Review: Red Clocks, Leni Zumas

I tend to resist buying hardcovers, mostly because I’m cheap, but it can be a real struggle. I was an only child for 18 years so I’m all about immediate gratification. As an adult, I deny myself nothing. Hardcover books create a sort of perfect storm in me; I want to read this book, but I would like to do it for about 15 bucks cheaper. When I buy a hardcover, it’s because the premise is just too enticing. Pro tip: hardcovers are always cheaper online 😀

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: The premise of Red Clocks frightens me because of its possibility but it comforts me by illustrating how we would resist such a future. Leni Zumas’s writing style is unique and enveloping and her story will hold onto you until the very end.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: Each chapter begins with the title of one of the women, such as The Biographer or The Mender (with the exception of Eivør; her chapters are differentiated from the others by font). I noticed right away that the women were referred to by title rather than name (ex: “The daughter knew…” or “the wife’s jaw tenses”). It is not until later chapters that the women indirectly introduce each other by using another woman’s name in the context of her story (ex: the biographer might call on the daughter in class by name, or the wife might address the biographer and invite her for dinner).  I think this is a really compelling way of connecting the women and unifying their cause. They do not have the same agenda (one wants an abortion, one wants to be pregnant, etc.), but they want the same thing: autonomy over their own bodies and lives. By having the characters name each other, it brings them, and all women, together in the struggle for their basic human rights.

With a couple exceptions, the men in Red Clocks are pretty obnoxious. Susan’s (the wife) husband actually made me want to punch him when she comes home with the kids and he whines about having to make his own lunch. While that’s irritating, Ro’s (the biographer) fertility doctor is almost negligent in that he doesn’t think of testing her for a disease of which she exhibits symptoms until she asks him too. It is Gin (the mender) that brings this to Ro’s attention. These examples are not to say that men are entirely useless, but it does illustrate how often and in how many insidious ways a patriarchal system works against the best interests of women.

Perhaps most importantly, Zumas does not end her book with a happy little bow. SPOILERS AHEAD IN 3… 2… 1… Ro realizes she can’t be selfish and instead must support her frightened student carry out the choice Ro believes she has the right to make; Susan, after much agonizing, leaves her husband (who has the nerve to act shocked. Seriously want to punch that guy). This is not to say that the book ends on a negative note. The dust jacket copy asks the question, “what is a woman for?” The book quietly answers that question in the end, responding with: women are for a cause that will ensure it is no longer acceptable to ask that question.

Review: Sex Object, Jessica Valenti

I am the sort of person that can read a book, cover to cover, without damaging it. I do not dog-ear pages, I always tuck my book carefully into my bag, and I NEVER break spines. Everyone I know thinks this behaviour diminishes my enjoyment of a book because I’m too worried about putting a mark on it, but that’s not the case at all. I’m sure you will understand the gravity of the situation when I tell you that I accidentally banged the hell out of Sex Object. I was getting in the car and my bag got caught between the seat and a box and bent the crap out of the bottom of the cover. You want to know what diminishes my enjoyment of a book? Looking at the easily avoidable damage every time I pick it up. I’m sorry, book; I promise to fix you as best I can!

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: More biography than social commentary. Not a problem with the book, just not what I was expecting. Looking for biography? Read this. Looking for social commentary? Read Bad Feminist.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: The reviews I read for Sex Object, as well as the back of the book, told me it would explore “the toll that sexism takes on women’s lives, from the everyday to the existential.” This concept is why I bought the book. Unfortunately, I feel like it didn’t quite deliver. I knew it was a memoir but I feel like the social commentary fell to the wayside, especially in the last half of the book. That’s not a failing with the book but rather with how it was marketed.

While this book did not have an impact on me in the same way that something like The Beauty Myth did, I would still recommend it because of how Jessica Valenti speaks frankly about things women experience. For example, she talks about having multiple abortions and the difference between how she is supposed to feel and what she’s really thinking. She talks about having sex with men she’s not really interested in and why. She talks about pregnancy and motherhood and how she doesn’t feel the way women should feel after experiencing the miracle of life. It’s all very candid and I think that is absolutely necessary in feminist discourse. My issue is that I thought she would lend her experiences to the larger commentary and that never really happens.

Random musing: Most of the feminist books I’ve read lately make mention of militant feminists: women who tell you that you’re not doing feminism right. Roxane Gay talks about being intimidated by the sisterhood and Jessica Valenti talks about being relieved of her position at a website she founded when she got pregnant. Does anyone know any of these sorts of feminists? I feel like I hear about them a lot but I don’t know any of their names. I’d like to. I’d like to read a book by one of them. If you know of a feminist that would be described as “militant”, please comment below.

Review: Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay

TL;DR spoiler-free review: a collection of essays analyzing (pop) culture and what it means to be a feminist. Roxane Gay is insightful, funny, and brutally honest. Read also: Hunger.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: I think the best compliment I could give an author is to say that reading their book makes me want to seek out more of their work. I read Roxane Gay’s Hunger last year, which led me to Bad Feminist, which will soon lead me to one of her novels.

Writing style is something to which I always pay attention because it can give the reader a lot of insight. For example, Gay occasionally writes in short blunt sentences, which I find works well to convey her frustration. She also has this interesting way of doubling back on herself to emphasize her point. Consider the following from the chapter, “How to Be Friends with Another Woman”:

Don’t flirt, have sex, or engage in emotional affairs with your friends’ significant others. This shouldn’t need to be said, but it needs to be said. That significant other is an asshole, and you don’t want to be involved with an asshole who’s used goods. If you want to be with an asshole, get a fresh asshole of your very own. They are abundant.

It is obvious, toward the end of the paragraph, that she’s frustrated, not only because this has to be said, but also because there is an abundance of assholes with which to deal. I chose this quote because it is an excellent example of how she repeats herself, but not in a redundant way. “This shouldn’t need to be said, but it needs to be said” is a poetic way of saying “things should be one way but they are another.” This stylistic choice shows up a bit in this book and a lot in Hunger and I find it so compelling how she is able to say two things while using the words to say only one.

These essays were written for a variety of sources over time and later compiled into Bad Feminist. Structurally, Gay gathers her articles under several subject headings (Gender & Sexuality, Race & Entertainment, Politics, Gender & Race, and Me). I’m always a bit torn on compilations like this. On one hand, I like that the essays are relatively short and give me a brief look into her opinion on an array of issues, but on the other hand, I would have really enjoyed a deep dive into a few specific topics. Regardless, I enjoyed this book because she is always insightful, her wit is razor-sharp, and her humour is my kind of dry.

What stays with me most is the concept of what it means to be a feminist. Gay says that she used to believe that feminists were man-hating. bra-burning, sexless, angry women and turned away from the label because she didn’t want to be identified with those characteristics. This is such a clever trick of the patriarchy; turn the movement meant to liberate women against them. Gay goes on to say things like “Pink is my favorite color”, “I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically”, and “I know nothing about cars.” Do these things make her a bad feminist? Lately I have wondered what kind of feminist I am. I do not participate in community events and I have never been to a protest. This is not to say that I never would or that I am unwilling, I’ve just never sought out those opportunities. I read a lot and I have opinions. I suppose I’m a feminist but I’m not an activist. Can I be the former without being the latter? Gay says “the idea of a sisterhood menaces me, quietly, reminding me of how bad a feminist I am.” Perhaps this is another trick that we are about to fall for; if women don’t identify as feminists because they think they aren’t good enough, or they think other feminists with judge them, then they will not add their voice to the cause. Divided, we are weak, sort of thing.

All this self-reflection is to say that Roxane Gay brought me to the conclusion that she herself landed on: “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

Review: The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf

When I was in university, my Sociology professor asked the class who considered themselves a feminist. Few hands rose. He then asked, “Who believes women deserve equal pay for equal work?” Most, if not all, hands went up. “Who believes women deserve the right to vote?” Again, all hands up. “Then you are all feminists,” he said.

Since that day, I have used his tactic with many people, from friends to family members to my boyfriend. We are all feminists, or at least, you damn-well should be.

TL;DR, spoiler-free review: Originally published in the 90s, this is fundamentally essential reading. If witnessing injustice toward women upsets you, you are not mad enough. The Beauty Myth is a diagnosis of a sick culture and a prescription for what to do about it.

You’re-verbose-and-I-like-it review: Read this book. Read every page. Then give it to a friend. It’s one of those books that you can put down but it will never leave you.

Naomi Wolf examines the women’s movements throughout history by breaking the book into topics (ex: Work, Sex, Religion, etc). This structure made these broad issues more digestible, as I would read a chapter and then take some time to consider what I’d learned. Her writing is impassioned, urgent, and well sourced. With each new subject, she looks into the face of what’s wrong, what is rotting in our culture, and says, “Look at this, do not divert your eyes. We have to do something.”

I was expecting to make some concise points from the notes I took while reading this book, but I have too many notes. The longer I consider what to write, the more I realize there is something I must say: I am angry. I am infuriated by the information I have gained from this book. I had a broad and unformed understanding that the fight for women’s rights is far from over but The Beauty Myth has enlightened me as to how much work there really is to do.

So here is a (heavily paraphrased) list of what I learned that really pisses me off:

• After the first wave of feminism, male-dominated culture had to find new ways to oppress women. Women could keep their jobs, but they must never be relieved of the task of maintaining the home and family. When it became apparent that women could take this in stride, a third shift was added: “Ok fine, ladies, have your job and take care of your families, but you better look good doing it.” Beauty is like a tax on women; not only do women continue to make lower wages than men, but they must also pay for an insane array of cosmetic products, clothes, and often painful, invasive plastic surgery so they can strive for an unattainable beauty standard.
• Consider what would happen if society attempted to control men’s sexual behaviour in the same way it controls that of women. In the book, Wolf suggests we consider chemical castration for prisoners. This would, undoubtedly, be seen as barbaric. And yet, according to a quick Google search, 62% of reproductive-aged American women are currently taking birth control which, I did not know, can lower a women’s sex drive. This frustrates me even more when you consider that birth control options for men would never include a daily pill to forget half the time, but rather only a tube of latex that a bunch of them complain about anyway.
• I’m a huge pop culture junkie which means I watch a lot of movies, TV, and YouTube. A pervasive trope, especially in the 90s, is the reluctant woman who is “wooed” into submission but her admirer. Imagine the scene: the guy has expressed his interest and has been spurned, but he knows she’s just playing hard-to-get. He knows what she really wants. So he kisses her. She fights him off, maybe even slaps him, and he kisses her again. They break apart again… only for her to jump his bones. Pop culture reflects the larger zeitgeist and so it is clear that tropes like these have taught generations of men that a) women will refuse sexual advances even when that’s exactly what they want, b) men know what women want better than women know themselves, and c) women like it rough. Our culture, essentially, has normalized rape to the point that some rapists don’t think what they’ve done is rape. According to The Beauty Myth, “date rape, thus, is more common than left handedness, alcoholism, and heart attacks.” I am disgusted.
• I always feel like I’m being judged or compared to other women in public, be they my friends or complete strangers. I’d bet you know the feeling; eyes on you because you ran to the grocery store in sweats, or the guy you used to date telling you he thinks you’re best friend is hot. The worst is when I’m just walking in the street and people deliberately run into me. There’s a whole sidewalk for us to share but our collision was unavoidable, apparently. Is it because I’m fat; are you telling me I’m taking up too much space? Are you using this small act of aggression to let me know you don’t approve of a woman who looks like me? Our culture has decided that women don’t get the space they need to just exist and, even worse, women will always be in competition with each other for what little space there is.

The book ends with a clear call-to-action about the work needed to right the ship. I’m sure, when my anger dissipates, I will find the strength to do some of the things she suggests. For now though, I’m just tired. Tired but resolved. As is the case in all civil rights movements, one group does not have to give up rights for another to gain them. Men need to be our allies in the fight for equality, but before we get them on our side, women have to be on the same page. Wolf challenges women not to use the beauty myth against each other, to celebrate our womanhood together, and to no longer see each other as adversaries. I am angry that I have had to fight men for my rights. I am incensed that I ever thought I had to compete with other women.