This could have potentially been considered ground-breaking in the early 2000s. As it is, in 2021, it just reads as regurgitated drivel. The author says a lot without actually saying anything, which some might consider an accomplishment in and of itself. On top of that, the author spends a lot of time talking down to the reader, presenting herself as the fount of all wisdom graciously sharing her knowledge with us little ignorant people. Needless to say that I gave up on this at about the 30% mark. And I feel like I deserve a medal for making it that far.

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is marketed as a “primer on modern feminism” and when looking for a way to describe this book, I would have to say that impression is pretty spot on. As someone whose considered herself a feminist for the better part of a decade, a lot of what Given discussed in her book were concepts I was already familiar with, but nevertheless served as a timely reminder and a diligent push to reconsider some of the things I had taken as a given in our society.

Overall, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty was very good. I think I would have really appreciated hearing it when I was 18-22. The author herself was about that age when she wrote this book, and I think that does show. Everything Given said was undeniably good advice, it’s just, at my age, I’ve kind of already learnt as much. Also, at 25+, happily taken in a queer relationship, I found it hard to relate to some of the struggles she talks about with men and dating. But thinking back to my time in college, when I dated around and saw my fair share of assholes, I definitely think I could have benefitted from hearing her words of wisdom (even just as a subtle nudge).

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty covers a broad range of topics, which is impressive given that the book itself is quite short. I do think I would have liked Given to go into more depth with some of the topics she brought up, or at the very least pointed to some other relevant feminist literature for those inclined to further their reading. I will say that sometimes Given presents her opinions as facts, and can misuse certain terms. But, in general, this is a really great introduction to feminism, and one I think a lot of young women would benefit from hearing.

Thank you to the publisher, Andrews McMeel Audio/Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

Just wasn’t my kind of book. Felt more like attending a lecture and being told what I should be thinking

I absolutely loved this book! Florence Given has written a poignant book on modern-day issues (issues that have gone on unchecked for centuries), demonstrating her points with not only facts but her own lived experiences, which I appreciate not only as a reader but as a woman.

This is the voice of empowerment we all need when we're feeling low, the kick in the teeth when we all need it, and the uplifting solidarity when we're at our highest.

Highly recommend to any and all!

I don't think I'm part of the demographic for this book...being an avid reader of Gloria Steinem & co., I felt this was quite juvenile. The narration didn't help - I kept imagining the voice and accent belonging to a highly privileged white posh British girl and I know this opinion comes across as prejudice, after all, any woman from any background or colour or race should be a feminist and every one of us are victims of the patriarchy, I'm just saying what the narration made me imagine. It didn't come across as a leader of a feminist movement (not that it had to be!).

Overall, any literature advocating for women and gender equality and trying to empower women is welcome, I just honestly don't think this was for me but I hope it helps many young girls who might read it.

Florence Given says many things in this book without actually saying anything. I did enjoy reading it but it doesn't offer anything new. I would have enjoyed it greatly when I was 15 or 16. This book doesn't teach you anything new unless you're brand new to Feminsim. The author dwells into deeper issues but doesn't offer any solutions other than 'be the love of your own life and fuck everything'. This book has somewhat been empowering. Some of the parts didn't fit well me and felt slightly patronising.

Florence Given is clearly passionate about her subject and that shines through in her narration - I’m so glad she is the one reading the audiobook.

In terms of the book itself, I found this to be a relevant, comprehensive and understandable window onto society today, and all the negative (and positive) aspects of life in the 2020s.

I felt the inclusion of fatphobia when discussing prejudice and privilege to be particularly welcome. Other books I’ve read on the topic rarely discuss the very real issues of fat phobia and how they often intersect with other issues.

I particularly loved the guide to privilege included in the book - I plan to use this with students to generate discussions around unrealised privilege and it included so many I hadn’t even considered before.

This book was informative, powerful, and above all enjoyable to read. A must read for anyone wanting to help themselves become a better ally.

I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than I though it would! I'm hesitant to read books like this because they're often preachy, but I really loved the writing style. I flew through it! The author made excellent points, and even though she didn't present any new information, I felt it was a great refresher and I did learn some interesting point of views. I particularly enjoyed her sharing her experiences of coming out as bisexual and how she overcame sexual trauma.

This was an empowering read. I'm glad to have gotten the chance to listen!

This book is the perfect introduction to feminism. Literally. it is written in a simple style, yet it explains perfectly the most complex concepts of modern feminism. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand many modern social issues. In a world where massive media is so biased and conservative, books like this are literal lifesavers. It can help you explore feminism without guilt. A very much needed empowering tool for young women.

This is the political pep-talk I wish I could have read as I entered adulthood. 'Women Don't Owe You Pretty' is a thorough and friendly feminist exposition that breaks down all the ways that we can regain autonomy over our bodies, minds and lives. Florence Given's writing is compelling and empowering

This book should be read by everyone., we all need to be aware of our ingrained internal biases affecting how we interact with and view others. Looking at our own discomforts, judgements, assumptions etc. helps us move forward. "Temporary discomfort is an investment in your future self." I read the audio version of this book. The author is also the narrator and she is clear. comfortable with the words, and adds emphasis in all the right places. She sounds like your straight talking friend we all need.

Other reviewers have said that this book is great for the young and obvious/redundant to anyone older, but as an older woman I found that Given verbalized things I had not thought of, such as: beauty standards for trans people and how society's expectations of being pretty include being thin and non-disabled. How easy it is - at any age - to judge other women without addressing our own underlying issues on why we do that.

I see it as a powerful resource that clearly and openly addresses the ways in which society classifies women and then judges us on their fit within those classification systems. Given has made the conversation open to those who are queer, trans, and cis-gendered, She has used language that is accessible and not censored or softened.

It would be easy to target this book to young women but I would encourage a broader audience in age and gender so that we are all working towards a more fair and ultimately safe society.

The chapter on 'Check your privilege' used the Boise State Writing Center checklist to help people identify their privilege. The checklist gave a very easy format to evaluate your circumstances and make aware privileges you may not have known you had.

'We have multiple components to our identities, and we are able to be both oppressed and privileged in different ways at the same time.'

'Flaws are man-made.... They are seeds planted in our minds by manipulative power systems to make us feel so insecure that we buy products that promise we will become more acceptable and more desirable.'

'It does not make you morally superior to grow out your body hair, and you're not any less of a feminist for shaving."

'Every time you catch yourself critiquing a woman on the choices she makes: who she sleeps with, how she dresses, sit in it, reflect. What is it about her that makes you feel so uncomfortable.?'

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Audio and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read much about the plagiarism accusation against the author. So I won't factor that into my review. I do think this book is a mash up of self help and theories you would read about in a gender studies class. Which isn't terrible if you're say a teenager just being exposed to these ideas (maybe that's who this book is geared towards...but the book isn't being marketed as YA). However, as a woman in her late thirties who has been exposed to both for quite some time, I didn't learn any new thing new or even see previous ideas presented in a new light. So it's two stars for me.

Women Don't Owe You Pretty by Florence Given is definitely a feminist book that every woman, from teenagers to young adult to older women, should read and/or listen to.

It delves into how much we, as women, are conditioned, judged and shaped by society, by things that we are taught, be that by parents or educators or by friends, that can just be completely wrong and even harmful.

This book is about empowerment, about being yourself and not becoming what others expect or think you should be. Your appearance, your beliefs, your habits, what you do or don’t do. No one gets to tell you who YOU should be but yourself.

This book also goes into how we should support one another rather than have detrimental and judgmental attitudes towards other women. Not to mention stop having the mindset of “I’m not like other girls”, because that is just, essentially, saying that ‘other girls’ are or act in a wrong way.

If we learned to treat one another with more respect since a young age, maybe we could avoid a lot of judgement and bad behaviours that can really harm someone’s life, emotionally and even physically.

I listened to this book while reading it as well, seeing as the audiobook is narrated by the author and is extremely easy to get through, even if it does touch on some serious (and possibly triggering) subjects, like body image, language and sexual assault/abuse.

At the end of the day, I truly believe everyone can benefit from reading or listening to this book, men included (yes, men too!), so that we can all be better people starting from a young age or to change some mindsets or attitudes we have established in our lives that are just not ok and not acceptable.


Thank you kindly to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for opinion and honest review.

#WomenDontOweYouPretty #NetGalley #FlorenceGiven #Feminism

Women don’t owe you pretty by Florence Given explores feminist ideals, standards and examples and gives ways in which the reader can change their thinking for the better.

I did enjoy this book, I found it easy to understand and I agreed with a good portion of it. There was a lot of things, however, that I don’t agree with personally. One example being when Florence mentioned that when a friend comes to you upset that you aren’t spending enough time with them, that you should essentially reduce the time you spend with others for them and to ease their upset. It felt a bit out of place when so much of the book preached about setting boundaries and being in charge of your emotions that this would be a scenario that was focused on.

I also didn’t like how certain terms like “gaslighting” and “manipulative” were just chucked around like they don’t have pretty specific definitions. The writing seemed to imply that you should think everyone around you is gaslighting or manipulating you whereas thats simply not the case. Personally, the whole “dump someone who makes a mistake” idea is pretty sad and doesn’t take into account that people make mistakes and aren’t perfect which is weird coming from a feminist/progressive standpoint.

2/5 stars for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Florence Given for this copy to review

This audiobook was incredible. I felt empowered and ready to take on the world - and myself. It put a lot of things in perspective and is a must read for any gender!

I am going to have to write this review in two parts. For me, a woman about to turn 30, I didn't find anything life-changing or take any new ideas from this book. I felt I had become aware of a lot of these ideas and discussions through my own research and my own life experiences. It was well-written, though I feel I am a bit old to be the target audience. I enjoyed having the work read by the author, and felt her passion and dedication to the project. Nothing earth shattering here for me, but still a nice recap on some really important social issues nonetheless.

THAT BEING SAID, I will be recommending this books to many of my students (on the older side, of course). What I wouldn't have given for a book like this aged 17/18, as I was preparing to make my way into the world, moving away from home for the first time and before I had to experience some of the things I have in my life to make me more aware of these issues regarding consent, relationships and confidence. For young women just coming to ideas of feminism and activism, this book will be a game-changers and no doubt have a massive impact on the lives of many.

Overall, not one for my own shelf, but one for so many young women I know.

An interesting and engaging introductory read about modern feminism perfect for those new to the topic. I wish the author would have touched on fewer topics in order to really discuss them further.

I was very disappointed to learn that this is stolen from Chidera Eggerue's “What A Time To Be Alone” and would recommend reading that instead.

I'm a follower of Florence's Instagram since 2018 and I was really happy when she announced her book. I didn't think this was bad, but it didn't feel good enough to me. Everything she said felt really basic to me, even when I felt like she was doing her best to include queer and trans women. I do think that the read could be worth it and could help women to deal with some situations, but it didn't teach me a lot and it didn't feel super fresh. I'm happy I read it but I wouldn't really recommend it to my friends and to people who wish to study feminism – only to younger audiences of women who haven't had any contact with feminism, perhaps? It felt more like a self help book to me: I'm not really a fan of the genre, but if you are, go for it!

This is an introduction to feminism or more like MY introduction into feminist literature and I really liked it. It didn't try to be anything more, it was simple and just made me question a lot of things about me and my privileges and I feel that's kinda the point of this book.
(also, Florence is a great narrator)

I just couldn't get on with it. I'm not a feminist, I just think everyone should be whatever they want. I couldn't get past the first chapter. I wanted to listen to what she had to say but I found myself getting cross that she so strongly suggested that we shouldn't do things for men. I agree to an extent but I do believe people should have a choice.