How to Win at Feminism

There are so many books that fall under the feminism umbrella- memoirs by celebrities, essay collections by literary greats, nonfiction theory texts by academics, and whatever else you can find in that tiny little section at the bookstore. Several months ago I started following The Reductress on Instagram and got a copy of their book How to Win at Feminism: A Definitive Guide to Having it All- And Then Some! for Christmas and enjoyed it. It's a total satire with some serious little gems thrown in, so if you're looking for a true how-to manual this really isn't it, nor is it a comprehensive look at feminism in general. I do think it captured where we are in terms of being pulled in a progressive direction but also the strings that attach many of us to what our mothers and grandmothers practiced (example: I have been answering work email while being home with my kid today, while simultaneously folding laundry and transferring money that I earned into my own savings account). 

Here are a few quotes and whatnot that stood out to me:

"Feminism is multi-factered, with women of many different backgrounds and privileges working together for equality. Although there are several types of feminists, most feminists fall into one of two camps: Beyonce or Taylor Swift" (5). 

"You know when you're sitting alone in a room and you feel a cold breeze on your neck that makes you shudder for just a second, and you ask if anybody else felt it, but nobody did? That's the patriarchy" (25). 

"If you're a white woman, you have a lot to fight for, but you also share a lot of the advantages white men have. This called privilege. Because you have more privilege than a lot of other women, you must use it for good and not evil, while also pulling off a killer outfit to show that helping others is cool" (36). 

"After all, we aren't wearing girdles and cleaning the house anymore. We're wearing Spanx and hiring a cleaning lady. That's feminism!" (88)

"Every woman should strive toward having it all. Why settle for anything less? The dream is readily available for women with courage, and half an ounce of self-respect Not having it all is not only a threat to feminism at large; it also has dangerous repercussions for your personal life as well. Studies have shown that not having it all can lead people to worry about what they'e doing with their live" (95).

"Forgiveness is like little bottles of hotel shampoo- you'll never un out!" (190)

It's definitely not perfect, at occasionally it was a little over-the-top for me and a bit annoying. But as a whole, I thought that the tone and level of distraction was perfect.