How to Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran

Through the mighty powers of related suggestions on my Kindle, I discovered How to Be a Woman, or at least I discovered the book and not the answer. My Kindle is usually pretty good with suggestions, and it was right about this one, as well.

Overall I enjoyed the book as long as I don't pick apart each chapter. There were some chapters that I liked more than others, and a couple of chapters I didn't like at all. Admittedly, I skimmed or skipped through the couple of chapters that didn't do much for me, such as the chapter on Abortion and Role Models. Her views on Abortion don't match mine, and while I respect that we are both allowed to have different views, I felt like she was "poking fun" at people who don't have her same view. The Role Models chapter seemed to be there to solely put into words her high disdain for Katie Price.

With those two chapters out and a few soapbox moments in some other chapters, the book was pretty spot on for what I enjoy reading in a book about what women like and really bonded with Caitlin through her words. Caitlin is a mother and has a chapter on being a mother, followed by a really awesome chapter on why women shouldn't feel that they have to be mothers. Being a Not Mom myself, I gained tremendous respect for Caitlin for addressing the issue and pointing out that women who are childless (by choice or not) are not less of a woman. Caitlin was truly and properly speaking for me as a childfree woman by saying things like, "But deciding not to have children is a very, very hard decision for a woman to make: the atmosphere is worryingly inconducive to saying, “I choose not to,” or “It all sounds a bit vile, tbh.” We call these women “selfish.” The inference of the word “childless” is negative: one of lack, and loss. We think of nonmothers as rangy lone wolves—rattling around, as dangerous as teenage boys or men. We make women feel that their narrative has ground to a halt in their thirties if they don’t “finish things” properly and have children."

Caitlin presents herself well as this woman that most women would enjoy spending time with. She's like an 'every woman' representative for women who aren't and never have been perfect and perhaps identify closely with their weird side.

"How to Be a Woman"  is recommended for people who lean more left than right and understand that there are way too many facets of womanhood to attempt to explain fully in a novel. However, reading this book can help you gain a better understanding of why you are who you are and why society views you in certain ways.

~Reviewed By Tonya Overstreet

Nashville Member, LBDC