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If you want more anger inducing proof for the fact that the systems in place across the world are inherently rigged against women because male definitions and standards have always been default, then this book is a perfect read. Even supposedly gender-neutral designs are actually biased against women due to non-availability of sex-disaggregated data.

This staggering lack of data shapes the dangerous terrain women try to navigate on a daily basis. Perez, in this book, presents numerous examples with citations to demonstrate how by failing to account for female anatomy, violence against women and unpaid work (which is mostly done by women), the designs of our public spaces, workplaces, tools, medicinal drugs and vehicles are uncomfortable at best and risking half the global population's lives at worst.

A lot of these designs further enforce and amplify biases already in place. Gender roles that even little girls learn by watching the society around them are also fortified by existing socio-political systems. But conversely, gender specific products that would make women's lives far easier are simply lacking. It's not our place to behave like a man, but it's really annoying that we aren't more like them apparently.

I am writing this review from a place of deep desolation. As I was just finishing this book up within which the author spoke about and condemned the infamous 2012 Delhi gang rape case of a young woman then dubbed 'Nirbhaya', my country's print media was flooding with reports she had multiple fractures, her tongue was bitten off, she was strangled and left to die. After struggling in the hospital for two weeks she passed away on 29th September. The police refused to hand over her body to her family and burnt it secretly at 2:30 am. When the news initially broke out, the state machinery even claimed it was fake. As citizens are now protesting and fighting for justice, Indian rape statistics are also doing rounds on social media as they did in 2012. But have these statistics been considered and incorporated into law making? No.

I woke up and read a barrage of tweets along the lines of "respect everyone, be a human and not a feminist" in response to the tweets condemning rape. Listen, the only way feminism can harm you is if your own well-being depends on the systemic oppression and exploitation of women.

The least we can do is inform ourselves and try to be more socially conscious in our choices. This is a very important book, please read it.