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The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls
A bold and uncompromising feminist manifesto that shows women and girls how to defy, disrupt, and destroy the patriarchy by embracing the qualities they've been trained to avoid.
Seizing upon the energy of the #MeToo movement, feminist activist Mona Eltahawy advocates a muscular, out-loud approach to teaching women and girls to harness their power through what she calls the "seven necessary sins" that women and girls are not supposed to commit: to be angry, ambitious, profane, violent, attention-seeking, lustful, and powerful. All the necessary "sins" that women and girls require to erupt.
Eltahawy knows that the patriarchy is alive and well, and she is fed up: Sexually assaulted during hajj at the age of fifteen. Groped on the dance floor of a night club in Montreal at fifty. Countless other injustices in the years between. Illuminating her call to action are stories of activists and ordinary women around the world—from South Africa to China, Nigeria to India, Bosnia to Egypt—who are tapping into their inner fury and crossing the lines of race, class, faith, and gender that make it so hard for marginalized women to be heard. Rather than teaching women and girls to survive the poisonous system they have found themselves in, Eltahawy arms them to dismantle it.
Brilliant, bold, and energetic, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a manifesto for all feminists in the fight against patriarchy.
Seizing upon the energy of the #MeToo movement, feminist activist Mona Eltahawy advocates a muscular, out-loud approach to teaching women and girls to harness their power through what she calls the "seven necessary sins" that women and girls are not supposed to commit: to be angry, ambitious, profane, violent, attention-seeking, lustful, and powerful. All the necessary "sins" that women and girls require to erupt.
Eltahawy knows that the patriarchy is alive and well, and she is fed up: Sexually assaulted during hajj at the age of fifteen. Groped on the dance floor of a night club in Montreal at fifty. Countless other injustices in the years between. Illuminating her call to action are stories of activists and ordinary women around the world—from South Africa to China, Nigeria to India, Bosnia to Egypt—who are tapping into their inner fury and crossing the lines of race, class, faith, and gender that make it so hard for marginalized women to be heard. Rather than teaching women and girls to survive the poisonous system they have found themselves in, Eltahawy arms them to dismantle it.
Brilliant, bold, and energetic, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a manifesto for all feminists in the fight against patriarchy.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2019
607 people are currently reading
17.7k people want to read
About the author
Mona Eltahawy
12books671followersMona Eltahawy is an award-winning writer on Arab and Muslim issues and global feminism.
She is the author of Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution (2015) and The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls (2019), founder of the newsletter Feminist Giant, and a regular contributor to The Guardian.
She is the author of Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution (2015) and The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls (2019), founder of the newsletter Feminist Giant, and a regular contributor to The Guardian.
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July 26, 2019If the petulant one-star reviews from men who couldn't possibly have even seen this book yet are any indication, I can't wait to read this. :)
February 28, 2020
4.5 stars
A brilliant firestorm of a book, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls acts as a radical feminist manifesto that transcends the trappings of white, liberal feminism. Mona Eltahawy takes a bold approach and demands that women access their anger, desire for attention, bodily autonomy, and more to destroy the patriarchy, no kiddy gloves necessary. She draws upon contemporary media and political examples from within the United States, as well as references powerful feminist movements occurring across the world. I appreciated how Eltahawy always asked more of feminism than what its most basic definition entails, for example, this quote about what power for women may mean:
"What does being powerful mean? It must be more than doing what men do or being what men can be. I don’t want to be something simply because a man can be that thing. Men are not my yardstick. If men themselves are not free of the ravages of racism, capitalism, and other forms of oppression, it is not enough to say I want to be equal to them. Equal to the ways they themselves are victimized by patriarchy? No thanks! I want to be free. As long as patriarchy remains unchallenged, men will continue to be the default and the standard against which everything is measured.�
I feel grateful and energized by how Eltahawy maintained a bold, forceful tone throughout this book. Her anger radiates, which makes sense given how she writes about angering topics such as abuse and sexual violence against women, institutional sexism, and more. Her analysis includes an intersectional framework that takes into account the unique experiences of LGBTQIA+ women and women of color. She integrates her commentary about global feminist phenomena with her personal experience of victimization and activism, merging the personal and the political. There were some moments in the book where I felt that bogged down by her transitions or lack thereof between her personal stories and her broader political commentary, such that I felt those moments dry or wanting of a bit more finesse. Still, I’d highly recommend this book to those who want to challenge themselves and confront the patriarchy with rage and ferocity, to those who can handle their feminism with some heat. I’ll end this review with one more quote that dismisses civility in the face of racism:
“Racism is not civil. Racism is not polite. And yet here were all those people lined up to insist that we be civil when talking about Trump and his supporters. Those people lined up to insist on civility were, of course, white. For white Americans who have no experience of racism, it is a concept, a theory, an idea to be debated, and not a lived reality to be endured or survived. Fuck that.�
A brilliant firestorm of a book, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls acts as a radical feminist manifesto that transcends the trappings of white, liberal feminism. Mona Eltahawy takes a bold approach and demands that women access their anger, desire for attention, bodily autonomy, and more to destroy the patriarchy, no kiddy gloves necessary. She draws upon contemporary media and political examples from within the United States, as well as references powerful feminist movements occurring across the world. I appreciated how Eltahawy always asked more of feminism than what its most basic definition entails, for example, this quote about what power for women may mean:
"What does being powerful mean? It must be more than doing what men do or being what men can be. I don’t want to be something simply because a man can be that thing. Men are not my yardstick. If men themselves are not free of the ravages of racism, capitalism, and other forms of oppression, it is not enough to say I want to be equal to them. Equal to the ways they themselves are victimized by patriarchy? No thanks! I want to be free. As long as patriarchy remains unchallenged, men will continue to be the default and the standard against which everything is measured.�
I feel grateful and energized by how Eltahawy maintained a bold, forceful tone throughout this book. Her anger radiates, which makes sense given how she writes about angering topics such as abuse and sexual violence against women, institutional sexism, and more. Her analysis includes an intersectional framework that takes into account the unique experiences of LGBTQIA+ women and women of color. She integrates her commentary about global feminist phenomena with her personal experience of victimization and activism, merging the personal and the political. There were some moments in the book where I felt that bogged down by her transitions or lack thereof between her personal stories and her broader political commentary, such that I felt those moments dry or wanting of a bit more finesse. Still, I’d highly recommend this book to those who want to challenge themselves and confront the patriarchy with rage and ferocity, to those who can handle their feminism with some heat. I’ll end this review with one more quote that dismisses civility in the face of racism:
“Racism is not civil. Racism is not polite. And yet here were all those people lined up to insist that we be civil when talking about Trump and his supporters. Those people lined up to insist on civility were, of course, white. For white Americans who have no experience of racism, it is a concept, a theory, an idea to be debated, and not a lived reality to be endured or survived. Fuck that.�
September 29, 2019
Mona Eltahawy was born to an Egyptian Muslim family, and previously tackled misogyny in the Muslim world in . In this book, she takes more of a global view, and writes a manifesto for all women and girls (including trans women and nonbinary people) for taking down the patriarchy. She identifies seven "sins" that need to be committed to dismantle power structures - anger, attention, profanity, ambition, power, violence, and lust. She includes her own stories of violence and protest and arrest and the stories of other women, tying them to data and historical contexts that serve to explain the situations in specific places but also how there is not a place where women can escape structural oppression. It's very readable while being well documented. Her arguments are international and intersectional and do not exclude the United States (since sometimes people in the United States seem to only think women are oppressed "over there.") She explains how sexual violence is used as a war tactic, how double oppression is used in countries controlled by dictators or religion, and how powerful men try to silence teenagers like Greta Thunberg (I was surprised to find her mentioned since I only knew about her in the past week or so.)
I would say if you want to understand why women are always wearing those dang Handmaids Tale costumes and protesting as abortion bans are passed, this book puts it in a clear perspective. What does bodily autonomy mean? (She says, "At what age does my body belong just to me?") What if women and girls used the power they have been taught to bury? (She says, "What if girls were taught they were volcanoes, whose eruptions were a thing of beauty...?) What if women and girls refused to yield space to be dominated by others desires or ideas? (She says, "The most subversive thing a woman can do is talk about her life as if it really matters.")
I had a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss and it came out September 17, 2019.
I would say if you want to understand why women are always wearing those dang Handmaids Tale costumes and protesting as abortion bans are passed, this book puts it in a clear perspective. What does bodily autonomy mean? (She says, "At what age does my body belong just to me?") What if women and girls used the power they have been taught to bury? (She says, "What if girls were taught they were volcanoes, whose eruptions were a thing of beauty...?) What if women and girls refused to yield space to be dominated by others desires or ideas? (She says, "The most subversive thing a woman can do is talk about her life as if it really matters.")
I had a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss and it came out September 17, 2019.
July 27, 2019
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I realized I'd fallen into the trap of only reading feminist books written by feminists who were white, and since realizing that oversight, I've really tried to expand my views and read books of feminism written by women of color. This is my second feminist book written by a woman who is Muslim (Sohaila Abdulali was the first), although it is the first I've read from an Egyptian author, and I think the way she talks about her culture and religion bring a unique and much-needed view to feminism.
Mona Eltahawy was sexually assaulted at Mecca during hajj. She asked herself, if she couldn't be safe here, where could she be? The problem, she realized, was not with her-- it was with men. Yes, I know, not all men. But enough men. Enough to be emblematic of a deep inequality rooted not just in the Middle East or even in the U.S., but globally. Inequality is an epidemic.
In THE SEVEN NECESSARY SINS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS, you can feel the author's anger vibrating from the pages. The focus of the book is of course feminism, but feminism specifically from the perspective of a Muslim woman of color. She talks a lot about racist sexism, and privilege within privilege, which is something I think a lot of white women don't really think about. She also talks about abusers, institutional sexism, and what it means to be a powerful woman. Some will likely be put off by her anger, but I think injustice should make people angry; if we feel nothing and allow ourselves to become numb or complacent, we won't do anything about it.
I liked the stories of Eltahawy's activism, and how she flipped the bird-- literally and figuratively in some cases-- to people in Egypt making careers out of oppressing women. I liked the many examples of institutional sexism in multiple countries, including the United States, and how she cautioned against making sexism the poster problem for a specific set of countries, which so many are afflicted with it. I liked how much she seems to like and respect herself, and how she made an active effort to include the LGBT+ (including trans women) in the dialogue, when so many authors don't.
I'm giving THE SEVEN NECESSARY SINS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS a three-star review because I think it's an important read and it was good, but it wasn't fun and it was also very dry. This is more of a women's studies/gender studies textbook than something someone would read for pleasure (although I did enjoy learning about her life and her viewpoints). If you are looking to broaden your viewpoints as well and get new perspectives on feminism, you should read this book.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
3 to 3.5 stars
February 11, 2020
Oh folks. I wanted very much to like this book--I'm always down for a good manifesto. I found it difficult to read at first, and I'm not sure why, but then it hit one of my Absolute No-Nos, and I couldn't put it down. It wasn't a hate-read, exactly, but it absolutely clarified certain things for me about certain forms of feminism.
So I will say first: Eltahawy's rightful and righteous anger is compelling, and it's clear she's deeply invested in protecting women and destroying patriarchy as she understands it, which is absolutely understandable. Her chapter on violence in particular asks a lot of difficult questions I think are worth chewing on, even if I am uncomfortable to some extent with their implications (as she wants me to be!) She draws on a huge number of international feminists of color and does not hold back and holding any number of nations responsible for their role in global patriarchy; I don't think anyone is really left unexamined.
What I was most enraged by was the ways in which trans women appeared in this book. Twice Eltahawy cites the statistic that the life expectancy of trans women of color is age 35, which is a statistic I'm familiar with as a nonbinary trans person who exists on the internet. That statistic is made up; no study has ever been produced of the life expectancy of trans people, period, and doing so would be incredibly difficult. In her first citation, the abstract of the report notes that the authors "had received information" from unspecified sources of the life expectancy numbers. This is my Big Beef; repeating that statistic is bad enough when it comes from trans people who are living with the threat of death (real or imagined) all the time, but now cis allies are repeating it. And not just repeating it--Eltahawy pairs the statistic with every time trans women make a major appearance in her arguments (first in her chapter on attention, where she notes that attention, a "sin" that women and girls must crave, is dangerous for trans women, and then again in her chapter on lust, where it appears alongside insisting we must consider trans women to be women) so that trans women are always alongside death in the text.
This makes sense if you understand the book to be almost wholly surrounding the experiences of cis women, which it is. Eltahawy draws repeatedly on ideas regarding socialization, though she doesn't not necessarily name it as such; these sins, she insists, women are socialized away from worldwide. Yet so many of these claims are around vaginas, menstruation, and little about the experiences of socialization are interrogated with regard to gender difference (though she is careful about race in particular, and class to a lesser extent.) Women must embrace these "sins" they have been socialized away from. Early in the book, Eltahawy insists she is not interested in the damage that patriarchy does to men, which a claim which I admire to a certain extent, but then the absence of trans men and transmasculine people, and thus of the problems they pose to her feminism, mean that she cannot actually interrogate the impact of patriarchy on people who are not cis women, despite her occasional inclusion of trans women (and once, very casually, trans men.) There is no interrogation of the impact of patriarchy on nonbinary people (as if that impact is singular, and impacts equally across all nonbinary people,) though she is quick to include them in her list of "women, nonbinary, and queer people." She includes the activism work of cis gay men in her book; she includes no trans voices at all. (Her chapter on lust also seems to hold little space for asexual people, for folks interested in that, nor does she speak of the potential of sex as a space of reenacting trauma etc, but I don't know that I expected the latter.)
Maybe I'm being too harsh because she hit on my Personal Specific Beef with the statistics, but I think the deployment of those statistics, and her inability to grapple with the problem that transgender people (especially trans men) pose to her ideas of feminism seem to indicate a larger problem within cis feminism. Eltahawy is not a TERF necessarily, though I think having her engage deeply in the legacies of radical feminism on her thinking would be really interesting (especially around issues of violence,) and she speaks the language of incorporation, but I'm left again with the understanding that mere incorporation without actually engaging in what the lives of transgender people (and trans women especially) entail in their relationship to patriarchy is not a feminism I find compelling.
So I will say first: Eltahawy's rightful and righteous anger is compelling, and it's clear she's deeply invested in protecting women and destroying patriarchy as she understands it, which is absolutely understandable. Her chapter on violence in particular asks a lot of difficult questions I think are worth chewing on, even if I am uncomfortable to some extent with their implications (as she wants me to be!) She draws on a huge number of international feminists of color and does not hold back and holding any number of nations responsible for their role in global patriarchy; I don't think anyone is really left unexamined.
What I was most enraged by was the ways in which trans women appeared in this book. Twice Eltahawy cites the statistic that the life expectancy of trans women of color is age 35, which is a statistic I'm familiar with as a nonbinary trans person who exists on the internet. That statistic is made up; no study has ever been produced of the life expectancy of trans people, period, and doing so would be incredibly difficult. In her first citation, the abstract of the report notes that the authors "had received information" from unspecified sources of the life expectancy numbers. This is my Big Beef; repeating that statistic is bad enough when it comes from trans people who are living with the threat of death (real or imagined) all the time, but now cis allies are repeating it. And not just repeating it--Eltahawy pairs the statistic with every time trans women make a major appearance in her arguments (first in her chapter on attention, where she notes that attention, a "sin" that women and girls must crave, is dangerous for trans women, and then again in her chapter on lust, where it appears alongside insisting we must consider trans women to be women) so that trans women are always alongside death in the text.
This makes sense if you understand the book to be almost wholly surrounding the experiences of cis women, which it is. Eltahawy draws repeatedly on ideas regarding socialization, though she doesn't not necessarily name it as such; these sins, she insists, women are socialized away from worldwide. Yet so many of these claims are around vaginas, menstruation, and little about the experiences of socialization are interrogated with regard to gender difference (though she is careful about race in particular, and class to a lesser extent.) Women must embrace these "sins" they have been socialized away from. Early in the book, Eltahawy insists she is not interested in the damage that patriarchy does to men, which a claim which I admire to a certain extent, but then the absence of trans men and transmasculine people, and thus of the problems they pose to her feminism, mean that she cannot actually interrogate the impact of patriarchy on people who are not cis women, despite her occasional inclusion of trans women (and once, very casually, trans men.) There is no interrogation of the impact of patriarchy on nonbinary people (as if that impact is singular, and impacts equally across all nonbinary people,) though she is quick to include them in her list of "women, nonbinary, and queer people." She includes the activism work of cis gay men in her book; she includes no trans voices at all. (Her chapter on lust also seems to hold little space for asexual people, for folks interested in that, nor does she speak of the potential of sex as a space of reenacting trauma etc, but I don't know that I expected the latter.)
Maybe I'm being too harsh because she hit on my Personal Specific Beef with the statistics, but I think the deployment of those statistics, and her inability to grapple with the problem that transgender people (especially trans men) pose to her ideas of feminism seem to indicate a larger problem within cis feminism. Eltahawy is not a TERF necessarily, though I think having her engage deeply in the legacies of radical feminism on her thinking would be really interesting (especially around issues of violence,) and she speaks the language of incorporation, but I'm left again with the understanding that mere incorporation without actually engaging in what the lives of transgender people (and trans women especially) entail in their relationship to patriarchy is not a feminism I find compelling.
September 26, 2019
Best summarized in the excerpt "This book is not the place where you will hear the reasonable argument that patriarchy is bad for men and boys too. It is indeed. There are plenty of other books that make that argument and urge men that it is in their own interest to join forces with women to dismantle patriarchy. I refuse to focus on and will not plead with those who benefit from my oppression to join a fight against a centuries-long systemic oppression that not only hurts women and girls and all who deviate from the template of heterosexual, conservative, and, mostly, rich men, but kills them." The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a difficult but important book.
Each of the essays is crowded with statistics and facts that elaborate on Eltahawy's opinions. It reads like both a TED talk and a conversation with a close friend about the stereotypical roles that are assigned to women all around the world and the "necessary sins" to disrupt them.
Every paragraph feels like a storm rolling through your body. It's powerful and unabashed.
It's everything feminism is.
*Copy received through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair review
*Rating: 5/5 stars
Each of the essays is crowded with statistics and facts that elaborate on Eltahawy's opinions. It reads like both a TED talk and a conversation with a close friend about the stereotypical roles that are assigned to women all around the world and the "necessary sins" to disrupt them.
Every paragraph feels like a storm rolling through your body. It's powerful and unabashed.
It's everything feminism is.
*Copy received through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair review
*Rating: 5/5 stars
December 19, 2019
I think her heart is in the right place but it reads like an incoherent blog post.
July 23, 2021
What a fuckin good book
January 27, 2020
This book may be a good introduction to feminist arguments for a young teen, but will leave adult women saying "Duh" over and over again. Her points are presented in a strange and non-linear order, with a lot of repetition. She asks the reader to be surprised at common misogynistic actions. I am sympathetic to her experiences, but not surprised, and her insistence that I be surprised is confusing and off-putting.
January 8, 2021
Five blazing sinful lustful angry independent just fuck-the-patriarchy stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 27, 2019
Wow, you really do just get angrier and angrier with each page that you read. And angry in a good way, mind you. I felt such a resonance with Eltahawy's messages that at times I found my hands shaking as I held the book. It's a call to action for every woman and girl (and GNC and non-binary individuals) to claim herself for herself and to fight back.
The seven necessary sins, as Eltahawy outlines are: Anger, Attention, Profanity, Ambition, Power, Violence, and Lust. Each chapter recounts Eltahawy's own experiences with each of these "sins" as well as stories from other women, girls, and movements around the world. Most importantly, Eltahawy focuses heavily on the middle East and non-Western countries where many of these struggles go unnoticed purely because they are non-Western. It is beautiful—and enraging—to read about the courage and the horror that exists in this patriarchal world.
At times, I found myself taking a step back and thinking, "Well, perhaps there might be a better way to compromise..." but Eltahawy won't take that for an answer. She says that we should not be subservient, we should not try to make patriarchy "comfortable," we should act out and take what is ours, what is rightfully ours and what has been systemically taken away from us for years and years. Eltahawy inspired an inner rage (a "pilot light of anger," as she calls it) that readily forced me to challenge my own ideas of feminism and activism.
I highly recommend reading this book to set that anger aflame, or to (in some cases,) reignite it. Challenge your ideas of Western (and non-Western) patriarchy and the many forms that it takes on. Reevaluate your own relationship with feminism and what it means to you and the women in your life. More than anything give this book to the men in your life. It will make them uncomfortable, it will challenge their own notions of "traditional" masculinity and force them to confront the ways in which they benefit from global patriarchy. There is nothing to be lost, for whomever reads this, there is only so much to be gained.
The seven necessary sins, as Eltahawy outlines are: Anger, Attention, Profanity, Ambition, Power, Violence, and Lust. Each chapter recounts Eltahawy's own experiences with each of these "sins" as well as stories from other women, girls, and movements around the world. Most importantly, Eltahawy focuses heavily on the middle East and non-Western countries where many of these struggles go unnoticed purely because they are non-Western. It is beautiful—and enraging—to read about the courage and the horror that exists in this patriarchal world.
At times, I found myself taking a step back and thinking, "Well, perhaps there might be a better way to compromise..." but Eltahawy won't take that for an answer. She says that we should not be subservient, we should not try to make patriarchy "comfortable," we should act out and take what is ours, what is rightfully ours and what has been systemically taken away from us for years and years. Eltahawy inspired an inner rage (a "pilot light of anger," as she calls it) that readily forced me to challenge my own ideas of feminism and activism.
I highly recommend reading this book to set that anger aflame, or to (in some cases,) reignite it. Challenge your ideas of Western (and non-Western) patriarchy and the many forms that it takes on. Reevaluate your own relationship with feminism and what it means to you and the women in your life. More than anything give this book to the men in your life. It will make them uncomfortable, it will challenge their own notions of "traditional" masculinity and force them to confront the ways in which they benefit from global patriarchy. There is nothing to be lost, for whomever reads this, there is only so much to be gained.
October 28, 2019
I really enjoyed certain aspects of this book - Mona Eltahawy's perspective and experiences, and especially her chapter on violence - but at times, it felt as though she wasn't saying something new. Reading this book, it was difficult to immerse myself in the text when I felt as though I were reading the same ideas I see on Twitter every day. It just didn't feel significant enough to fill a book - as if a piece were missing, or the argument that these sins are necessary didn't quite hit a note that resonated. Yes, women are angry. Yes, they are ambitious, and they lust and cuss and lash out. So what? Men may not know this or give us enough credit for it, but women know it, and women seem to be the target audience of the book. I really loved the chapter on violence because Eltahawy's writing is persuasive and impactful and resonates with the reader. But I felt she could have said more, or shed some light on the issues she discusses that made us see them in a new way. I wouldn't read it again, but I also wouldn't shrug it off as unimportant, but Eltahawy is certainly addressing important issues for women around the world today. I did appreciate her global approach.
November 10, 2019
"Anger is that bridge that carries feminism from idea to being, from the thought 'How the fuck is this happening?' to 'This must fucking stop.' "
Yes, Yup, Hear Hear, Hallelujah to each of Mona Eltahawy's 7 Necessary Sins: Anger, Attention, Profanity, Ambition, Power, Violence, Lust.
I started reading this book after my husband taped an interview of Eltahawy on morning television here in Australia and I recognized the voice, the anger, the "up with this I will no longer put," attitude that so many of us have, living in the patriarchy. As familiar as my own breathing. So I started reading and how wonderful to meet this uncompromising, indefatigable, courageous woman.
The book takes us through her own journey as an Egyptian Muslim woman who now lives in the US, her experiences of oppression and sexual assault. But importantly she introduces us to those brave women in many countries taking on institutionalized patriarchy, its leaders and followers.
Her arguments for each of the necessary sins are indisputable and sound, backed by copious evidence and statistics. But they, of course, cause controversy because Ms. Eltahawy champions fighting back, "by any means possible" to coin a phrase used by Malcolm X about the fight of African Americans for their freedom. Malcolm X was no feminist, but his point about the ethics of encouraging African-Americans to be "peaceful" whilst living in the face of violent racism is not lost on any of us.
Ms. Eltahawy's chapters (each of them) will ruffle feathers because the patriarchy mandates that women be docile-not angry, unassuming-not attention-seeking, civil and polite-not profane, satisfied with less-not ambitious, weak and dependent- not powerful, patient and long-suffering- not violent, and chaste-not lustful.
And no greater proof of that than Ms. Eltahawy's visit to Australia.
Whilst in Australia, Ms. Eltahawy was on a feminist panel talk show on the national broadcaster. That show has now been pulled from its catch-up platform because of the complaints of some of the audience that has the broadcaster conducting an investigation about the show. Haha. Jeez, Louise. We have a US President who swindles charities, calls white supremacists good people and grabs women by the pussy, we have an Australian Prime Minister who was fired from his job in Tourism Australia for malfeasance and refuses to tackle Climate change, but what gets investigated is a feminist panel discussion. That same broadcaster aired an interview of Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, a full-on racist, with hardly a peep. It wouldn't pull that interview from its catch up option.
I was not surprised. Of course, the foot soldiers of status quo politics need to silence the voices of women. Exactly as Malcolm X would have to respond to his white interviewers with their outraged questions about him advocating African Americans fight back, I saw the attempts by the female moderator to "control" the women's speech on that panel discussion. The backlash is predictable.
This book asks the question Richard Pryor so hilariously intoned in one of his albums, "How long? How long? How long will this bullshit go on?" Well, Mona Eltahawy argues that waiting for those who benefit from patriarchy to give up controlling women, their speech and their bodies is a fool's errand. It is time to fight back. Have patriarchy be afraid of feminism.
"And when will we revolt against our marginalized, pseudo-maverick status and assert our majority, our indispensable-to-the-species power-and I do mean power: our verifiable ability to change things inside our own lives and in the lives of other folks as well?"
And rather than conforming to the rules set out by the patriarchy, to be free to create our own rules, to be profane as a weapon in the war.
"Racism and bigotry are not polite, and I refuse to be polite in my fight against them."
"Who does civility serve? ...I refuse to be civil to someone who refuses to acknowledge my humanity fully."
Tim Minchin has written a song about the Pope, where he says "Fuck the mother-fucking Pope" at least a hundred times and in the song he says, and I am paraphrasing here, that if you are more offended by my language than by centuries of pedophilia, then you are morally corrupt. Well, people who tell women to stop saying fuck rather than listen to their stories of sexual assault, economic assault, degradation, and humiliation, then those people are NOT worthy of air time.
"Patriarchy also insists that it and it alone determines when something is offensive."
Yes, it does. And that doesn't include the slaughter and torture of women on a daily basis. But women being free, to say and do as they wish, that is offensive.
"What would the world look like if the energy spent policing language, especially female language, was invested instead into policing the very real harm of patriarchal-and often racist-violence?"
A great read. A necessary read. I think all women and girls need to understand it is okay to be angry about the confinement of their lives and learn to fight back.
Yes, Yup, Hear Hear, Hallelujah to each of Mona Eltahawy's 7 Necessary Sins: Anger, Attention, Profanity, Ambition, Power, Violence, Lust.
I started reading this book after my husband taped an interview of Eltahawy on morning television here in Australia and I recognized the voice, the anger, the "up with this I will no longer put," attitude that so many of us have, living in the patriarchy. As familiar as my own breathing. So I started reading and how wonderful to meet this uncompromising, indefatigable, courageous woman.
The book takes us through her own journey as an Egyptian Muslim woman who now lives in the US, her experiences of oppression and sexual assault. But importantly she introduces us to those brave women in many countries taking on institutionalized patriarchy, its leaders and followers.
Her arguments for each of the necessary sins are indisputable and sound, backed by copious evidence and statistics. But they, of course, cause controversy because Ms. Eltahawy champions fighting back, "by any means possible" to coin a phrase used by Malcolm X about the fight of African Americans for their freedom. Malcolm X was no feminist, but his point about the ethics of encouraging African-Americans to be "peaceful" whilst living in the face of violent racism is not lost on any of us.
Ms. Eltahawy's chapters (each of them) will ruffle feathers because the patriarchy mandates that women be docile-not angry, unassuming-not attention-seeking, civil and polite-not profane, satisfied with less-not ambitious, weak and dependent- not powerful, patient and long-suffering- not violent, and chaste-not lustful.
And no greater proof of that than Ms. Eltahawy's visit to Australia.
Whilst in Australia, Ms. Eltahawy was on a feminist panel talk show on the national broadcaster. That show has now been pulled from its catch-up platform because of the complaints of some of the audience that has the broadcaster conducting an investigation about the show. Haha. Jeez, Louise. We have a US President who swindles charities, calls white supremacists good people and grabs women by the pussy, we have an Australian Prime Minister who was fired from his job in Tourism Australia for malfeasance and refuses to tackle Climate change, but what gets investigated is a feminist panel discussion. That same broadcaster aired an interview of Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, a full-on racist, with hardly a peep. It wouldn't pull that interview from its catch up option.
I was not surprised. Of course, the foot soldiers of status quo politics need to silence the voices of women. Exactly as Malcolm X would have to respond to his white interviewers with their outraged questions about him advocating African Americans fight back, I saw the attempts by the female moderator to "control" the women's speech on that panel discussion. The backlash is predictable.
This book asks the question Richard Pryor so hilariously intoned in one of his albums, "How long? How long? How long will this bullshit go on?" Well, Mona Eltahawy argues that waiting for those who benefit from patriarchy to give up controlling women, their speech and their bodies is a fool's errand. It is time to fight back. Have patriarchy be afraid of feminism.
"And when will we revolt against our marginalized, pseudo-maverick status and assert our majority, our indispensable-to-the-species power-and I do mean power: our verifiable ability to change things inside our own lives and in the lives of other folks as well?"
And rather than conforming to the rules set out by the patriarchy, to be free to create our own rules, to be profane as a weapon in the war.
"Racism and bigotry are not polite, and I refuse to be polite in my fight against them."
"Who does civility serve? ...I refuse to be civil to someone who refuses to acknowledge my humanity fully."
Tim Minchin has written a song about the Pope, where he says "Fuck the mother-fucking Pope" at least a hundred times and in the song he says, and I am paraphrasing here, that if you are more offended by my language than by centuries of pedophilia, then you are morally corrupt. Well, people who tell women to stop saying fuck rather than listen to their stories of sexual assault, economic assault, degradation, and humiliation, then those people are NOT worthy of air time.
"Patriarchy also insists that it and it alone determines when something is offensive."
Yes, it does. And that doesn't include the slaughter and torture of women on a daily basis. But women being free, to say and do as they wish, that is offensive.
"What would the world look like if the energy spent policing language, especially female language, was invested instead into policing the very real harm of patriarchal-and often racist-violence?"
A great read. A necessary read. I think all women and girls need to understand it is okay to be angry about the confinement of their lives and learn to fight back.
January 4, 2021
All the stars, praise, and exaltation to Mona Eltahawy and her amazing book. I had high expectations going into this book, and I was so please that it surpassed all my expectations. I love this book so much, for so many reasons.
I learnt so much from this book, including the harsh realities of women and girls in many parts of the world. I also learnt a lot about the political climate in Egypt and the government’s treatment of women. I also learnt about new amazing women fighting the feminist fight, and about harmful practices against women and girls all over the world, such as menstruation huts. I felt so many things while reading this, sadness and anger topping the list. I was sad and angry about the oppression women and girls have to endure. Our only crime, it seems, is existing.
There were so many lessons to take away from this book, because it shed light on so much for me. Mona Eltahawy really delved into issues regarding Islam and women, and the laws and customs women have to be subjected to in some Islam-practicing countries. I have a Muslim father and I’m no stranger to some of these laws, but the stakes are so much higher for women in other parts of the world. Issues like wearing the hijab, women leading the Muslim prayer, and praying while on your period were explored in this book.
I cried so many times while listening to this audiobook and I had to keep taking breaks so I could regain my composure. Mona highlighted a lot of women and girls killed as a result of patriarchal laws and traditions in different parts of the world.
Class and race were also predominant talking points in this book, as she talked about white women and where their allegiance really lies. She also talked about women who act as the gatekeepers of patriarchy.
I can’t encapsulate the enormity of this book in this review, so I advise that you all read it ASAP!
I learnt so much from this book, including the harsh realities of women and girls in many parts of the world. I also learnt a lot about the political climate in Egypt and the government’s treatment of women. I also learnt about new amazing women fighting the feminist fight, and about harmful practices against women and girls all over the world, such as menstruation huts. I felt so many things while reading this, sadness and anger topping the list. I was sad and angry about the oppression women and girls have to endure. Our only crime, it seems, is existing.
There were so many lessons to take away from this book, because it shed light on so much for me. Mona Eltahawy really delved into issues regarding Islam and women, and the laws and customs women have to be subjected to in some Islam-practicing countries. I have a Muslim father and I’m no stranger to some of these laws, but the stakes are so much higher for women in other parts of the world. Issues like wearing the hijab, women leading the Muslim prayer, and praying while on your period were explored in this book.
I cried so many times while listening to this audiobook and I had to keep taking breaks so I could regain my composure. Mona highlighted a lot of women and girls killed as a result of patriarchal laws and traditions in different parts of the world.
Class and race were also predominant talking points in this book, as she talked about white women and where their allegiance really lies. She also talked about women who act as the gatekeepers of patriarchy.
I can’t encapsulate the enormity of this book in this review, so I advise that you all read it ASAP!
October 2, 2019
This book recommendation is not for everyone. This is for the women who, as Erin Keane tweeted last year, has the feeling that ""Every woman I know has been storing anger for years in her body and it's starting to feel like bees are going to pour out of all of our mouths at the same time."" I'm not yet done with the book Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls by Mona Elthaway, but I feel like some of you also need this book. If your skin is quietly buzzing with righteous anger, Mona is speaking your language, not in quiet, polite language, but with rage and judicious swearing, and the power that comes from shedding the voices telling you to be quiet, to be nice, to smooth things over. Mona is an Egyptian-born writer and is very clear that her brand of feminism requires standing against white supremacy too. Her angry fire leaps off the paper and takes no prisoners. This book is not for everyone but it is for some of you.
May 30, 2021
Random Thought: Does it make me a bad feminist if I say that I absolutely hated this book?
Don't get me wrong, the author makes some very good points and everything she (and every woman) has every right to be mad about all the horrible things she (and we) have gone through.
However, the writing made me feel like I was being shouted at. Like I need to be as mad as she 'sounds' in the book and if I dared not to be I am less than. Like am not enough of a feminist and that's just a no in my book.
As a woman I will always fight against patriarchy. For my and my fellow women's rights but I will not sit in or with my rage all the time. Life would just suck if I did this
Don't get me wrong, the author makes some very good points and everything she (and every woman) has every right to be mad about all the horrible things she (and we) have gone through.
However, the writing made me feel like I was being shouted at. Like I need to be as mad as she 'sounds' in the book and if I dared not to be I am less than. Like am not enough of a feminist and that's just a no in my book.
As a woman I will always fight against patriarchy. For my and my fellow women's rights but I will not sit in or with my rage all the time. Life would just suck if I did this
August 8, 2023
I have an incredible streak of amazing books, from my last six books, five have been five-stars which makes me feel like I'm going soft just a little bit, but also, those books were fucking amazing (Mona Eltahawy told us in this book that swearing is feminist, so... this might be a swearing review, beware 😂 spoiler from future me: it didn't really turn out that way. Another warning instead, this review is extremely messy, but I don't mind, deal with it, or don't, I'm not forcing anyone to read this).
I wish more people would read this book instead of 's . It seems like a bad form to start a book review writing about different book, but this was a thought largely on my mind while listening to this, so I'm rolling with it. It's my impression that Adichie is a feminist pop-star of the last few years, she's reading these short-readable relatable books that are honest and full of her feelings and I understand why people like her.* She is clever and authentic and... you know, also TERF. She isn't so obvious about it, but she supported JKR and We Should All Be Feminist is noticeably based on gender binary and essentialism. I read that book before I had deeper understanding of some of those concepts, so my review of that book is pretty shallow and I sometimes feel a need to re-read the book, so I could do a better job of it, but... you know, feels like a waste of time to me. My point of this beginning is dual; first, I wanted to say again that Adichie is Trans-exclusionary feminist and therefore no feminist at all in my eyes, I still see people around me reading her and praising her work and.... you know, reading problematic writers is fine, but please do it with awareness. My second and main point is... I feel a bit too advanced for this book, but what an amazing book! I wish more teen-girls read it. I wish more girls grew up knowing that it's alright to be angry and loud and ambitious.
*I feel that I should say that I only read her We Should All Be Feminists and listened to some of her talks. I read none of her fiction books.
That said, for those exact reasons this book won't be for everyone. Feminist books are notoriously angry (and I love that about them, but also I discovered when I read feminist book that is instead deeply compassionate, I cry rivers... right, ?) but this book... it's leaning toward violent. Right at the beginning of the book, the author tells us a story about how beat up a guy who groped her. It's deeply uncomfortable for several reasons. For me mostly, because I price kindness very highly. The violence in the book is ever-present. Eltahawy is a "true activist" she uses public disobedience to make a stand, she's abused by the police of her home-state (she's sexually harassed and both of her arms are broken), she's kyber-bullied by another's state security. Her activism reminds me of suffragette movement in Britain with some of its attitudes. This is going to be a turn-off for some people. At the beginning I wasn't completely sure if this was a turn-off for me, but I have been persuaded. (Even though I still dislike violence.) This is the only reason why I hesitate if this is the best book to start your feminist journey with.
This is a hard book to read, but one of the reasons why it is so hard is due to its positionality and intersectionality. The geographical locality of feminist books is important to me. I'm not from U.S., I'm from a small European country that almost never gets mentioned in those books (though - it kind off - gets here 🤭, I mean, we were not Czechoslovakia for 26 years at the date of the publication of this book, but... it's forgiven). Therefore, books that are hyper-focused on U.S. or Britain are never fully applicable to may every-day experience. I still read them, and they are still valuable, but... you know. This book reminded me of in the way it's positioned, overseeing the whole world, only... I think this book did it better. (Which I think is highly subjective opinion and also remember that it's aver a year since I read White Tears, so...) We get anecdotes from Eltahawy's birth-country Egypt, from Saudi-Arabia where she spent part of her teenage years, from U.S. where she lived for big part of her adult life. But we also get stories about Bosnia (which I SO appreciated and I would read the book she urged her friend to write! I guess, I have to check if it doesn't exist already...), from India, from Uganda, from Keňa - actually from a lot of African countries which I though was amazing and refreshing and I'm ashamed to admit that some of them are blending in my mind a little bit, so... It's hard to get specific. Uganda sticked to my mind especially because of the recent anti-gay bill which includes death penalty, I'm still shook about that so reading about Uganda of five-years ago wasn't really a surprise, but it should serve us as a reminder that those things don't come from nowhere, they are long in-coming...
This review is a mess and I'm not even sorry about it, because it's honest and I want more people to read this, but at the same time, the target audience for this one is a bit tricky. For the reasons already stated so I won't go into that again, but I didn't actually finish the thought with which this review started. Why do I want you to read it instead of ? Because We should all be feminists is a worthy call and one that Adichie doesn't fulfill, there are people noticeable missing from her ALL, it's queer people. We already covered that she excludes trans people but even when gays & lesbians are tentatively present in her book, they are nearly invisible, they aren't equals. Bisexuality, polyamory, asexuality... if I remember correctly, none of it is mentioned by Adichie and all of it is mentioned by Eltahawy. Eltahawy includes queer people in a way that feels effortless and conscious at once. Effortless meaning that queer people just inhabit her universe and she herself identifies as queer and polyamorous. Conscious in a way that in a part about sex-positivity and reclamation of her body after sexual trauma, she mentions asexual people; and when discussing hymens and menstruation, she mentions trans-people. In short, the reason why I would recommend this book as one of the feminist starting points, is because it's so wonderfully intersectional and it covers lot of the bases* in a way that is unapologetically angry and... I think we could do with listening to more unapologetically angry women.
*Obviously, no book of this format can cover everything. Eltahawy mentions disabled people, but if I'm not mistaken, none of the feminists she speaks about lengthily is disabled. The indigenous rights/feminist movements are also largely missing from the book, but... you know that makes sense, the author focuses on her own experiences for big chunk and I think that decision is right.
The book also covers topics that usually don't get that much attention. She talks about torture as a current practice of several states and there is amazing segment focused on bisexuality and the way it's radical to be bisexual (I obviously loved that bit).
I kind of lost my steam here, so I think I'm going to wrap it up. Did I learn something particularly new here... well, not much, but you know, hymen reconstruction is a thing... I didn't want to know that, but I'm not surprised. I was also very pleased with the focus on African countries. I mean to learn more about African feminisms (and you know, Africa in general) more for some time, but it's bothering me more and more in the recent months, so I truly appreciate this. I have to go back and find the names because there were a few things that caught my attention.
I listened to this on audio, the book is read by the author which was amazing because it added a whole new emotional landscape to it. Really, I'm so glad I read this. It wasn't particularly eye-opening to me, but I really enjoyed the author's style and the way she approached the subject.
Would recommend. Just would recommend. You know, I think people this book isn't for would get turned of by the cover alone, so... if you are not offended by it, I think you should be safe reading this 🤭
An article on the Ugandan anti-gay bill and it's relation to colonialism:
BRed at Radical Reading: /topic/show/...
I wish more people would read this book instead of 's . It seems like a bad form to start a book review writing about different book, but this was a thought largely on my mind while listening to this, so I'm rolling with it. It's my impression that Adichie is a feminist pop-star of the last few years, she's reading these short-readable relatable books that are honest and full of her feelings and I understand why people like her.* She is clever and authentic and... you know, also TERF. She isn't so obvious about it, but she supported JKR and We Should All Be Feminist is noticeably based on gender binary and essentialism. I read that book before I had deeper understanding of some of those concepts, so my review of that book is pretty shallow and I sometimes feel a need to re-read the book, so I could do a better job of it, but... you know, feels like a waste of time to me. My point of this beginning is dual; first, I wanted to say again that Adichie is Trans-exclusionary feminist and therefore no feminist at all in my eyes, I still see people around me reading her and praising her work and.... you know, reading problematic writers is fine, but please do it with awareness. My second and main point is... I feel a bit too advanced for this book, but what an amazing book! I wish more teen-girls read it. I wish more girls grew up knowing that it's alright to be angry and loud and ambitious.
*I feel that I should say that I only read her We Should All Be Feminists and listened to some of her talks. I read none of her fiction books.
That said, for those exact reasons this book won't be for everyone. Feminist books are notoriously angry (and I love that about them, but also I discovered when I read feminist book that is instead deeply compassionate, I cry rivers... right, ?) but this book... it's leaning toward violent. Right at the beginning of the book, the author tells us a story about how beat up a guy who groped her. It's deeply uncomfortable for several reasons. For me mostly, because I price kindness very highly. The violence in the book is ever-present. Eltahawy is a "true activist" she uses public disobedience to make a stand, she's abused by the police of her home-state (she's sexually harassed and both of her arms are broken), she's kyber-bullied by another's state security. Her activism reminds me of suffragette movement in Britain with some of its attitudes. This is going to be a turn-off for some people. At the beginning I wasn't completely sure if this was a turn-off for me, but I have been persuaded. (Even though I still dislike violence.) This is the only reason why I hesitate if this is the best book to start your feminist journey with.
This is a hard book to read, but one of the reasons why it is so hard is due to its positionality and intersectionality. The geographical locality of feminist books is important to me. I'm not from U.S., I'm from a small European country that almost never gets mentioned in those books (though - it kind off - gets here 🤭, I mean, we were not Czechoslovakia for 26 years at the date of the publication of this book, but... it's forgiven). Therefore, books that are hyper-focused on U.S. or Britain are never fully applicable to may every-day experience. I still read them, and they are still valuable, but... you know. This book reminded me of in the way it's positioned, overseeing the whole world, only... I think this book did it better. (Which I think is highly subjective opinion and also remember that it's aver a year since I read White Tears, so...) We get anecdotes from Eltahawy's birth-country Egypt, from Saudi-Arabia where she spent part of her teenage years, from U.S. where she lived for big part of her adult life. But we also get stories about Bosnia (which I SO appreciated and I would read the book she urged her friend to write! I guess, I have to check if it doesn't exist already...), from India, from Uganda, from Keňa - actually from a lot of African countries which I though was amazing and refreshing and I'm ashamed to admit that some of them are blending in my mind a little bit, so... It's hard to get specific. Uganda sticked to my mind especially because of the recent anti-gay bill which includes death penalty, I'm still shook about that so reading about Uganda of five-years ago wasn't really a surprise, but it should serve us as a reminder that those things don't come from nowhere, they are long in-coming...
This review is a mess and I'm not even sorry about it, because it's honest and I want more people to read this, but at the same time, the target audience for this one is a bit tricky. For the reasons already stated so I won't go into that again, but I didn't actually finish the thought with which this review started. Why do I want you to read it instead of ? Because We should all be feminists is a worthy call and one that Adichie doesn't fulfill, there are people noticeable missing from her ALL, it's queer people. We already covered that she excludes trans people but even when gays & lesbians are tentatively present in her book, they are nearly invisible, they aren't equals. Bisexuality, polyamory, asexuality... if I remember correctly, none of it is mentioned by Adichie and all of it is mentioned by Eltahawy. Eltahawy includes queer people in a way that feels effortless and conscious at once. Effortless meaning that queer people just inhabit her universe and she herself identifies as queer and polyamorous. Conscious in a way that in a part about sex-positivity and reclamation of her body after sexual trauma, she mentions asexual people; and when discussing hymens and menstruation, she mentions trans-people. In short, the reason why I would recommend this book as one of the feminist starting points, is because it's so wonderfully intersectional and it covers lot of the bases* in a way that is unapologetically angry and... I think we could do with listening to more unapologetically angry women.
*Obviously, no book of this format can cover everything. Eltahawy mentions disabled people, but if I'm not mistaken, none of the feminists she speaks about lengthily is disabled. The indigenous rights/feminist movements are also largely missing from the book, but... you know that makes sense, the author focuses on her own experiences for big chunk and I think that decision is right.
The book also covers topics that usually don't get that much attention. She talks about torture as a current practice of several states and there is amazing segment focused on bisexuality and the way it's radical to be bisexual (I obviously loved that bit).
I kind of lost my steam here, so I think I'm going to wrap it up. Did I learn something particularly new here... well, not much, but you know, hymen reconstruction is a thing... I didn't want to know that, but I'm not surprised. I was also very pleased with the focus on African countries. I mean to learn more about African feminisms (and you know, Africa in general) more for some time, but it's bothering me more and more in the recent months, so I truly appreciate this. I have to go back and find the names because there were a few things that caught my attention.
I listened to this on audio, the book is read by the author which was amazing because it added a whole new emotional landscape to it. Really, I'm so glad I read this. It wasn't particularly eye-opening to me, but I really enjoyed the author's style and the way she approached the subject.
Would recommend. Just would recommend. You know, I think people this book isn't for would get turned of by the cover alone, so... if you are not offended by it, I think you should be safe reading this 🤭
An article on the Ugandan anti-gay bill and it's relation to colonialism:
BRed at Radical Reading: /topic/show/...
February 23, 2021
I was interested in this book when I read that the author was partially inspired to write it after being groped in a nightclub at age 50 and then beating up her attacker. But, the book is just basically RAGE AGAINST THE PATRIARCHY. And not that I don't feel that same rage as well, but I just can't live constantly being so angry I could explode at any moment. Eltahawy models the book after the seven deadly sins, but frames it as things women and girls SHOULD be doing to fight patriarchy. While I don't really disagree with her message I feel like this book would be off-putting for all but the most radical feminist. And that might be her point - to make people uncomfortable to hope they look and really see what is going on in our world. I agree with the quote, "If you're not angry, you're not paying attention." and Eltahawy brings attention to a lot of real, important issues. Overall, while I agree with most of her major points I wouldn't really recommend this one.
Some quotes I liked:
"Attention is power. When you command attention, you command power, and so patriarchy has muddied the waters around attention with the word 'whore.' A word intended to shame is used to convince women that to want attention is to want something shameful. Much like sex." (p. 37)
"In the summer of 2018 Tokyo Medical University (TMU) was forced to admit it had 'systematically lowered the scores of female applicants to keep the number of women in the student body around 30 percent,' Agence France Presse reported...Unsurprisingly, the university blamed women for getting in their own way. The determination to limit to 30 percent the number of women admitted to the medical school, said an unnamed source to the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, was due to 'concerns female graduates were not going to practice medicine in employment.' [Because obviously they would have children and quit working]" (p. 89-90)
"We must refuse those crumbs [patriarchy gives some women]. Those crumbs are offered as compensation for a host of oppressions that patriarchy employs to maintain itself. I don't want crumbs; I want the whole cake. And I don't want patriarchy's cake - we must bake our own." (p. 108)
"If every act of violence against women were reported on the news, it would be recognized for the epidemic - the war - that it is. Instead only 'especially' violent attacks are reported and not even all of those, which tells you that society does not care and/or is immune to them." (p. 136)
"The national US average prison sentence of men who kill their female partners is two to six years, while women who kill their partners are sentenced on average to fifteen years, despite the fact that most women who kill their partners do so to protect themselves from violence initiated by their partners." (p. 145)
Some quotes I liked:
"Attention is power. When you command attention, you command power, and so patriarchy has muddied the waters around attention with the word 'whore.' A word intended to shame is used to convince women that to want attention is to want something shameful. Much like sex." (p. 37)
"In the summer of 2018 Tokyo Medical University (TMU) was forced to admit it had 'systematically lowered the scores of female applicants to keep the number of women in the student body around 30 percent,' Agence France Presse reported...Unsurprisingly, the university blamed women for getting in their own way. The determination to limit to 30 percent the number of women admitted to the medical school, said an unnamed source to the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, was due to 'concerns female graduates were not going to practice medicine in employment.' [Because obviously they would have children and quit working]" (p. 89-90)
"We must refuse those crumbs [patriarchy gives some women]. Those crumbs are offered as compensation for a host of oppressions that patriarchy employs to maintain itself. I don't want crumbs; I want the whole cake. And I don't want patriarchy's cake - we must bake our own." (p. 108)
"If every act of violence against women were reported on the news, it would be recognized for the epidemic - the war - that it is. Instead only 'especially' violent attacks are reported and not even all of those, which tells you that society does not care and/or is immune to them." (p. 136)
"The national US average prison sentence of men who kill their female partners is two to six years, while women who kill their partners are sentenced on average to fifteen years, despite the fact that most women who kill their partners do so to protect themselves from violence initiated by their partners." (p. 145)
March 29, 2023
“What would the world look like if girls were taught they were volcanoes, whose eruptions were a thing of beauty, a power to behold, a force not to be trifled with?”~Mona Eltahawy
This was definitely a powerful book to ring in the new year reading bits of and digesting each day. I really appreciate Mona Eltahawy's unapologetic and eloquent rage at patriarchy and addressing a myriad of global issues. Mona breaks down what she lists as the seven necessary sins for women and girls; Anger, Attention, Profanity, Ambition, Power, Violence, and Lust; and how embodying these 'sins' will empower the intersectional struggles against patriarchy. Sharing personal experiences as well as various international feminist stories of confronting patriarchy Mona weaves a tapestry of intersectionality that fights back.
Sometimes in the discussions of the personal stories it frayed a little bit from each of the seven topics at large, but overall I think this is an exceptionally important book. I appreciated how Mona calls out so many relevant issues, double standards, and the need to be angry about what's going on all over the globe.
This was definitely a powerful book to ring in the new year reading bits of and digesting each day. I really appreciate Mona Eltahawy's unapologetic and eloquent rage at patriarchy and addressing a myriad of global issues. Mona breaks down what she lists as the seven necessary sins for women and girls; Anger, Attention, Profanity, Ambition, Power, Violence, and Lust; and how embodying these 'sins' will empower the intersectional struggles against patriarchy. Sharing personal experiences as well as various international feminist stories of confronting patriarchy Mona weaves a tapestry of intersectionality that fights back.
Sometimes in the discussions of the personal stories it frayed a little bit from each of the seven topics at large, but overall I think this is an exceptionally important book. I appreciated how Mona calls out so many relevant issues, double standards, and the need to be angry about what's going on all over the globe.
January 20, 2020
Simply amazing. Powered me through a difficult time in my life like rocket fuel. Should be required reading for everyone.
January 24, 2025
absolutely incredibleeeee book, and literally encompasses who i am as a person 🤣🤣
September 26, 2019
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is an exciting manifesto to advance women’s freedom worldwide. Mona Eltahawy enumerates seven qualities necessary to their liberation, qualities considered the provenance of men and discouraged in women. That’s why she calls them sins. Women who exhibit these qualities are attacked and defamed. Not she says they are for women, not of women. Her argument is these qualities are required to free ourselves from patriarchy.
The sins are anger, attention, profanity, ambition, power, violence, and lust. Each chapter explains why that particular “sin� is necessary, giving examples of organizers around the world who have used those values to work to emancipate women and girls. The campaign to advocate for menstrual products for girls employed profanity, for example. The campaign for women’s access to Hindu temples during the years they menstruate used power. The book is full of feminist heroes I have never heard of and fabulous women’s organizing around the world.
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a fabulous manifesto that encourages women to free themselves from patriarchy. Eltawahy is ambitious. She does not limit feminism to women being like men, but women being free. She points out to the power of leveraging LGBTIQ organizing and civil rights organizing by POC with feminist organizing. She shows the power of intersectional alliances and intersectional organizing. You cannot read this book and not feel fired up for freedom.
I received an ARC of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls at Beacon Press
Mona Eltahawy author site
The sins are anger, attention, profanity, ambition, power, violence, and lust. Each chapter explains why that particular “sin� is necessary, giving examples of organizers around the world who have used those values to work to emancipate women and girls. The campaign to advocate for menstrual products for girls employed profanity, for example. The campaign for women’s access to Hindu temples during the years they menstruate used power. The book is full of feminist heroes I have never heard of and fabulous women’s organizing around the world.
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a fabulous manifesto that encourages women to free themselves from patriarchy. Eltawahy is ambitious. She does not limit feminism to women being like men, but women being free. She points out to the power of leveraging LGBTIQ organizing and civil rights organizing by POC with feminist organizing. She shows the power of intersectional alliances and intersectional organizing. You cannot read this book and not feel fired up for freedom.
I received an ARC of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls at Beacon Press
Mona Eltahawy author site
July 1, 2019
Hateful, divisive trash.
March 3, 2022
There is much in the world that is fucking awful and the roots of that go squarely back to the global patriarchy we all exist under, because the pushes to limit civil rights and freedoms � particularly of LGBTQ folk � are the ways patriarchy attempts to control. Patriarchy harms everyone, but as Eltahawy rightly points out, it harms some more than others. With that in mind, and with her own incandescent rage firmly lit, Eltahawy wrote The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls as a manifesto for throwing over the patriarchy in seven actions.
While I found the sins themselves instructive (and not unexpected) what I was really struck with in this book is Eltahawy’s insistence on bringing as many intersectional and often underreported examples as possible to the forefront in order to illuminate examples of how each sin was needed to fight back against the harm patriarchy inflicts. It reminded me of in that it told me stories I should have already known from a voice on the inside. Seven Necessary Sins is the call to arms twin to Anne Helen Petersen’s as Eltahawy calls us to defy, disobey, and disrupt in order to harness our power against that which denies us freedom � not to survive it, but to dismantle it.
full review:
While I found the sins themselves instructive (and not unexpected) what I was really struck with in this book is Eltahawy’s insistence on bringing as many intersectional and often underreported examples as possible to the forefront in order to illuminate examples of how each sin was needed to fight back against the harm patriarchy inflicts. It reminded me of in that it told me stories I should have already known from a voice on the inside. Seven Necessary Sins is the call to arms twin to Anne Helen Petersen’s as Eltahawy calls us to defy, disobey, and disrupt in order to harness our power against that which denies us freedom � not to survive it, but to dismantle it.
full review:
October 17, 2019
This in an intense, intimidating, important, and inspiring work. Eltahawy's breakdown of how the patriarchy has oppressed people across various demographics (sex, gender, race, religion, class) is enlightening and frightening. Her attempt to globalize the issue forces the reader to think beyond their own lives and think of this on a larger scale. Much of Eltahawy's rhetoric can be viewed as militant, but that's intentional and - I think - a compliment to her.
Reading this also makes me wonder what role - if any - I can have in this fight. I am, for the most part, everything feminism is fighting against: white, straight, and male (just add Christian and I'd be the quadruple threat). Eltahawy argues that women (cis and trans, of color and not, of every religion) need to stand up to everything the patriarchy has done and then tear it down, an effort I fully support, but wish I could do more to assist with. In addition, I have to wonder about her "no compromise" attitude. I recently saw a clip of Ellen DeGeneres explaining and justifying her friendship with George W. Bush, a man whose political view would have deprived Ellen of her right to marry the woman she loves. Degeneres defends her friendship with him by saying her mantra is to be kind to everyone, not just those with whom she agrees. But how do you open the conversation? How do you address the issues with those whose views are polar opposite? Can we agree to disagree? Not on these issues. Will Eltahawy's mentality drive a deeper wedge within our societies? I honestly don't know what the correct answer is.
The only issues I have with this book are stylistic ones. Eltahawy, on occasion, turns the text to be more about her and less about the circumstances (where *she* spoke, what hashtag *she* started, places *she* went). I understand that much of this book is infused by her experiences, but I find her tone occasionally pulls focus from the issues she's writing about.
I wish I had annotated this book as I read it, because many of the specifics that stood out to me at the time are escaping me. I'm left with generalities of how I feel about this book without specifics to support them.
Reading this also makes me wonder what role - if any - I can have in this fight. I am, for the most part, everything feminism is fighting against: white, straight, and male (just add Christian and I'd be the quadruple threat). Eltahawy argues that women (cis and trans, of color and not, of every religion) need to stand up to everything the patriarchy has done and then tear it down, an effort I fully support, but wish I could do more to assist with. In addition, I have to wonder about her "no compromise" attitude. I recently saw a clip of Ellen DeGeneres explaining and justifying her friendship with George W. Bush, a man whose political view would have deprived Ellen of her right to marry the woman she loves. Degeneres defends her friendship with him by saying her mantra is to be kind to everyone, not just those with whom she agrees. But how do you open the conversation? How do you address the issues with those whose views are polar opposite? Can we agree to disagree? Not on these issues. Will Eltahawy's mentality drive a deeper wedge within our societies? I honestly don't know what the correct answer is.
The only issues I have with this book are stylistic ones. Eltahawy, on occasion, turns the text to be more about her and less about the circumstances (where *she* spoke, what hashtag *she* started, places *she* went). I understand that much of this book is infused by her experiences, but I find her tone occasionally pulls focus from the issues she's writing about.
I wish I had annotated this book as I read it, because many of the specifics that stood out to me at the time are escaping me. I'm left with generalities of how I feel about this book without specifics to support them.
June 23, 2020
Empowering. Unapologetic. Rebellious. FUCK PATRIARCHY.
I have been reading feminist books and authors since I was 14. Not many books can make you feel this empowered though, even less books can fuel your rage so passionately. Sure I liked all the stats, stories and anecdotes but I LOVED Mona's honesty and rightful anger. Her effort to awaken our learned repressed anger and to help us reclaim our position as women both in the private and public sphere is very much appreciated and needed!
Sometimes I found the book triggering, I even cried. I was called to remember vividly every exchange and experience I've had with sexual assault, harassment, and misogyny. This book hits you hard with truth: nothing will ever change if we do not actively fight back! It is extremely tiring to pretend to be polite when fighting patriarchy and to constantly convince yourself that everything can change through *dialogue* and *peace*. Although it is very convenient to be delusional about reality, we should acknowledge the war against us for exactly what it is: terrorism and everyday violence.
We will not let ourselves be burned because this time the fire is ours. Ni Una Menos.
I have been reading feminist books and authors since I was 14. Not many books can make you feel this empowered though, even less books can fuel your rage so passionately. Sure I liked all the stats, stories and anecdotes but I LOVED Mona's honesty and rightful anger. Her effort to awaken our learned repressed anger and to help us reclaim our position as women both in the private and public sphere is very much appreciated and needed!
Sometimes I found the book triggering, I even cried. I was called to remember vividly every exchange and experience I've had with sexual assault, harassment, and misogyny. This book hits you hard with truth: nothing will ever change if we do not actively fight back! It is extremely tiring to pretend to be polite when fighting patriarchy and to constantly convince yourself that everything can change through *dialogue* and *peace*. Although it is very convenient to be delusional about reality, we should acknowledge the war against us for exactly what it is: terrorism and everyday violence.
We will not let ourselves be burned because this time the fire is ours. Ni Una Menos.
March 12, 2022
While the general idea presented is quite an important one, I'm not sure I loved how it was laid out. The writing seemed kind of rushed (like Mona was typing away quickly before she lost the thought) which resulted in a LOT of repetitions and grammatical and spelling mistakes. I also don't like it when feminists judge other feminists on their choice of feminism. Mona herself says in this book that there is no one right way to be a feminist and yet, she seems to be saying "be a feminist, but no not like that". She also constantly undermines white women and says how feminism has to be lead by POC and lgbtq people. Feminism isn't about excluding anyone, it's for everyone. These devisions only create animosity within the same group that is supposed to be working towards one shared goal. I enjoyed her earlier book, Headscarves and Hymens way more than this one. My rating is somewhere between 2.5 stars to 3 stars.
August 5, 2019
TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains content relating to sexual violence.
To be honest, when I first received this book from a goodreads giveaway, I was unsure of whether I would like it at all or bother to finish it. Upon finishing the introduction, I was sold on the necessity to complete the book. This is a must read for all people.
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a powerful manifesto and call to action. Eltahawy, an Egyptian-American woman who was sexually assaulted on her holy pilgrimage as a teenager continues to speak against the disadvantage the standing patriarchy imposes upon women and others around the world. Her seven well-cited essays will make you continuously stop to process what you have read. She lays out who is responsible for women coming to true freedom in the world and how exactly she proposes it will become possible.
To be honest, when I first received this book from a goodreads giveaway, I was unsure of whether I would like it at all or bother to finish it. Upon finishing the introduction, I was sold on the necessity to complete the book. This is a must read for all people.
The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a powerful manifesto and call to action. Eltahawy, an Egyptian-American woman who was sexually assaulted on her holy pilgrimage as a teenager continues to speak against the disadvantage the standing patriarchy imposes upon women and others around the world. Her seven well-cited essays will make you continuously stop to process what you have read. She lays out who is responsible for women coming to true freedom in the world and how exactly she proposes it will become possible.
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