Title: Feminasty: The Complicated Woman’s Guide to Surviving the Patriarchy Without Drinking Herself To Death
Author: Erin Gibson
Date read: January 20, 2019
Two Snaps.
Brash, acerbic and a little bit ‘feminasty.’ Expertly mixing social commentary, political satire and off colour jokes— can’t say I didn’t laugh out loud, and I definitely enjoyed it. Will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Mature audiences only.
I have since also found Erin’s podcast, which she co-hosts with Bryan Safi– called “Throwing Shade” where they irreverently and unabashedly discuss: women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, progressive politics and pop culture. Erin does not back down from tough topics nor abide political correctness. However, she does contribute thoughtful and poignant analysis of issues in need of discussion, just as she does in her own book. The voice in her book is so clear and laden with style, I was only reaffirmed to actually hear her speaking aloud in her podcast. Have a listen here: Throwing Shade Podcast
Snappy Passage from Feminasty:
“What the people who are so scared of #MeToo need to realize is the goal isn’t to limit sex or discourage men from doing their men stuff like MMA and long conversations about Paleo diets. #MeToo is about our complaints being heard for the first time and being taken seriously. What some see as the collective anger of a thousand wronged women, I see as the expression of frustration and hurt. #MeToo is about making sure women are not operating out of sheer terror for their own safety. It’s about telling the office clown, Chase, it isn’t cool or normal to send porn GIFs at the end of Slack convos. We’re envisioning a better world, one where Justin Timberlake won’t tweet “Here we come!! And DAMN, my wife is hot! #TIMESUP #whywewearblack,” sloppily mixing male objectification with a hashtag designed to make people aware of lopsided power dynamics. A new world where Justin Timberlake uses the hashtag #timesup and then ALSO feels shame about starring in Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel. A world where Justin Timberlake refuses to do the Super Bowl halftime show WITHOUT Janet jackson. A world where Justin Timberlake is actually funny and not just a guy in a wig making funny faces.” (p.40-41).
If you liked Feminasty, may I also suggest:
Title: Difficult Women
Author: Roxane Gay
Deep, powerful writing about complex, riveting female characters. Roxane Gay’s non fiction writing is powerful and academic (read also: Bad Feminist)— her fiction is compelling and rich.
