This slim volume is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s response to a close friend of hers when asked how to raise her daughter a feminist. Adichie is a well kThis slim volume is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s response to a close friend of hers when asked how to raise her daughter a feminist. Adichie is a well known feminist. Her TED talk and previous book, We Should All Be Feminists, have made her a respected and honored expert in this area. This book elaborates on 15 suggestions that Adichie feels are most important when raising a daughter, in regards to feminism. Being that she is responding to her close friend who is living in Nigeria and also Igbo, there are some references to their country and culture that are not universal, but overall this book is highly relatable to women and daughters everywhere. I will attempt to summarize some key aspects of her book in the next paragraph.
Be a full person. Do not let motherhood define you. Parenting should be done together. When the husband helps, he does not deserve praise. Teach her that gender roles are “nonsense.” Believe in the full equality of men and women. Teach her to read and to love books. Teach her to question language and show her examples of misogyny, both overt and subtle. Never speak of marriage as an achievement. Teach her to be honest and kind. Give her a sense of identity and be deliberate about it. Encourage participation in sports. If she wants, let her dress up and wear make up. Femininity and feminism are not mutually exclusive. Surround her with family and friends she can look up to. Point out their admirable qualities. Teach her about sex, and make sure there is no shame attached to it. Teach her that romantic love is about giving and receiving. Teach her about difference. Make difference ordinary.
This is a quick read, from a wonderful author that has spent much time thinking and discussing these issues. Her writing and suggestions come across as kind, caring and thoughtful. The suggestions seem like common sense, but these suggestions serve as gentle reminders about the kind of deliberate messages we want our daughters to receive in a world where misogyny and gender oppression exist....more
This book felt like just what I needed! Funny, warm, and engaging, Young Jane Young captures what it’s like to be a woman at various stages of life. IThis book felt like just what I needed! Funny, warm, and engaging, Young Jane Young captures what it’s like to be a woman at various stages of life. It highlights the stereotypes and cultural biases that we have not moved much beyond since the days of the Puritans and the writing of The Scarlet Letter. It characterizes several generations of women within the same family and their varied responses and attitudes toward similar situations. It is told from multiple perspectives and there is even a section from Jane Young’s perspective that puts the reader in the driver seat in a choose your own adventure format.
Young Jane Young is a twenty-something female who was born Aviva Grossman. Aviva Grossman works as a summer intern for Congressman Levin, who also happened to be a neighbor of hers when she was a child. They begin an affair despite the fact that he is much older, married and her employer. When they are found out, there is huge backlash against Aviva, but very little towards the Congressman. Aviva is unable to even get a job, which is incredibly disheartening as she was hoping to go into politics and had been doing an excellent job during the internship. The internet serves as her “scarlet letter” ruining her social life and any chances for a career. She feels there is nothing left to do except change her name and move out of state.
I don’t want to give too much away, but this book comes full circle with redemption, fulfillment, forgiveness and understanding all coming into play towards the end after a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Aviva is able to triumph over her past, first by escaping it, and later, by facing it head on at a time when she is much stronger and more self assured. This book is a huge slap in the face to the slut shaming that goes on in situations like these! This writing is powerfully feminist exposing gender inequalities and casual misogyny in today’s society. The women have their flaws, no doubt, however, they feel incredibly real and relatable. Even if the reader may not have made the same choices as these women, I think the reader can empathize with their choices through the context of the writing. The writing is wonderful, fun and enjoyable. This is a book out to prove a bit point, but does so with much humor and warmth along the way. I highly recommend this book to all women, young and old. It would make an excellent book club book, as there is so much to discuss as well as cheer for!
Thank you to Algonquin Books and netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
this is the journey of surviving through poetry this is the blood sweat tears of twenty-one years this is my heart in your hands this is the hurting tthis is the journey of surviving through poetry this is the blood sweat tears of twenty-one years this is my heart in your hands this is the hurting the loving the breaking the healing - rupi kaur
What a lovely collection of poetry that contains so much depth, beauty, love, pain, insight, wisdom and kindness! It was amazing to me how much emotion, feeling and wisdom could be contained in so few words. There is so much empowerment contained within this collection: of women, femininity, and race. While reading this, I wanted to be absolutely alone with the book without fear of interruption, so I could fully focus, digest and enjoy these poems. The poem above is featured on the back of the book and is a brief synopsis of the book.
The poetry in this collection is divided into 4 segments. The first labelled "the hurting" touches on topics of rape, sexual abuse, and abusive parenting. It describes feelings of emptiness and suppression, however, also the ability to transcend the hurt with kindness. It describes the fractured relationship left as a result of abuse. "The loving" portion is about hope, qualities of a lover, love making, women's bodies and sex. "The breaking" is about heartbreak, games young lovers play, the bitter aspects of relationships, and relationships that break you down or want you to be someone you aren't. Rupi Kaur speaks of intense extremes of feelings and emotions. Finally, "the healing" is about loving yourself, the strength within oneself, being contented with being alone. It is about loving one's own female body in it's most natural form and all of the way it functions. It's about the power of vulnerability, openness and kindness. It's about celebrating and supporting other women's successes rather than their failures. It is about celebrating feminine beauty in all its different colors, shapes and sizes.
Beautiful, kind, loving! The sketches throughout this book are perfect and add to the poetry, almost seeming to be poetry in and of themselves. I highly recommend this to every woman, especially the late teen and twenty-something set. I recommend buying the actual book, to enjoy the words, the sketches and probable re-readings.
Rupi Kaur is a Canadian who has created a lot of attention for herself through the use of social media (#poetryisnotdead). She was born in Punjab, India and moved to Canada at the age of 4. Not speaking any English, she was inspired by her mother to draw and paint. In 2014, Kaur self published "milk and honey," however it was so popular that a publishing company picked it up and republished it in 2015. Kaur posted a picture on Instagram in March 2015 of herself in bed with a menstrual stain on her sweatpants as part of a project aimed at destigmatizing menstruation. Instagram removed the photo and others in the series, which Kaur argued proved her point. Instagram later restored the picture, saying it had been removed by mistake....more
This short essay by one of my favorite authors is based on a popular TED talk of hers, thus it reads like she is speaking to you. I love and agree witThis short essay by one of my favorite authors is based on a popular TED talk of hers, thus it reads like she is speaking to you. I love and agree with the content. I love how personable and relatable she is, how human and humble she can be, how honest and genuine she comes across in her writing. I love her vitality of spirit and the way she infuses humor into her stories. Maybe, though, I was hoping for more from this. Maybe, because of her easy manner, this seemed too obvious. Yes, women have come a long way, yet there is much further to go. Yes, there are deep cultural biases that put men early in life in more positions of power. Yes, we need to raise our daughters and sons more equally, not hold them to different standards. Yes, we need to begin to redefine gender. It’s an easy, beautiful quick read with an important message. Adichie’s manner of explaining feminism and what it means makes it understandable and relatable to everyone.
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