Women Don't Owe You Pretty

As the other review says, nothing new here. Just things we all have to hear again and again, so that we not only walk the walk, but also stop feeling guilty about it. The presentation is fun and light-hearted, but make no mistake, there is strong medicine under the sugar coating. I wish I knew a young woman to pass this on to.

This book is an accessible leap into feminism. Great for all women wanting to reshape and transform the way they view themselves. It teaches women to love sex, hate sexism, protect their goddamn energy, and that women owe men nothing, least of all pretty.

Some of my favourite quotes from this book include:

• Remember that anyone who tells you you’re ‘too’ anything is using the word because they are threatened by your capacity to grow, evolve, and express your emotions.
• Promise yourself to stop buying into people’s potential. You’re not a start-up investor.
• The world owes you nothing, and equally, you owe it nothing.

This is the book I wish I had when I was a teenager, in my 20s and in my early 30s.

Not much of this was new information for me.
It is all important and I still really loved it. It was so engaging and empowering. Part intro into feminism and part self help book. (Florence really covers so many different topics, it truly is a whirlwind).
I wish my past-self could have read it... I would encourage younger readers to face up to the harsh reality of being a woman and read this too.
The last page made me cry, which is why I’ve given it 5 stars, any sort of emotional response from me requires a celebration!

I was interested to see what this brought to the table but it’s like an introduction to a conversation we’ve all been talking about for years already. Maybe useful if you’re just starting to dig into this topic.

Florence Given, born in 1998, is a former student at Plymouth College of Art and the London College of Fashion; her occupation is listed on Wikipedia as "feminist social activist." As of the year 2022, her main claims to fame are this book (which was bedeviled on publication with charges of plagiarism), and her participation in an online campaign demanding that Netflix cancel a certain program for the sin of "fat-shaming." (The program died a natural death after two complete seasons, but still exists in reruns on Amazon Prime.) Although Given's primary platform is Instagram (thus earning her the coveted designation "influencer"), she has brought forth a second book, a novel entitled "Girl Crush." According to Amazon, "Girl Crush" show more chronicles the wacky adventures of an omnisexual woman on social media, thus demonstrating the length and breadth of Given's literary imagination. In fairness, it is unlikely that her book was inspired by the execrable "Girls" show on HBO, although the weltanschauung is similar: Given is hardly a deep thinker, but I don't believe the accusations of plagiarism that accompanied the release of the book we consider here.

Onward: I tarry too long in my review of Given's first book. This is not accidental; I've been trying to think of something positive to say about it. At best, it could charitably be compared to a baccalaureate speech delivered by a particularly surly and ill-tempered graduate of a pricey girls' finishing school. All the usual third- and fourth-wave feminist talking points are there: if you're a female, you are utterly perfect, and your only handicaps are your privilege (if you're white) and your brainwashing by the patriarchy. You "owe" the males who cross your path each day absolutely nothing (true enough, although courtesy might be a nice touch), and you owe yourself everything. Per the book's title, she is particularly outraged by women who regard physical beauty as a thing to be desired. (It must be noted, however, that Given herself is a noticeably attractive woman, and makes no effort to hide it in publicity photographs, of which there are many. Her scorn for "prettiness" is based on something far more malevolent than mere sour grapes.) If she has created an audible edition of this book, I can almost hear her sobbing, screaming, and stamping her foot as she reads.

Feminism has never been a joke, especially in its earlier iterations. Like the labor movement, it had its excesses, but it was a catalyst (one of many) to equity in America. It only became a laughing stock when it reached the campuses, and was attached to misandry and socialism by women and men whose ideologies are pathological, not merely political. Florence Given's vulgar little manifesto is not even an example of feminism at its worst: it is merely another hoarse yelp from the already noisy fever swamps of the left.

Not recommended. show less

Perhaps not as stimulating as Clementine Ford books, but still some great messages

Meget langtrukken, det er ikke en egentlig bog med et plot. Meningen bag bogen er fantastisk, det er kun derfor den får 5 stjerner.