How to be a Woman

 

Caitlin Moran

 

I love a good feminist read and really looked forward to reading this and being challenged. Although it was more about Moran’s personal experience in becoming a woman than I expected, I still enjoyed the many instances I could relate to with my life growing up.

 

Moran does talk about some feminist issues but I would call this book more a memoir. I think she lacked depth in the issues though and wasn’t very objective. When writing a feminist book, these two things are vital.

Moran does like to name drop which I’m not a big fan of. She seems to be more interested in saying things about  feminism than actually learning about it. I did find myself agreeing with her thoughts on the many notions of 'feminine' beauty.

 

On a side note, I remember having a conversation with a friend (a very shocked friend) years ago regarding women earning more than men. I blatantly said that I would never earn more than my husband. Ever if I could I wouldn’t because I wouldn’t want to offend him (I must point out that my partner is one of the biggest supporters of feminism and is very proud of my strong beliefs and opinions).

I cringe when I look back at that day. It’s these types of thoughts that make women not want to even try, and find themselves surrendering to societies expectations of being a stay at home mum and not having a career of her own.

 

Feminism needs to be talked about more. It’s a scary and underused word with a definition of basic equality for women in all areas of life.

I would recommend reading Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates. It will get you angry about everyday injustices. And from anger stems passion, and passion will start the conversation!