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ReviewsSeptember Favorites
Hi! Not sure if there is any kind of recurrent post about monthly favorites, but I thought it would be fun to ask!
Did anyone have any reading stand outs from September?
I really enjoyed The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Rush. I'm at a cross roads with potential motherhood and my anxiety for the future of the planet, so appreciated reading about someone else's perspective on this. I'm a big fan of narrative non-fiction, this one was a nice blend of memoir, the history of exploration of Antarctica (and the male dominance of this), plus what the scientist are finding out about climate chance from the melting ice.
Hoping there's some interest in maybe having a monthly thread to discuss what was memorable!
Definitely feminist. Its whole premise is entirely sex-based, no gender woo whatsoever.
In fact, it provided an early mini-peak for me. I read it shortly after it came out, loved it, sought out the author’s Twitter, and was absolutely baffled to see her getting attacked for “not being trans-inclusive.” It made zero sense to me, as up until then, I was still under the impression that everyone acknowledged sex is fixed and gender is a nebulous feeling. That was also my first-ever exposure to the term “TERF.”
Feminist. Lots of great info on the oppression/erasure of women, referring to adult human female women. Biology is a major component.
Yes, indeed. Sex, not just gender, is at the heart of much of what she documents--such as the lack of female crash test dummies. She takes women's lives--including their embodied lives--seriously. That having been said, I have no idea where she stands on trans issues.
She couldn’t possibly have researched and written a whole book on female erasure and exclusion and not think “gender” is total bullshit. The misogyny of males claiming womanhood when they have faced none of the hurdles females have cannot be lost on her.
She opens up a chapter with gender neutral bathrooms and how they just create 2 spaces for men. That section alone reveals what she really thinks imo. It’s probably also a big reason people suspect she’s a terf.
Yeah all that logic, research and the audacity to talk about female anatomy....she must be a terf 😁
I agree. Perhaps the fact she never talks about trans reveals her feelngs.
Definitely feminist! I quote it when I need to demonstrate to people (mostly men) what women are facing, in terms of what is just built into the system. The part about ploughing roads really stuck with me, regarding the unpaid labor of women taking children and elderly relatives to the dr (whereas snow ploughs prioritized the working house husband’s route)
Yes! That and the public transportation routes are things I never even thought of! Also, the part about piano keyboards being designed for men and their larger handspans made me feel so validated about not being able to play certain chords!
Absolutely! Recognizing that sex differences exist and how women have been harmed and even killed because these differences have been ignored is definitely feminist.
I think it's also a great book to help open others' eyes to the misogyny embedded in our societies. Depressing and angering, but absolutely worth the read.
I hope everyone has seen this thread:
Sort of answers the question, really.
I like the book. Some of the chapters are laboured but you kind of expect that in a popular researched book. She centres sex differences and it's a powerful book for highlighting the invisible biases that favour men in the world.
Have you a link for the controversy surrounding the author? I'm a bit nosey.
Oh, the controversy I was referring to was regarding Rebecca Solnit, not Caroline Criado Pérez. As for controversy surrounding Solnit, I believe this thread does a good job at showing that off.
Phew! Thanks. Pérez struck me as a decent sort who discovered the value of a feminist perspective through actual research. I enjoy her newsletters.
I read it a while ago so I can't recall, but if there was any gender nonsense, it was a quick acknowledgement at best before moving on. Definitely feminist, modern classic imo.
Definitely feminist! I love the book.