K. WOODWARD PERSONAL FINANCE
  • Start
  • Bio
  • WealthBlog
    • Books
    • Random Thoughts
    • Femail
    • GirlBanker
  • My Books
  • MoneySpot
  • Coach

Book Reviews

How To Be A Woman By Caitlin Moran - BOOK REVIEW

22/6/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
3.75 / 5

A very interesting take on feminism. If you a) have a vagina and b) want to have control over it, then you are a feminist! This is Caitlin Moran's definition and I like it. It's a good definition because many women think being a feminist is radical. 

Lots of people forget that not so long ago women could not vote, inherit assets or even work. You did not have the choice; it was all decided in advance for you. If you believe that we should have any of this stuff, you are a feminist. 

Every woman is a feminist and the only question after that is just the degree to which one believes in women's rights and fights for them.

Men too can be feminists. I know because I married one! Frankly, I thought that a man had certain very basic expectations of a woman and that to be a good partner I had to fulfill these;  being myself was not one of the primary ones. This is why I fervently never expected to get married. I thought that my partner's affections for me would rise with the number of household duties undertaken, the number of times I made his lunches and any other fawning that I could muster. One does not fawn very well.

A few interesting bits from Caitlin's take on life, I paraphrase or give my interpretation of what she says:
  • Arm pit hair: you know what, it's not that big of a deal if you're not always cleanly shaven, sometimes a bit of hair just looks cooler
  • Thongs: get some proper underwear, ones that cover your whole butt
  • Ron Jeremy (celebrity porn star) named vaginas "pussy" hence she does not like the word. Women should not be defined by a male porn star, we should define ourselves!
  • Being pro-women does not mean you have to be nice to all other women
  • Burka: against them because the men don't have to wear Burkas too (makes sense)
  • Shopping: just because you're a woman, you don't have to like it. Finally!! Someone needed to put this out there because I for one hate shopping. It is sooo time consuming and if I could afford it I would rather have a personal shopper because for me the shopping experience is resolutely boring and extremely overrated. Shopping, for me, is about the thing you want or need to get not about the experience in itself. As a self-styled minimalist, I don't like to own lots of useless clothes and trinkets.
  • There's a difference between being "fat" and "human-shaped"; think about this one
  • High heels should "fuck-off", feet were not designed for them and supermodels wear them exclusively for photo shoots. This is actually something that I had never thought about but it's relatively true - when you see supermodels outside of "work" they're wearing pumps and other more comfy footwear. Thank you again Caitlin, someone needed to put this out there.
  • Flirting your way up the career chain is A-okay. Male bonding is also flirting wherever it might take place: toilets, on the golf course, in a pub or a bar...so, people should think of women trying to get ahead using flirtation as a woman-only act, guys do it too!
  • All young girls have had imaginary relationships in their heads as a teenager - you know what, I was afraid to ask about this one because I thought I might come off as weird but I did used to have these when I was a teen and then they kind of just disappeared in the late teens. Perhaps it's because I started having real relationships!
  • Porn is bad and degrading to women; it's essentially designed for men
  • Addiction to porn and strip clubs is the third highest cause of debt in men
  • 60-80% of strippers have a background/history of abuse
  • Burlesque is okay though because it is art: a) the artists have decent names; b) it's not humourless - the artists talk, sing and dance; c) it is designed with women in mind

Overall: insightful and it is great to know her very balanced view on life and being a feminist. Ultimately, the book said to me: BE YOURSELF!

Picture
1 Comment
zombagirl
11/8/2016 05:17:03 am

Loved this lighthearted on feminism, v. accessible reading for any woman as defined above and Ms Moran is as awesome as always!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Heather Katsonga-Woodward

    Time allowing, I love to read.  If I read anything interesting, I will blog about it here.

    2019 Life and Career Planner

    Picture
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Autobiographical
    Autobiography
    Banking
    Behavioral Psychology
    Behavioural Psychology
    Black History
    Business
    Business Skills
    Children
    Economics
    Fiction
    Life
    Love Story
    Personal Finance
    Politics
    Recessions
    Sales
    Science
    Stock Market
    Thrillers
    Timeless
    Wealth
    Women
    Writing

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2018
    March 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

Picture

Podcast Links

Wealth Blog 

  • Children
  • Financial Independence / FIRE
  • Pensions
  • Retirement
  • Saving
Buy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee
Picture

© 2007 - 2021, The Money Spot™ ~ Make Money, Change Lives!
Heather Katsonga-Woodward, a massive personal finance fanatic.
** All views expressed are my own and not those of my employer ** Please get professional advice before re-arranging your personal finances.
  • Start
  • Bio
  • WealthBlog
    • Books
    • Random Thoughts
    • Femail
    • GirlBanker
  • My Books
  • MoneySpot
  • Coach