Cover Image: Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing

Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing

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Member Reviews

A good broad introduction to feminism and women's rights.

This book gives a good introduction for people just beginning their journey into learning more about inequality of the sexes and how the world is changing thanks to things like the #metoo movement. As someone who hangs out in feminist circles and follows the literature, I'm not sure this adds anything new to the conversation and it can come across as a cis white man taking over the conversation. On the other hand if it enables even one other man to consider his privilege then something good has come from this book.

It is well researched and cited, but I find he tries to justify why it's taken him so long to get on board. If you are just starting your journey into feminist literature and want a food brand overview then this book is for you, however if your wanting a deeper dive or a new perspective, then I think this book missed the mark.

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Not what I had wanted. Though there is a lot of good information here, there's also a lot that could have (and should have) been omitted. There's graphic details that don't inform readers -- seemingly there just for shock. The author is sensitive to the issues, but also seems a little self-aggrandizing.

Ultimately, this wasn't a bad book.... but if someone wants a feminist read about the #MeToo movement, there are far better options out there.

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Did not finish it wasn't bad but was just kind of boring, I have read a lot books like this and this didn't grip me right away

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I picked up this book because I was interested to hear what a man had to say about the #MeToo movement and current feminism. It was interesting, and Leser seemed to "get" a lot of it, although I do not agree with everything he said (including and especially his deluded belief in himself being a "good guy" despite the way he treated his wife).

TLDR: Interesting, but if you're interested in feminism and/or #MeToo, there are much better books available.

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This is an important book that I would adopt for my classroom library and/or curriculum for AP juniors and seniors. The #MeToo movement is crucial and long overdue conversation, and this book brings voices to life while also addressing the root cause of the issue. It is an important read for both men and women. As an adjunct instructor at a four year university, I would also recommend this book to my colleagues who teach Women's Literature.

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Did not work for me. Way too many graphic examples, making me feel like that was the part made to catch everyone’s attention, without actually debating the problems shown. The audiobook is very well made, though.

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I was truly not anticipating very much from this book because the thought of a feminist book written by a white mail truly does not appeal to me most of the time. However, I had heard great things so I knew I wanted to give it a shot. I was pleasantly suprised in one aspect as I felt like Leser was able to appropriately create meaningful discourse in a way that better represents women compared to similar books I have read. That being said, it was fairly shallow and I believe there is only so much a man can write about a situation that is about women.

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I found this to be an amazing audio book, one I plan on buy in hardcover, highlighting and marking pages. This is a book with a lot of words from a lot of people - moving testimonies that brought tears to my eyes, some that raised my heartrate and the hairs on my neck, some that made me so mad with rage I had to shut the audiobook off.

I know this book has made many mad - How can a man write what women should do? But I don't take David Leser's words as that. He's exploring the topic from a male perspective: white, privileged and powerful. He's exploring his bias, his mistakes and his own garbage. It's amazing to go through the process with him and I think this book will speak to a lot of people the #metoo movement didn't quite reach. I'm so glad I got the chance to listen to it and I look forward to reading it again.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an audio-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

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I couldn't finish it. I know these are stories and truths that need to be told but it started to feel like he was telling stories just for shock value. I guess I was needing more substance and fewer gut wrenching stories.

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This just didn't work for me. It was a little too all over the place and self-serving. The author may have met well, but his 'take' on the MeToo movement, just didn't feel like it was honest and was meant to 'justify thoughts instead.

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I appreciate a man doing his best to research the #MeToo movement as well as how we got here, feminism, female infanticide, and female genocide throughout the world. He covers so many topics and so many aspects of feminism, female rights, and how men fit into this. I APPRECIATE the research and the dedication to writing this book.
However, I felt super uncomfortable listening to a man go so in-detail on this topic, which perhaps is a problem itself? But I think MEN need to listen to this.

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I’m not sure what I thought this would be. This book is okay if a man wants to be introduced to second wave feminist ideas. But a lot of it felt a little self serving on behalf of the author and I wasn’t a fan of the authorial voice for that reason. There’s much better books about feminist theory out there.

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Thanks #netgallery. Great read. Interesting to read about women's issues from a male perspective. Good history on variety of topics

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I found this book very interesting, informative and so important for everyone to read. I liked that it was written by a man who had educated himself on current issues and made himself a voice supporting women and educating men at the same time.

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An analysis of the #metoo movement from a feminist man's perspective. David Leser is an Australian journalist who turned his attention to the #metoo moment and its aftermath. Leser is clearly aiming to be in support of feminism and #metoo. He talks about everything from the Harvey Weinstein case to the Aziz Ansari affair. He talks about the differing reactions to some events from 2nd wave and 3rd wave feminists.

There were a few parts of the book that made me cringe a little due to the author's perspective and a level of mansplaining. Perhaps the target audience is men and those "mansplaining" parts might not come off as mansplaining to them.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author and his delivery was good and easy to listen to.

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This book was something I never thought I would pick up. The idea of a book about women and what we go through written by a man honestly was never something I would have supported. That all being said this wasn't bad. Leser made some very good and since he mostly just told facts and other stories it didn't feel to much like he was trying to take over a space that is obviously not meant for him.
That being said he is still a man writing about woman and out stories which obviously isn't his place. I appreciate his wanting to support and help I am just not sold on the idea of a man telling woman's stories. He did his best to toe the line and bot over step and it was evident how much research he did. I also appreciated his calling out other men but in places he also seemed a little upset about specific things that I don't think he really took the time to speak to women about.
I think overall this could have been a solid feminist book if only it wasn't written by a man. If that doesn't bother you then check this out cause it does make a lot of compelling points. And as for Leser I see where he really did try to not over step and for most of the book he didn't there were only a few very small slip ups.

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