Shortlisted for The Green Carnation Prize 2014
‘This is not a fairytale. This is a story about how sex and money and power police our dreams.’
Clear-eyed, witty and irreverent, Laurie Penny is as ruthless in her dissection of modern feminism and class politics as she is in discussing her own experiences in journalism, activism and underground culture.
This is a book about poverty and prejudice, online dating and eating disorders, riots in the streets and lies on the television. The backlash is on against sexual freedom for men and women and social justice – and feminism needs to get braver.
Penny speaks for a new feminism that takes no prisoners, a feminism that is about justice and equality, but also about freedom for all. It’s about the freedom to be who we are, to love who we choose, to invent new gender roles, and to speak out fiercely against those who would deny us those rights. It is a book that gives the silenced a voice – a voice that speaks of unspeakable things.
At times I wondered if Laurie Penny was aware that there are women older than 30, and at other times I really appreciated how she worded things. Ultimately, I found myself more than a little bored - if you haven't spent two decades inhaling feminists writing, you may find this less generic than I did. More interesting books I've read lately include Sady Doyle's [b:Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why|29358401|Trainwreck The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why|Sady Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462722825s/29358401.jpg|49602049], Kameron Hurley's [b:The Geek Feminist Revolution|26114477|The Geek Feminist Revolution|Kameron Hurley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442933437s/26114477.jpg|46812613], and Roxane Gay's [b:Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body|22813605|Hunger A Memoir of (My) Body|Roxane Gay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449810298s/22813605.jpg|42362558], all of which were far more engaging and conveyed the authors' voice much more forcefully.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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22 August, 2017:
Finished reading
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22 August, 2017:
Reviewed