A must read for everyone. ( )

This is the first bell hooks book I've read. I probably would've given it a lower rating if it weren't for her reputation as I was pretty generous with interpreting her writing.

I thought the language was dated, even for the time of its writing, but I could be mistaken about that. Some examples: there is lot of binary language (male and female, men and women, boys and girls) and references to "choosing" a sexuality (lesbianism in particular).

In any case, I very much do not think this is the book the author describes in the preface: "a short handbook" for men who "have no idea what it is feminists want" and minimal jargon. I think this might be a good book for someone who wants to read short essays by bell hooks, perhaps as an introduction to her writings and philosophy. ( )

Un libro que toca muchas teclas, aunque su contenido no es para nada introductorio, desde luego. Algunos puntos me han parecido muy interesantes. ( )

«Iraganetik ikasteko ausardia izan eta gure garaia aurreratzeko aukerak irudikatzea. Hori da bell hooksek liburu honetan proposatzen diguna, eraberritze lanari etenik gabe ekiten dion feminismo baten alde eginez, zeinean emakumeak ez ezik gizonak eta umeak ere aske izan daitezkeen. Feminismoa singularrean, guztiona, nahiz eta bere baitan proposamen ezberdinak egon edo gatazkak bizi izan. Horretarako, berak ondo ezagutzen duen Ipar Amerikako mugimendua hartzen du aztergai; hori bai, feminismo erradikala eta kontserbadorea bereiziz eta bere burua lehenengora lerratuz; izan ere, beraren ustez, urteen joanean, borroka feminista pultsu erradikala galdu eta patriarkatu kapitalista konbentzionalaren menpe gelditu da».

Full review at Little Book Jockey. I wanted to like this book more than I did. Unfortunately, I do have a few issues with it. Hooks sets out to give a sort of introduction to feminism with this book, but she doesn't. She says that people need a simple primer that is accessible to anyone. While that's true, this isn't the book. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who hasn't read feminist theory before. I'd go with one of Adichie's (either Dear Ijeawele or We Should All Be Feminists) instead. Aside from being a bit dense for an introduction, at times the author seems to be arguing more about the in-fighting and exclusion of others within feminism than she is about the productive qualities of feminism. She also self-references more than necessary. If she already made points in previous books, does she really need to repeat them? I do like how she mentions that the popular and often toxic idea of masculinity should be changed. On another note, though, at one point she states that the stigma attached to not being a virgin has been taken away by feminism, which simply isn't true. I've been in multiple environments where there is a stigma attached to both being a virgin and not being one. This is true for anyone, but especially for women. Another thing I had a problem with was the notion of choice in sexuality. More than once she makes a point of choosing lesbianism or bisexuality as a lifestyle, rather than being lesbian or bisexual and accepting that fact. She presents interesting ideas but sometimes falls short and doesn't always have evidence to back up her claims. ( )