought that, hey, maybe that was sexism. No, instead, the most controversial part of the book seems to be the discussion about women's need to have something to call their lady bits. Which, quite frankly, is a discussion I feel like I've been having since 8th grade. But I love that this is what is causing 1 star reviews. This says, to me, that the other, arguably more 'feminist' parts of the book are regarded not as controversial, but as discussions we should already be having.
This book is not going to be for everyone. Moran's writing is in your face, often includes curse words, frank discussions of sexuality, body hair, and employs a great deal of all-caps, exclamation-pointed fragments. But I do hope it is something every woman would be willing to read, if for no other reason than to hate it and disagree with everything Moran says. Because that is where feminism truly is, isn't it? In the formation, discussion, and ownership of one's opinions and the belief that these opinions matter.
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LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
06 Jul 2011
I'm not entirely sure what I thought about this book. A funny, observant but possibly slightly over-exaggerated memoir of poverty in Wolverhampton, rock writing in London and marriage; the parts on childbirth and abortion were excellently, very powerfully and affectingly done. The
It was very rude in places - I slightly blushed to read it on the bus - but I could see the background in Woman Words Mary Daly type stuff, in wishging to reclaim and celebrate certain words, Simone de Beauvoir made it de rigueur to talk about our Biology as Destiny - and, after all, I partly chose Germaine Greer's "Female Eunuch" as my Sixth Form prize for being Library Prefect because I had already read it and knew it was quite saucy about certain things, but I just wonder how people without a grounding in previous feminist writings will take this (which sounds pretentious, I know) and the research done on Twitter did make me giggle - surely some people just made that stuff up!
I'm glad someone's out there engaging with feminism, and it was a brave book (but amidst all the personal details I don't think we ever lost our virginity, even though we went through pretty well everything else with the author), but I would have liked that acknowledgement of Moran's near-contemporaries (like me!) and I do wonder if it's actually converted anyone to the Cause yet. But some great read-out-loud moments, too.
So, I still don't know what I thought about it, but I'm glad I read it.
I'm not entirely sure what I thought about this book. A funny, observant but possibly slightly over-exaggerated memoir of poverty in Wolverhampton, rock writing in London and marriage; the parts on childbirth and abortion were excellently, very powerfully and affectingly done. The
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feminist bits a) made assumptions about most women (planning weddings from the age of 5, always shopping, knowing what to buy) and b) preached about what to do in order to be a Good Feminist without acknowledging that - surely - many of her readers already would be.It was very rude in places - I slightly blushed to read it on the bus - but I could see the background in Woman Words Mary Daly type stuff, in wishging to reclaim and celebrate certain words, Simone de Beauvoir made it de rigueur to talk about our Biology as Destiny - and, after all, I partly chose Germaine Greer's "Female Eunuch" as my Sixth Form prize for being Library Prefect because I had already read it and knew it was quite saucy about certain things, but I just wonder how people without a grounding in previous feminist writings will take this (which sounds pretentious, I know) and the research done on Twitter did make me giggle - surely some people just made that stuff up!
I'm glad someone's out there engaging with feminism, and it was a brave book (but amidst all the personal details I don't think we ever lost our virginity, even though we went through pretty well everything else with the author), but I would have liked that acknowledgement of Moran's near-contemporaries (like me!) and I do wonder if it's actually converted anyone to the Cause yet. But some great read-out-loud moments, too.
So, I still don't know what I thought about it, but I'm glad I read it.
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LibraryThing member clfisha
The problem with this kind of book is that preaching to the converted can be boring so it helps that its a mix of memoir and polemic and Moran is one of the funniest women columnists out there, although I mostly just follow her tweets and giggle.
The memoir bits are good, she is funny but also
Still though sometimes I just got bored, its a bit too periodic in nature (each chapter dealing with a topic) and some topics were just alien to me, I feel no need to conform through clothes or work, I have no desire to go for a Brazilian and celebratory gossip passes me by.
So to be honest I usually wished she would get back to the memoir and therefore I cannot wholly recommend it, it’s often an interesting and fun book but your mileage might vary.
The memoir bits are good, she is funny but also
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brave and it helps she has had a very interesting life from her chaotic alternative childhood to becoming an award winning journalist. Ok so it's not a serious academic text, just one women's passionate opinion but agree or not they can be interesting.Still though sometimes I just got bored, its a bit too periodic in nature (each chapter dealing with a topic) and some topics were just alien to me, I feel no need to conform through clothes or work, I have no desire to go for a Brazilian and celebratory gossip passes me by.
So to be honest I usually wished she would get back to the memoir and therefore I cannot wholly recommend it, it’s often an interesting and fun book but your mileage might vary.
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LibraryThing member ecataldi
I loved everything about this book! Caitlin Moran is one of those people that you just want to be friends with because she writes so well that you can relate with her! Reading each page was a joy and literally laugh out loud funny. I know some people don't agree with her brand of feminism saying
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it's not all politically kosher and she's making fun of it, but I disagree. I found it refreshing! She wasn't talking down to readers or even preaching, she just used her hilarious life stories to discuss modern day feminism. From the fashion industry to weddings to abortions, this book covers a plethora of topics. After finishing this I immediately put her second book on hold at the library. Her writing style is just too damn funny and her stories stick with you. An all around great read. Show Less
LibraryThing member KatyBee
Very funny, very insightful - a lovely, fresh, true-life view on feminism from Caitlin Moran, mid-thirties British columnist. If you don't buy into all the crazy things that women think they need to do or be - or if you thought Bridget's Jones' Diary was great - or if you feel like laughing a bit
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at a smart bit of writing - give this one a read. Show Less
LibraryThing member atreic
A loud funny feminist book that made me look back and reflect on how much time has passed since Caitlin was growing up in the 80's. So many things have changed for the better, so many things haven't changed, and there are things where I can't even work out if they've changed or not, or whether I
Caitlin manages to write a book that is 100% confident. She is funny, readable, likeable, and honest, I broadly greatly agree with her, and even in the bits where I'm finding myself going 'well, it's all a bit more complicated than that, isn't it?' I admire her clear sightedness and her commitment to her own opinion and her cause. She manages to talk about her own love for her children as the most wonderful thing that has happened to her, and still demand women can live colourful and meaningful lives without children.
I thought I was pretty educated on feminism 101, and I enjoyed the book but didn't find many things in it I hadn't encountered before (except for a rant about Katie Price that was more than I wanted to know about her, and is definitely one of the more dated bits of the book). But Caitlin talking honestly about her own abortion, in a 'I have two kids, I'm happily married, I didn't want a third kid, it didn't leave me guilty for years, I made the right decision' way felt very personal and honest, and an area that doesn't get spoken about enough.
This is not your book for intersectionality - Caitlin knows a lot about the world, and the patriarchy, but mostly the bits of the world you get running around London in the 1990s music scene, where if you feel pressured to buy a £500 handbag you can do it and regret it, and where you genuinely do meet lots of women with plastic surgery - but it is a good part of the tapestry of 'things some women do' and 'things some women feel' and 'what might be wrong with the world that this happens'
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have just changed my own understanding of them.Caitlin manages to write a book that is 100% confident. She is funny, readable, likeable, and honest, I broadly greatly agree with her, and even in the bits where I'm finding myself going 'well, it's all a bit more complicated than that, isn't it?' I admire her clear sightedness and her commitment to her own opinion and her cause. She manages to talk about her own love for her children as the most wonderful thing that has happened to her, and still demand women can live colourful and meaningful lives without children.
I thought I was pretty educated on feminism 101, and I enjoyed the book but didn't find many things in it I hadn't encountered before (except for a rant about Katie Price that was more than I wanted to know about her, and is definitely one of the more dated bits of the book). But Caitlin talking honestly about her own abortion, in a 'I have two kids, I'm happily married, I didn't want a third kid, it didn't leave me guilty for years, I made the right decision' way felt very personal and honest, and an area that doesn't get spoken about enough.
This is not your book for intersectionality - Caitlin knows a lot about the world, and the patriarchy, but mostly the bits of the world you get running around London in the 1990s music scene, where if you feel pressured to buy a £500 handbag you can do it and regret it, and where you genuinely do meet lots of women with plastic surgery - but it is a good part of the tapestry of 'things some women do' and 'things some women feel' and 'what might be wrong with the world that this happens'
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LibraryThing member mairangiwoman
Yes, I agree that this was a great read and it's not often I laugh out loud while reading - am I choosing the wrong books?
But I agree with all the other people who have pointed out the discrepancies or disappointments after reading the entire book. Possibly better to read her columns or articles on
But I agree with all the other people who have pointed out the discrepancies or disappointments after reading the entire book. Possibly better to read her columns or articles on
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a one off basis. someone said the chapters were well honed - well some of them went on a bit too long! I did love most of it especially the reasons why one shouldn't bother with an expensive wedding. Show Less
LibraryThing member jody
To date, my feminist reading has been basic. Greer and French and a little Jong ... all women considerably older than myself. So Caitlin Moran, a 30 something, British feminist/journalist/mother certainly opened my mind up to what being a modern woman is like today. Albeit one with a slightly
As with most women writers of a suffragette nature, I don't agree with all she has to say(Greer as some interesting points to make, but she does tend to go the extreme), but Moran's chapters on bras and shoes are hilarious, so I forgive her more superfluous ideas(like tasting menstrual blood).
How To Be a Woman is not just feminist jottings though. It begins with Moran's childhood, packed with biographical memories and life-forming experiences that take her from a frumpy 13 year old to a confident, but not necessarily driven professional. As with all good feminists, she makes no apologies for any of her deci
sions or acts of lunacy. Thankfully! What she does do is entertain with a comically honest approach to life on the female side. If you don't take your liberation views too seriously, you'll certainly enjoy this book.
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twisted sense of humour!As with most women writers of a suffragette nature, I don't agree with all she has to say(Greer as some interesting points to make, but she does tend to go the extreme), but Moran's chapters on bras and shoes are hilarious, so I forgive her more superfluous ideas(like tasting menstrual blood).
How To Be a Woman is not just feminist jottings though. It begins with Moran's childhood, packed with biographical memories and life-forming experiences that take her from a frumpy 13 year old to a confident, but not necessarily driven professional. As with all good feminists, she makes no apologies for any of her deci
sions or acts of lunacy. Thankfully! What she does do is entertain with a comically honest approach to life on the female side. If you don't take your liberation views too seriously, you'll certainly enjoy this book.
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LibraryThing member mumfie
managed about 50 pages but gave up before I threw up. No wit, insight or anything remotely amusing.
LibraryThing member jan.fleming
Synopsis
1913 – Suffragette throws herself under the King’s horse.
1969 – Feminists storm Miss World.
NOW – Caitlin Moran rewrites The Female Eunuch from a bar stool and demands to know why pants are getting smaller. There’s never been a better time to be a woman: we have the vote and the
Why are we supposed to get Brazilians?
Should you get Botox?
Do men secretly hate us?
What should you call your vagina?
Why does your bra hurt?
And why does everyone ask you when you’re going to have a baby?
Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin Moran answers these questions and more in How To Be A Woman – following her from her terrible 13th birthday (‘I am 13 stone, have no friends, and boys throw gravel at me when they see me’) through adolescence, the workplace, strip-clubs, love, fat, abortion, TopShop, motherhood and beyond.
SCREAM! I loved this book, it is like spending an evening with your new, very funny/very clever,best friend.
This is a gloriously funny, witty memoir that will have you snorting with laughter within 5 mins. Let's be honest it is not going to become a academic tome of feminist philosophy but underneath all the jokes is a 'short, sharp feminist agenda'. Be happy in yourself and women stop falling for the lies the world tells us about what it is to be a woman - and as a result, start having a good time. ENDOV!!
"Because if all of the stories in this book add up to one single revelation, it is this: to just...not really give a shit about all that stuff. To not care about all those supposed 'problems' of being a woman. To refuse to see them as problems at all. Yes - when I had my massive feminist awakening, the action it provoked in me was...a big shrug," says Moran
1913 – Suffragette throws herself under the King’s horse.
1969 – Feminists storm Miss World.
NOW – Caitlin Moran rewrites The Female Eunuch from a bar stool and demands to know why pants are getting smaller. There’s never been a better time to be a woman: we have the vote and the
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Pill, and we haven’t been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain… Why are we supposed to get Brazilians?
Should you get Botox?
Do men secretly hate us?
What should you call your vagina?
Why does your bra hurt?
And why does everyone ask you when you’re going to have a baby?
Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin Moran answers these questions and more in How To Be A Woman – following her from her terrible 13th birthday (‘I am 13 stone, have no friends, and boys throw gravel at me when they see me’) through adolescence, the workplace, strip-clubs, love, fat, abortion, TopShop, motherhood and beyond.
SCREAM! I loved this book, it is like spending an evening with your new, very funny/very clever,best friend.
This is a gloriously funny, witty memoir that will have you snorting with laughter within 5 mins. Let's be honest it is not going to become a academic tome of feminist philosophy but underneath all the jokes is a 'short, sharp feminist agenda'. Be happy in yourself and women stop falling for the lies the world tells us about what it is to be a woman - and as a result, start having a good time. ENDOV!!
"Because if all of the stories in this book add up to one single revelation, it is this: to just...not really give a shit about all that stuff. To not care about all those supposed 'problems' of being a woman. To refuse to see them as problems at all. Yes - when I had my massive feminist awakening, the action it provoked in me was...a big shrug," says Moran
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LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
I picked up this book because of the promo which said it was "The British version of Tina Fey's Bossy Pants". The only problem is, it isn't. Far too much time is spent discussing her anatomy that by page 60 I was bored and not entertained. So I gave up. I suppose some of it is funny and made me
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laugh which is why the 2 stars, but it is not worth my time to finish the tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member liehtzu
Wow! Down-to-earth stuff that leaves preachy feminism (Nell McCafferty anyone?) in the dark ages. Here be women, real women. Brains and boobs and, ahem, "meat-pie" (read it, you'll be surprised too). Whatever next? Despite the black humour, earthy style and packed emotional content it relentlessly
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reminds one (or in my case, instructs) on the ingrained, cultural obstacles that make being a woman hard work in 2012. She doesn't depend on the academic rationales of a Greer or Klein to make huge philosophical arguments but emphasises the relative (and I mean this in a nice way) ordinariness of her life. It's kinda like being left-handed. The world doesn't mean to work against you, it bears you no ill will - well, nowadays anyway= that's just the way it is. Sorry about that. As Moran says, 10,000 years of patriarchy won't be overcome in a blink but I, for one, would welcome the job sharing proposals suggested at the end of her book; I've never been paint-balling and I think I deserve a break from the stresses of the brotherhood. Running the world is emotionally draining you know. Show Less
LibraryThing member knitwit2
Starts as a memoir ends as a feminist rant. The author tells a relatively funny story of her life growing up poor with all the requisite dark humor involved in the avoidance of self-pity. Fat, largely ignored by her family, and not an overachiever in the classroom she shares her travails with the
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reader. She ends by telling the story of her decission to have an abortion; this part didn't appeal to me as she went out of her way to tell the reader that not only she doesn't regret her decission she is thrilled with it. She makes some wonderful points about feminism but in somecases doesn't do herself any favors as she comes across cold and usually drunk. Show Less
LibraryThing member eenee
I wish she would've just stuck to telling me about her experiences instead of making poorly informed generalizations. It was occasionally funny, I'll give her that.
LibraryThing member thisisstephenbetts
"The UK'S version of Tina Fey's Bossypants" trumpeted the cover, and at halfway through the book I thought that was selling "How To Be A Woman" short. By the end, though, I thought that was probably fair. As indicated in its title, Moran's book sets itself out to be a modern manifesto on modern
I have no idea if this was due to fatigue or writer's block or rushing to deadline, but it felt to me like Moran had some great material to begin the book but then struggled to maintain that standard. I think that it would have benefited from Moran having really argued through the later material with people before commiting it to paper.
Perhaps another reason is that the first part corresponded to the earlier part of her life, which was generally more interesting than the later parts, dealing with a more settled and successful Moran. She was also perhaps rather too pleased that she hit it off with Lady Gaga.
All that said, the first half or so was very good. Her life has been interesting and unconventional and her descriptions of her family are particularly vivid. It's brave, honest (I think) and at times very funny. And she's a good writer - on occasion she has a cracking turn of phrase. (I don't like her use of upper case for emphasis - particularly later in the book where it seems to stand in for well-honed argument. To paraphrase: "this is my point of view that should be reasoned through carefully BUT INSTEAD SARKY HUMOUR IN ALL-CAPS FTW!")
So while I think it fails as a true manifesto of "strident feminism", as too many of the arguments are insufficiently supported, taken as a whole it still seems to me a valid and worthwhile approach to how to live one's life as a modern-day strident feminist.
And all that said - I've written more about this book than most, so that indicates that I feel it's worthy of some attention.
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feminism, explored through stories of Moran's life. Some of the thoughts on feminism are coherent, well-reasoned and practical. But unfortunately, the parts on feminism get less compelling as the book goes on, until by the end it does just feel like a memoir. It's a shame, as I thought the first half was terrific.I have no idea if this was due to fatigue or writer's block or rushing to deadline, but it felt to me like Moran had some great material to begin the book but then struggled to maintain that standard. I think that it would have benefited from Moran having really argued through the later material with people before commiting it to paper.
Perhaps another reason is that the first part corresponded to the earlier part of her life, which was generally more interesting than the later parts, dealing with a more settled and successful Moran. She was also perhaps rather too pleased that she hit it off with Lady Gaga.
All that said, the first half or so was very good. Her life has been interesting and unconventional and her descriptions of her family are particularly vivid. It's brave, honest (I think) and at times very funny. And she's a good writer - on occasion she has a cracking turn of phrase. (I don't like her use of upper case for emphasis - particularly later in the book where it seems to stand in for well-honed argument. To paraphrase: "this is my point of view that should be reasoned through carefully BUT INSTEAD SARKY HUMOUR IN ALL-CAPS FTW!")
So while I think it fails as a true manifesto of "strident feminism", as too many of the arguments are insufficiently supported, taken as a whole it still seems to me a valid and worthwhile approach to how to live one's life as a modern-day strident feminist.
And all that said - I've written more about this book than most, so that indicates that I feel it's worthy of some attention.
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LibraryThing member Ridley_
Has an appalling case of unpacked privilege. Dropping "tranny" and "retard" in this book is just the tip of her shitty iceberg.
Newsflash: feminism that doesn't advocate for ALL women is no better than patriarchy.
Newsflash: feminism that doesn't advocate for ALL women is no better than patriarchy.
LibraryThing member melissarochelle
Yes. This is the book I've wanted to read. A book that is a funny memoir with reminders of how we are all feminists! Damn it.
Of course, I didn't know I wanted to read it until I started reading it and I kept wanting to discuss EVERYTHING I read with someone else. It's the first time I was truly
There were a few occasions where I had to Google something very British - Sindy, Katie Price, The Wombles - but I like to learn about other cultures, so that was fun. And the Olympics are in London and happening now so I felt like I was more involved in the whole Anglophile thing, you know?
Great read. Now I must find out more about Caitlin Moran.
Of course, I didn't know I wanted to read it until I started reading it and I kept wanting to discuss EVERYTHING I read with someone else. It's the first time I was truly
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upset to not be in a book club and also that I was borrowing it from the library because I wanted to underline everything.There were a few occasions where I had to Google something very British - Sindy, Katie Price, The Wombles - but I like to learn about other cultures, so that was fun. And the Olympics are in London and happening now so I felt like I was more involved in the whole Anglophile thing, you know?
Great read. Now I must find out more about Caitlin Moran.
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LibraryThing member snat
Quite an uneven reading experience, a fault I largely blame on the marketing of this book. How to Be a Woman is touted as basically "Feminism--now with jokes!" And that's a concept that I could get onboard with. I would consider myself a feminist, I would consider myself moderately amusing at
This was reaffirmed when I heard an NPR interview with Caitlin Moran. She spoke intelligently about a variety of topics facing women and was very humorous in doing so. She sounded like someone I would like: funny, self-deprecating, and smart.
So did the book live up to my expectations? Not so much. The main reason is that instead of a funny feminist manifesto, the book is basically a memoir that should have been titled How to Be Caitlin Moran. Not that that is a bad thing as I still find Moran likable, but I generally do not like memoirs. I was expecting a book of ideas. And there are wide swaths of Moran's life that I simply can't relate to. Other than the chapter I Am a Feminist!, there's surprisingly little feminism in the book other than sprinkling the term "strident feminist" in some seemingly incongruous places (such as "But what am I wearing, now? As a strident feminist, how am I dressed?" [202] in the chapter I Get Into Fashion!). As though there's some sort of feminist dress code? It may be simpler to split this up into what I did and did not like about the book, so without further ado:
What I Did Like About the Book
1. From the chapter on feminism, Moran presents a simple test for discovering whether or not you're a feminist: "So here is the quick way of working out if you're a feminist. Put your hand in your underpants. a. Do you have a vagina? and b. Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said 'yes' to both, then congratulations! You're a feminist" (75). She makes the point that almost every woman in the Western world is a feminist, whether they like being associated with that "dirty word" or not. Even women who say they're not feminists are enjoying the fruits of feminism as there was a time when a woman wasn't allowed to have an opinion, let alone express it. Being in charge of one's reproductive rights is a much larger issue than that of abortion. Deciding for yourself if you want to have one child, fifteen children, or none at all, thank you very much, is a right women haven't traditionally had before. Being able to say "enough already" is certainly a right women should be thankful for as so many women who came before us dropped a kid yearly, preferably sometime between clearing away the breakfast dishes and making supper.
2. Moran's funny, unapologetically irreverent take on everything. I didn't always agree with her views, but admired that she had the daring to say them. If there's one thing you can't claim, it's that she's inauthentic.
3. Her chapter on marriages. Weddings have become a ridiculously high-priced event that generally makes everyone involved miserable.
4. The extremely honest chapter about her own experience with abortion. Agree or disagree with abortion, so many make up their mind without having lived through it or, you know, asking the women of a society what they think. Reading about it from a personal level brings up some interesting points for thought and reflection.
5. Moments like this: "This is the first time I've really been out in the world and met adults. Previously, all my socializing took place on the dance floor and in the bathroom of the Raglan, a tiny dark pit populated by fringed, boot-wearing teenagers: essentially a playpen with a bar. Our innocence was obvious--it shone in our faces the same way our teeth glowed white under the UV light. Yes, people were having sex, and fighting, and spreading rumors, and taking drugs--but it was essentially like tiger cubs knocking each other around, claws velveted. We were all equal. There was no calculation or recrimination. Everything was forgotten after a nap" (117). I just like that.
What I Did Not Like About the Book
1. Dear GOD!!!!! I did not like all of the FREAKING UNNECESSARY CAPITALIZATION that made me feel like I was reading an unhinged TEENAGER'S DIARY!!! And for the love of all that is punctuation, would someone please remove the exclamation mark from Moran's keyboard? Early in the book, I thought this was just an affectation meant to show how the teenage Moran thought and felt; however, it continued, unrelentingly throughout the entire book. Every single chapter title ended with an exclamation.
2. There were some squirm worthy moments: I did not enjoy reading about Moran's early experiences with menstruation. I did not enjoy the suggestion that one should taste one's menstrual blood. I did not enjoy the suggestion that one should name one's vagina and one's breasts. Granted, I'm the type of person who perpetually lives in fear of TMI--Caitlin Moran clearly does not.
3. The suggestion that Lady GaGa is a feminist and should be placed upon a pedestal. To me, a feminist icon should be one who presents ideas. GaGa strikes me more as someone who is reaping the benefits of feminism, but not adding much new to the conversation. She is definitely a polarizing lightning rod, but more in the realm of image and sexuality. She definitely confronts and shatters stereotypes, but beyond that adds little to the conversation.
4. The fact that there's so little feminism in a book supposedly about feminism.
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times, and I would consider myself a fan of Caitlin Moran's white streak in her wild mane--a bit reminiscent of the 90's version of Rogue. So, yes, let's do this! I want to feel empowered as a woman, I want to laugh, and I want to rewatch the X-Men cartoons on Netflix!This was reaffirmed when I heard an NPR interview with Caitlin Moran. She spoke intelligently about a variety of topics facing women and was very humorous in doing so. She sounded like someone I would like: funny, self-deprecating, and smart.
So did the book live up to my expectations? Not so much. The main reason is that instead of a funny feminist manifesto, the book is basically a memoir that should have been titled How to Be Caitlin Moran. Not that that is a bad thing as I still find Moran likable, but I generally do not like memoirs. I was expecting a book of ideas. And there are wide swaths of Moran's life that I simply can't relate to. Other than the chapter I Am a Feminist!, there's surprisingly little feminism in the book other than sprinkling the term "strident feminist" in some seemingly incongruous places (such as "But what am I wearing, now? As a strident feminist, how am I dressed?" [202] in the chapter I Get Into Fashion!). As though there's some sort of feminist dress code? It may be simpler to split this up into what I did and did not like about the book, so without further ado:
What I Did Like About the Book
1. From the chapter on feminism, Moran presents a simple test for discovering whether or not you're a feminist: "So here is the quick way of working out if you're a feminist. Put your hand in your underpants. a. Do you have a vagina? and b. Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said 'yes' to both, then congratulations! You're a feminist" (75). She makes the point that almost every woman in the Western world is a feminist, whether they like being associated with that "dirty word" or not. Even women who say they're not feminists are enjoying the fruits of feminism as there was a time when a woman wasn't allowed to have an opinion, let alone express it. Being in charge of one's reproductive rights is a much larger issue than that of abortion. Deciding for yourself if you want to have one child, fifteen children, or none at all, thank you very much, is a right women haven't traditionally had before. Being able to say "enough already" is certainly a right women should be thankful for as so many women who came before us dropped a kid yearly, preferably sometime between clearing away the breakfast dishes and making supper.
2. Moran's funny, unapologetically irreverent take on everything. I didn't always agree with her views, but admired that she had the daring to say them. If there's one thing you can't claim, it's that she's inauthentic.
3. Her chapter on marriages. Weddings have become a ridiculously high-priced event that generally makes everyone involved miserable.
4. The extremely honest chapter about her own experience with abortion. Agree or disagree with abortion, so many make up their mind without having lived through it or, you know, asking the women of a society what they think. Reading about it from a personal level brings up some interesting points for thought and reflection.
5. Moments like this: "This is the first time I've really been out in the world and met adults. Previously, all my socializing took place on the dance floor and in the bathroom of the Raglan, a tiny dark pit populated by fringed, boot-wearing teenagers: essentially a playpen with a bar. Our innocence was obvious--it shone in our faces the same way our teeth glowed white under the UV light. Yes, people were having sex, and fighting, and spreading rumors, and taking drugs--but it was essentially like tiger cubs knocking each other around, claws velveted. We were all equal. There was no calculation or recrimination. Everything was forgotten after a nap" (117). I just like that.
What I Did Not Like About the Book
1. Dear GOD!!!!! I did not like all of the FREAKING UNNECESSARY CAPITALIZATION that made me feel like I was reading an unhinged TEENAGER'S DIARY!!! And for the love of all that is punctuation, would someone please remove the exclamation mark from Moran's keyboard? Early in the book, I thought this was just an affectation meant to show how the teenage Moran thought and felt; however, it continued, unrelentingly throughout the entire book. Every single chapter title ended with an exclamation.
2. There were some squirm worthy moments: I did not enjoy reading about Moran's early experiences with menstruation. I did not enjoy the suggestion that one should taste one's menstrual blood. I did not enjoy the suggestion that one should name one's vagina and one's breasts. Granted, I'm the type of person who perpetually lives in fear of TMI--Caitlin Moran clearly does not.
3. The suggestion that Lady GaGa is a feminist and should be placed upon a pedestal. To me, a feminist icon should be one who presents ideas. GaGa strikes me more as someone who is reaping the benefits of feminism, but not adding much new to the conversation. She is definitely a polarizing lightning rod, but more in the realm of image and sexuality. She definitely confronts and shatters stereotypes, but beyond that adds little to the conversation.
4. The fact that there's so little feminism in a book supposedly about feminism.
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LibraryThing member Secret7
I need to read this again and again. Brilliant.
LibraryThing member elleceetee
My bookclub chose How To Be A Woman as one of the monthly reads. I must say that I was not excited to read this - my bookclub has chosen several young, female, funny-woman memoirs as monthly reads and I didn't love any of them. I'd say that this one was a cut about some of the others that we read.
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There are parts of this that ring to true and are so funny. In particular, I enjoyed her chapters about sex, pornography, feminism, love and children. I thought her two chapters on children (entitled : Why to Have Children and Why Not to Have Children) were particularly powerful in that she tells her honest account of her birth story and her abortion. This is the first book to make me learn to use the highlight feature on my kindle. However, it was also intensely uneven. Her chapter about Lady Gaga felt more like the squee of a fan girl, and her concluding epiloque also was also less funny and less compelling. Still, in the genre of funny-woman memoirs, I liked this and enjoyed reading it. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
It's an interesting read that I nearly missed.
The title nearly stopped me reading this. It sounds prescriptive. How Caitlin became a Woman would be possibly better, or a variation thereof. This isn't about being a woman but about Caitlin's philosophy on life, at least some of which I agree with.
"As I have said, in the same way that you can tell if some sexism is happening to you by asking the question 'Is this polite, or not?', you can tell whether some misogynisstic societal pressure is being exerted on women by calmly enquiring, 'And are the men doing this, as well?'
If they aren't, chances re you're dealing with what we strident feminists refer to as 'some total fucking bullshit'"
and there's a lot of it around. This book is excellent at looking at some of the bullshit and calling it just that, but she makes the error of assuming that if it's like this for her, then that's how it should be for everyone.
However, I loved her opinion on shoes, bags and clothes (Word!) and it was refreshing to see someone else who has some of the same opinions as me about a lot of this stuff.
Her milestones aren't my milestones, I'm me, this is not a prescription for everyone but it is a refreshing change to some of the everywoman loves pink, shoes and cute because of biology rubbish that's out there.
The title nearly stopped me reading this. It sounds prescriptive. How Caitlin became a Woman would be possibly better, or a variation thereof. This isn't about being a woman but about Caitlin's philosophy on life, at least some of which I agree with.
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The one quote that I really, really liked is:"As I have said, in the same way that you can tell if some sexism is happening to you by asking the question 'Is this polite, or not?', you can tell whether some misogynisstic societal pressure is being exerted on women by calmly enquiring, 'And are the men doing this, as well?'
If they aren't, chances re you're dealing with what we strident feminists refer to as 'some total fucking bullshit'"
and there's a lot of it around. This book is excellent at looking at some of the bullshit and calling it just that, but she makes the error of assuming that if it's like this for her, then that's how it should be for everyone.
However, I loved her opinion on shoes, bags and clothes (Word!) and it was refreshing to see someone else who has some of the same opinions as me about a lot of this stuff.
Her milestones aren't my milestones, I'm me, this is not a prescription for everyone but it is a refreshing change to some of the everywoman loves pink, shoes and cute because of biology rubbish that's out there.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
After a sketchy start, I eventually decided that I love this book.
The beginning made me...well, just uncomfortable. All those bad words, and that intimate stuff about teenage discoveries and the attendant angst. Then there was the bit about those bad words, and one word in particular, that we
And then I started laughing. This book is really hilarious. Laugh out loud funny, as cliched as that is. Even the generous use of capitalization and exclamation marks, something that normally drives me batty, were funny, very tongue-in-cheek. Funny enough to keep me completely entertained while the author segued to the serious stuff with hardly a notice by me. The chapter on abortion was not funny but was so soul-baringly honest that I found it very touching.
The message is especially important too. I am probably not mainstream audience for this book, being older (and not British) so I didn't get some of the references. And I've heard most of this feminism stuff before and am old enough to not take the accomplishments of early feminists lightly. Nothing terribly enlightening in this book. What is wonderful is that all of this, all the feminist stances and those that seem almost the opposite of feminism, were strung together in such a smart, funny, and, against all odds, respectful way.
I don't always have the same opinions as the author, but most of them are spot-on from my point of view. I recommend this book for anyone able to deal with bad language, explicit descriptions, and a great deal of honesty.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.
The beginning made me...well, just uncomfortable. All those bad words, and that intimate stuff about teenage discoveries and the attendant angst. Then there was the bit about those bad words, and one word in particular, that we
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should claim back, that we should desensitize. I'm talking language that I never heard until I was well into adulthood, that I could not even consider uttering in front of my mother.And then I started laughing. This book is really hilarious. Laugh out loud funny, as cliched as that is. Even the generous use of capitalization and exclamation marks, something that normally drives me batty, were funny, very tongue-in-cheek. Funny enough to keep me completely entertained while the author segued to the serious stuff with hardly a notice by me. The chapter on abortion was not funny but was so soul-baringly honest that I found it very touching.
The message is especially important too. I am probably not mainstream audience for this book, being older (and not British) so I didn't get some of the references. And I've heard most of this feminism stuff before and am old enough to not take the accomplishments of early feminists lightly. Nothing terribly enlightening in this book. What is wonderful is that all of this, all the feminist stances and those that seem almost the opposite of feminism, were strung together in such a smart, funny, and, against all odds, respectful way.
I don't always have the same opinions as the author, but most of them are spot-on from my point of view. I recommend this book for anyone able to deal with bad language, explicit descriptions, and a great deal of honesty.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.
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LibraryThing member PennyAnne
This book surprised me - for some reason I was not expecting a semi-serious feminist treatise (I knew nothing about the author before picking up this book). But having said that I found this book to be witty, engaging and thought provoking. I loved that Germaine Greer is one of her heroes as she
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has always been one of mine. I loved that Moran is basically arguing for people to treat each other with politeness which, if it happened, would instantly advance the cause of women everywhere. 'Feminism' seems to have become a dirty word in some quarters and I think this book could do a lot to change that - the author's modern, humorous views may be just what is needed to get women to acknowledge that yes, they are feminists, and proud of it! Show Less
LibraryThing member scubasue59
The memoirs are brilliant, absolutely hilarious, but the critique I found often laborious - I couldn't wait to get on to the next memoir.
Subjects
Awards
British Book Award (Winner — Book of the Year — 2011)
Irish Book Award (Winner — 2011)
Language
Original publication date
2011-06-16
Physical description
312 p.; 20 cm
ISBN
9780091940744