how to be a woman
Caitlin Moran can write. And she is SO FUNNY! And self-deprecating. And opinionated, and likable even when I disagree with her.
I highly recommend How To Be a Woman, a memoir and examination of modern women’s issues, from puberty, to abortion, to face-lifts. A few excerpts:
On Modern Feminism:
But if there is to be a fifth wave of feminism, I would hope that the main thing that distinguishes it from all that came before is that women counter the awkwardness, disconnect, and bullshit of being a modern woman not by shouting at it, internalizing it, or squabbling about it – but by simply pointing at it and going “HA!” instead.
On Women Who Don’t Wish to be Called ‘Feminist:’
These days, however, I am much calmer – since I realized that it’s technically impossible for a woman to argue against feminism. Without feminism, you wouldn’t be allowed to have a debate on a woman’s place in society. You’d be too busy giving birth on the kitchen floor – biting down on a wooden spoon, so as not to disturb the men’s card game – before going back to hoeing the rutabaga field.
On Burlesque:
Additionally, despite its intense stylization of sexuality, it doesn't have the oddly aggressive, humorless air of the strip club: burlesque artists sing, talk, and laugh. They tell jokes – something unthinkable in the inexplicably po-faced atmosphere of a lap-dancing club, which treats male/female interactions with all the gravitas of Cold War-era meetings between Russia and the USA, rather than a potential hoot. Perhaps as a direct consequence, burlesque artist treat their own sexuality as something fabulous and enjoyable – rather than something bordering on a weapon, to be ground, unsmilingly, into the face of the sweaty idiot punter below.
And a few other favorite quotes:
Would we give so much of a shit about our thighs if we, as a sex, owned the majority of the world’s wealth, instead of men?
And:
Whatever it is we want the future to be like, no one’s going to have to die for it… Simply being honest about who we really are is half the battle. If what you read in magazines and papers makes you feel uneasy or shitty – don’t buy them!
OK, enough. Just read the book!
