How to Be a Woman

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The book that launched a feminist revolution—the hilarious memoir/manifesto from Caitlin Moran, "the UK's answer to Tina Fey, Chelsea Handler, and Lena Dunham all rolled into one" (Marie Claire).
Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them?
Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother. With rapier wit, Moran slices right to the truth—whether it's about the workplace, strip clubs, love, fat, abortion, popular entertainment, or children—to jump-start a new conversation about feminism. With humor, insight, and verve, How to Be a Woman lays bare the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues not only for women today but also for society itself.
This is the book that asks all the important questions—and the hilarious ones you thought you couldn't say out loud:
- A Feminist Manifesto: Moran tackles everything from Brazilians and bras to abortion and fat, starting a new, essential conversation about what it means to be a woman now.
- Laugh-Out-Loud Funny: A memoir told with the rapier wit and unapologetic humor that has earned her comparisons to Tina Fey, Chelsea Handler, and Lena Dunham.
- A Raw Coming of Age: Follow Caitlin through the riot of adolescence, from her first period and disastrous fashion choices to becoming a writer, wife, and mother.
- Brutal Honesty: No topic is off-limits as Moran slices right to the truth about the workplace, love, relationships, and the endless, absurd questions that beset modern women.
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Community Reviews
I'm used to reading books where I have to look up words, but from the very first page of this book, there is British slang that is used - the word "Yobs" in this case, that I don't really care about looking up, because how is knowing British slang going to help my vocabulary? There was A LOT of slang in this book that I didn't know, nor could I always get the meaning from context. I found it to be very distracting and irritating.
Around the third chapter, after what seemed like the forth or fifth page of going on about what to call a vagina (also - it's not even your vagina, it's your vulva), I had this reaction, and stopped to think about what to call it. Tiresome, that's what I decided. This was tiresome to read.
I did have a chuckle here and there, Caitlin does have a way of turning a phrase. And I appreciated the subject matter - feminism, I guess? But, in general I found that the humorous parts were way too few and far between the tiresome serious parts.
It took me forever to read this book, and I'm not sure I would have finished it if it wasn't for my book club.
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