Book

I've been reading a fair bit lately...more than I've had chance to in a while. I've just demolished "It's A Jungle Out There" by Amanda Marcotte and was really impressed...I actually found myself rationing it, as it's not an especially long book, but has a lot of different ideas and topics in it, and the chapters are generally quite short. I found myself reading a couple here and there rather than reading through it in one sitting.

It's essentially a kind of guide to the world of feminism, and does a pretty thorough job of introducing you to feminist ways of thinking, plus the kind of opposition women can face in daily life. I found that it made me think a lot about situations I've found myself in or heard of other people in in a new light - you start to spot sexism and poor attitudes to women more easily. There's also some handy lists at the end of the book for where to go next; films, TV and music with good feminist credentials, and online resources for more information.

Amanda Marcotte writes with a great deal of humour and insight into both the issues of women, and the issues of those who oppose equality. She discusses topics such as abortion, contraception, sexual objectification, modesty and 'women's work' (both in the home and the world of money). The only criticism I have is that I thought she had a tendency toward fatalism in some situations when advising ways of tackling anti-feminist individuals; presenting good arguments for countering problems while saying, "good luck with that" - while it's true that many people don't listen to arguments they don't already agree with, it's probably not the best idea to plant in the head of someone newly interested in, and excited about, feminism - and I think that this is who this book is likely to appeal to.

Overall, I thought it was excellent, and is certainly a book I can imagine myself using as a reference in the future, and as a good book to dip in and out of.