How to Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran

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I loved this book when I read it earlier this year, but have since then read so many bad reviews—or, to be fair, reviews that weren't particularly negative, but made me feel inadequate for having liked it so freely without even trying to focus on something other than my enjoyment— that now I feel a tiny bit ashamed for doing so.

I'm very ignorant when it comes to women studies, and used to think feminists were irrational, hairy women that blamed men for being men. I know (now) that that is an awful generalization and caricaturization, but it's just the way I thought things were a couple of years ago. It's what I grew up hearing other people say. I hadn't met anyone who declared themselves to be a feminist, and since didn't have to face any situation in which I felt my rights were threatened just because I was a woman (absent father, no brothers, all-girl school, painfully shy around strangers... didn't have much male influence growing up, to be honest), I wasn't particularly invested in the subject.

So, to me, Moran's book was like a revelation. Feminism, it turns out, is not necessarily an overly serious, academic topic that one can only talk about if one's an angry lesbian. And, the more I read, the more enlightened I felt. Turns out, even  my male-free upbringing was tinted with a machismo I wasn't prepared to notice, 'cause (and I hate to use the third world wild card, 'cause I'm sure that's not the only reason, but I'm just putting together this idea, so bear with me if things get a little sketchy) Chile is an hyper-conservative country in which topics concerning female welfare were not generally discussed until very recently. Parliament recently opted to not discuss abortion, for Christ's sake! Therapeutic abortion!

ANYway, my point is, I can understand if Caitlin Moran's book seems lacking to people with greater knowledge or involvement in the subject. But to me, it was perfect, and exactly the kind of book I needed to read (but didn't know I did.) It was the most hands-on approach to feminism I have ever read about—though, I think I already made this very clear earlier, but it bears repeating: prior to this book, I knew nothing about feminism. My only experiences with feminism were ideas I picked up in the internet and a vague sense of unease when my fellow countrymen dismissed and made fun of our female President because she was overweight. It wasn't a treatise about the high values of a feminist set of mind. It was practical. It was equaling being woman to being a feminist and that made the whole thing so much more approachable, for someone as clueless as me. And it made me interested in learn more and have opinions about it (and when I feel they're wholly shaped and ready to be shared, we will have to talk about (500) Days of Summer, world.)

So, what I'm trying to say is that, to me, it was a really important book. I was elated by it (hey! let's discuss body hair without feeling weird! and how about being interested in fashion doesn't mean one's necessarily a superfluous hedonist! even though fashion is so weird! why stilettos, WHY?!) I felt liberated and ready to discuss issues with other people. Like I'm doing right now. Except I still haven't read more books on feminism, so if you have some to recommend, I'm all ears!

Thoughtful reviews: Iris on Books, Shelf Love.
A couple of interviews (mind you, I disliked most of The New Yorker interview, so I'm not completely partial to every thing Caitlin Moran does): Fresh Air, The New Yorker.