A Feminist Trifecta

In my quest to lower my phone screen time, I’ve been trying to be intentional with the books I’m reading. It’s not news that when I’m riveted by a book, I don’t resort to my phone right away. I haven’t been perfect this first quarter of 2023, but I did read some books that got me interested and had me really glued to them. I should really do that thing where you quit a book if you aren’t loving it, but I can’t — and I digress.

RECKONING by V

I’ve never read the Vagina Monologues but V (formerly Eve Ensler) wrote this one and it’s got a mix of poetry and prose in it. A lot of it is heavy, but there was a nice chapter about Denis Mukwege, a doctor in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the good work he’s been doing there. Her life and work over the years, layered with world events gave a good context to what she was going through.

I read this over my birthday weekend and honestly, it wast not the easiest read because of the heaviness of the topic, but I thought it was an interesting way of putting her trauma and learning out there. I have yet to learn to really appreciate poetry, but how she uses it to talk about sexual violence, both makes me want to lean in more but also look away.

Wolfish:Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear by ERICA BERRY

I didn’t realise it was going to lean so heavily into animals — I should have taken the hint with the title — but I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I heard about this book thanks to an episode of The Waves (titled: The Inherent Fear in Being a Woman) where Erica Berry is the guest and based on the interview, I knew I had to give it a go. And I’m glad I did. There’s a lot of stigma around the wolf and how she used Little Red Riding Hood among other stories was a really good way of drawing me in.

There’s a story she puts about herself and how she was travelling on a train and basically had a stalker that was both creepy and also how banal because you know this happens to so many women and we’re just expected to be ok with it and get on with our lives. I also now know way too much about wolves, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality BY ANGELA SAINI

Finally, this trio of books was book ended by a recommendation from the always trustworthy Listopedia, Feminist Interest 2023 (aka where I get most of my book recommendations). And this was a nice look into the history of how the patriarchy kind of became what it is. It’s wild how “this wasn’t how it always was” and how culture just evolved for everyone to just accept this as the norm. So winding back the clock and seeing how it all came together was nice but also depressing.

I actually really liked how fact based and very serious it got, because these are facts and it helps dissuade from the fact that feminists are just making the patriarchy up. This shit goes deep and it was nice to see how ingrained it is into culture and history and society. Now what to do to battle it? That’s another story but it gives me comfort to know that it wasn’t always this way and hopefully we can make strides to turn back the clock.

ALSO, I’m going to dive back in to some fluffy romantic comedy books (i’m looking at you Curtis Sittendfeld) because this has been heavy and depressing and I need a pick me up.