Niklas reviewed Everyday sexism by Laura Bates
Review of 'Everyday sexism' on 'LibraryThing'
5 stars
The only strange thing that I find about this book is that it's both epic and wondrous at the same time that it's extremely common and its contents permeates the lives of everyone I know, including myself.
The trees cannot often be seen because of the forest that's there.
I started following the @EverydaySexism account on Twitter about a year ago and have learned a lot about myself, how men work and - above all - how common it is for men to discriminate against women, and to sexually attack women, verbally and physically.
It's one thing to know this, but it is something else to realise it; I don't think I ever will, as I was born with penis. As such, the closest that I have come to being submitted to sexual discrimination is when I've stood up against sexism at the workplace.
Having said that, women are the target of 98% of all sexual violence, all over the globe. This book displays how women are targeted daily, through snide comments, groping, getting paid lower wages than men, being subjected to a plethora of offences from the minor to the major, in ways that men rarely are subjected to, but mainly commit.
The main three things, I feel, that this book addresses, are:
1. The fact that this pandemic is true and integrated into society in so many ways
2. It shows that one is not mad for recognising it, as one is not alone; there are so many reports from persons who have been subjected to daily sexualised abuse that all the "can't you take a joke?" are truly seen as the offenders, as they should be
3. It provides hope - it looks into what can be done, what has been done and what is being done.
The book is filled with hope, even though the contents are so depressing. But rather than focusing on the victims, this book is feministic; it focuses on the fact that all guilt, all "blame", if you will, should reside with the attackers, and not the persons who are being attacked.
Everything in this book is very well explained, and there are so many examples and good things in here, that I cannot possibly do it justice in a simple review. Buy it, read it, follow the project and better yourself. The book made me want to become a better person.