Nice analysis of what has confused me for a long time: the idea that succumbing to objectification is somehow "empowering" for the modern woman.
The chapter on gender variance, bois, and transmen is a bit disappointing, though. She seems to discount the idea that there could be transmen who really are trans, not just women who hate that they're female and want to switch to the dominant team for the perks.
Reviews and Comments
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maco rated Unclutter your life in one week: 4 stars
maco rated Barefoot in Baghdad: 5 stars
maco reviewed Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy
Meet the Female Chauvinist Pig—the new brand of “empowered woman” who wears the Playboy bunny …
Review of 'Female Chauvinist Pigs' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Sovay by Celia Rees
In 1794 England, the rich and beautiful Sovay, disguised as a highwayman, acquires papers that could lead to her father's …
maco reviewed Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce, is the second novel in a fictional trilogy, Provost's Dog, about …
Review of 'Bloodhound' on 'Goodreads'
Another mystery threatens everything, and of course Beka's the Dog to sniff it out. With fewer friends to help her out through most of it, this time though. Very impressive!
Also:
Wow, a mainstream book that has queer characters who just kinda happen to be queer. It's not a book that advertises this fact or sits in the LGTBQ-interest part of the bookstore. They're just regular characters, like real life. There's a gay police chief and his transgender lover.
maco reviewed Women Don't Ask by Sara Laschever
Review of "Women Don't Ask" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Read it. Definitely read it. I handed my copy off to another woman I know within 12 hours of finishing reading it, because you absolutely must read it. If you're a woman, you work with women, you manage women, you are managed by a woman, you have a wife, or you have a daughter: READ IT!
The statistics and research are very interesting and demonstrate the high impact of how we're socialised from a young age and how that can limit or expand successes throughout our lives. Throughout, there is advice on how to mitigate or undo some of the damage socialisation has done. There's also a bit on how women's negotiation styles can actually work better than men's--if the other person has the same style.
Review of 'An Introduction to Quakerism (Introduction to Religion)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Very informative! After reading this book, the names of all the various branches of Quakerism in the US are much less confusing. It also answers why nowadays Quakers don't usually dress historically-plain and have colours and art.
maco rated A Quaker Book of Wisdom: 5 stars
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use …
Review of "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace - One School at a Time" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
It can be a little over-praisey of Mortenson, especially given the financial issues CAI's had with him. Turns out he's not very good at accounting.
While some say it's an example of cultural imperialism or colonialism, I find a couple things redeeming against that:
1. Many charities today would have you believe that giving free stuff to people in poor countries is how to help them. It's not. When our old clothes are donated to people in an impoverished country, it just puts the country's textile workers out of business. The country loses the capacity to produce clothing, and the people lose jobs. That's not helping; that's hurting. The thing that is done differently in this book is that only money is imported to the country. The money is paid to local businesses, so the money multiplier effect can take place within the local economy. Not only does a school …
It can be a little over-praisey of Mortenson, especially given the financial issues CAI's had with him. Turns out he's not very good at accounting.
While some say it's an example of cultural imperialism or colonialism, I find a couple things redeeming against that:
1. Many charities today would have you believe that giving free stuff to people in poor countries is how to help them. It's not. When our old clothes are donated to people in an impoverished country, it just puts the country's textile workers out of business. The country loses the capacity to produce clothing, and the people lose jobs. That's not helping; that's hurting. The thing that is done differently in this book is that only money is imported to the country. The money is paid to local businesses, so the money multiplier effect can take place within the local economy. Not only does a school result, but it should also help strengthen the local economy.
2. The first school that gets built is not the first thing to be built. The people tell Mortenson that a bridge would be more useful. Thankfully, he actually listens to them instead of railroading.
maco reviewed The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (Gemma Doyle, #3)
At Spence Academy, sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle continues preparing for her London debut while struggling to …
Review of 'The sweet far thing' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Wow. So many times, reading this book, I was struck by how positively horrid the life of a well-brought-up lady in high society was back then. Particularly if she had the audacity to think! From the lips of the girls in the school "ladies can't be detectives, we haven't the constitution." The narrator makes it very clear that women are prizes to be won, like a fine piece of art--and their thoughts and feelings matter about as much as a piece of art's too.
The entire book is plot-twists, deception, trust...all muddled up. The ending is unguessable, and I can't decide if it quite counts as a happy ending or not. Though many characters escape high society's constraints, I'm not altogether sure that any of them really gets what they ultimately want.
maco rated Princess Academy: 4 stars
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (Princess Academy (1))
While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected …
maco reviewed Salman Rushdie by David Smale
The Booker Prize-winning Midnight's Children (1981) marked a decisive commercial and critical upturn in Salman …
Review of 'Salman Rushdie' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A winding story surrounding a Bangladeshi and an Indian (Bombay) actor. One, Gibreel, believing himself and potentially becoming the angel Gibreel (Gabriel); the other Saladin becoming a devil. The line between reality and fiction is blurred to the point that it ceases to exist. It brings the same question as "1984": if everyone believes something to be true, does that make it true? If everyone believes a religious event to have occurred, did it? If everyone believes a girl to be a prophet, is she?
maco reviewed Magyk by Angie Sage (Septimus Heap ;)
After learning that she is the Princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried …
Review of 'Magyk' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Cute story. I really liked how there'd be silly tangents and jokes in the middle of the adventure.
maco reviewed Terrier by Tamora Pierce
Terrier is a young adult fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the …
Review of 'Terrier' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
What an interesting twist, that George Cooper comes from a long line of Provost's Dogs! Though his mother shouldn't be surprised about him consorting with thieves, given his 6-times-great-grandmother did just as well when she was a Puppy.
Yet another great fantasy mystery from Tamora Pierce. I particularly liked the diary style, and the fact that she managed to include foreshadowing in that style was quite surprising!
What an interesting twist, that George Cooper comes from a long line of Provost's Dogs! Though his mother shouldn't be surprised about him consorting with thieves, given his 6-times-great-grandmother did just as well when she was a Puppy.
Yet another great fantasy mystery from Tamora Pierce. I particularly liked the diary style, and the fact that she managed to include foreshadowing in that style was quite surprising!