It feels like a cliché to even say so (especially since it came up so often in the book itself), but I had no idea the situation was as bad as it is for women. The most insidious part is that for individual occurrences you can almost convince yourself that it's an outlier, or that it might be simple ignorance rather than malice. But the overwhelming numbers and similarities not only go toward proving that is blatant sexism, but that it's pervasive and probably affects things in non-obvious ways as well.

Knowledge is the first step toward making it better. Calling attention to it, cutting it off and speaking out when it happens is the next — a step we all need to take. ( )

A massive, well written book. The author combines personal stories with research data to create a picture of the lived experience of real life women. She includes anecdotes from her own life, but not many, so it doesn't feel like a memoir, more like an explanation of why she began this project. She writes well, lucidly, and compellingly, and leaves off a lot of the profane snarkiness characteristic of authors of her generation, which often mars otherwise well done books. The only point that mars this otherwise excellent book is her failure to research the data she used in reference to transwomen; the information she gives is not accurate, and she would have done better if she had checked out what she cited before she published. Otherwise, an important book. My other main complaint is not with the author, but with a blurb included that it is a must read for all women. I disagree. This book is a must read for all men; most women are already familiar with this, though reading the book can help a woman realize she is not alone, and perhaps help her get angry enough to act. ( )

Coming from a background in science I'm well aware that women are basically the same as men, but with less penises.

Obviously that's a gross simplification, there are many other differences: women tend to be shorter, live longer, and are statistically more likely to have a baby than a man is. But these are all physiological differences. What about the other differences? And that's where things get slippery and slopey.

I have a young cousin who is in her second year of primary school. When looking for an activity book to get her for Christmas the options were split on the shelves into two camps: on one side there were books concerning things like football and Spiderman and trucks; on the other side were activity books about Disney princesses and ponies and One Direction. The shelves weren't labelled "For boys" and "For girls", but only because everybody knows one side is for boys and the other side is for girls.

What else does everybody know when it comes to differences between the sexes? Obviously boys like blue whereas girls like pink; boys play outside in the mud while girls play inside with dolls; boys fight with fists and girls bitch with words; guys having casual sex is cool and manly and ladies having casual sex is wrong and slutty; jobs involving heavy industry or management or science are for men while jobs involving staying at home and cooking are for women. These are just plain, self-evident facts, right?

Wrong, obviously. But while we individually know it's wrong, culturally we can't even get over the notion that five-year-old girls should wear pink t-shirts while listening to One Direction while their twin brother sits by the television watching sports in his blue top; never mind the rest of the list.

In the end I bought my cousin an activity book about pirates, because at least we can all agree that pirates are awesome, no matter how many penises you have. ( )

Coming from a background in science I'm well aware that women are basically the same as men, but with less penises.

Obviously that's a gross simplification, there are many other differences: women tend to be shorter, live longer, and are statistically more likely to have a baby than a man is. But these are all physiological differences. What about the other differences? And that's where things get slippery and slopey.

I have a young cousin who is in her second year of primary school. When looking for an activity book to get her for Christmas the options were split on the shelves into two camps: on one side there were books concerning things like football and Spiderman and trucks; on the other side were activity books about Disney princesses and ponies and One Direction. The shelves weren't labelled "For boys" and "For girls", but only because everybody knows one side is for boys and the other side is for girls.

What else does everybody know when it comes to differences between the sexes? Obviously boys like blue whereas girls like pink; boys play outside in the mud while girls play inside with dolls; boys fight with fists and girls bitch with words; guys having casual sex is cool and manly and ladies having casual sex is wrong and slutty; jobs involving heavy industry or management or science are for men while jobs involving staying at home and cooking are for women. These are just plain, self-evident facts, right?

Wrong, obviously. But while we individually know it's wrong, culturally we can't even get over the notion that five-year-old girls should wear pink t-shirts while listening to One Direction while their twin brother sits by the television watching sports in his blue top; never mind the rest of the list.

In the end I bought my cousin an activity book about pirates, because at least we can all agree that pirates are awesome, no matter how many penises you have. ( )