Women Don't Owe You Pretty

In Women Don't Owe You Pretty, Florence Given talks about the out-dated narratives supplied to us by the patriarchy. I really enjoyed it. I learnt a lot about where my own boundaries are and that in the past people have not always respected them. I read this book at a great time in my life where I could really reflect on some of my past experiences and learn how to be better to myself.

I think this is a perfect book if you are new(ish) to feminism and learning about some of the narratives the patriarchy, racism and capitalism are trying to sell to us.

The audiobook is narrated very nicely by the author. I recommend reading and listening together if you can since Given's book has a lot of illustrations.

Women Don't Owe You Pretty is the feminist primer for the 21st century.

Beautifully narrated by the author, this is the compassionate and no-nonsense guide to the types of societal normalization that has created a culture where women and non-normative peoples have adapted to rules that don't support or benefit the non-white male historical pov.

It calls out harassment, gaslighting, and shaming succinctly and confidently, and encourages listeners to trust their instincts, stick up for themselves, and be their own most amazing best thing.

This is the info I want all young adults to hear, and the info I wish I'd had access to decades ago.

I'm giving this book 4 stars.

I rarely read non-fiction and usually get bored easily, but this book was super insightful and entertaining. I absolutely loved the fact that it is narrated by the author and it fully made me feel like I was listening to a podcast rather than a read copy of a book. It was really natural and easygoing.

I consider myself as always learning and never fully aware of everything, yet I found that this book touched a lot of areas I was already aware of and not new for me, which is why I didn't give it 5 stars. But I totally understand this is a starting point for a lot of people and it's a really good way to dip your toe into intersectional feminism for the first time!

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. She is particularly adept at helping her reader to see not only how others' actions may have impacted them, but how her reader may have (perhaps inadvertently) harmed others. I'll be totally honest - when I first saw the cover for this book in a shop window last year, I thought it would be a pithy guide to body positivity. 'Women Don't Owe You Pretty' is a great deal more than this and I really would recommend it. I think the audiobook is particularly powerful - its lessons literally reverberate in your ears!

If you would like to overcome a lifetime of internalized misogyny and societal constraints then this is a great read.
Specific phrases really stuck out and allowed me to really rethink my conditioning. To paraphrase, “you deserve the whole cake, not crumbs”, “your energy is a limited resource... treat it like a bank account... income vs. outcome”, “conform to being nice... or you’re a bitch”, “You date someomes emotional maturity, not their jawline”.
Given has provided us with a quotable, well-researched novel. I didn’t even know I needed this but I needed it. I highly recommend this to the men and women in my life.

This was really interesting. It wasn't exactly something new in the topics that were discussed but hearing another woman's thoughts on the things women face everyday is always interesting and eye opening. In the case of this book I felt as this would make a great book for someone who is just starting their feminist journey. The things discussed are all key points often discussed in feminist writing but condensed down into a shorter and in places more palatable narrative. There wasn't a really any deep dives into subjects like some other authors do but it worked well for this. This is definitely something I would recommend to people just starting out on their journey or even gear it a bit more towards the YA Non-fiction genre even though there are tougher subjects are mentioned. This book also gives tips on how to start reorganizing your thinking when it comes to things that are ingrained into people from an early age which also helps to stear the book in that direction. This is something I would recommend be in high-school libraries around the country. Overall definitely a solid read and I can't wait to get myself and my sisters physical copies.

Good read for young girls surrounded by social media: fast, easy to understand and with some great insights on self image, society and patriarchal constructs.

I was a little apprehensive to read this, thinking that it might be aggressive and maybe even a bit militant, probably because “feminism” still has some harsh connotations. I was glad to see that this was a great book with very valid, common sense ideas and practices we all should recognize and incorporate as commonplace.
The audiobook was very enjoyable.

This book has been on my TBR list for a while now. I listened to the audio version, which was narrated by the author herself.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what a 20-year-old feminist could teach me about life, so listened to the book hesitantly. 

The author has wisdom beyond her years, and though I am twice her age, I finished the book feeling like I had learned a lot.

This is the book I wish I had when I was a teenager, and I will be encouraging my teenage niece to read it. 

The book is short, but definitely thought-provoking. It’s a good jumping-off point into feminist reads, particularly for younger readers.

I am 29 years old and found this book so empowering and wonderfully written. In the introduction I found myself getting emotional. If I had read this book 10 years before I would have avoided some emotionally abusive and toxic relationships.

Florence Givens inspired me through this novel. She highlights just how long the patriarchy has controlled the social norms for women. I am a cisgender white woman who learned a lot about the LGBTQ+ community and how to live outside the social norms to truly find and depict who we all are as individuals not what we are expected to be.

Everyone should read this book. I will be buying this book and recommending it to many of my friends.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! It was well narrated -- I liked Florence Given's voice and her intonation when speaking on these important topics of feminism, self-worth, privilege, etc. It is so important to understand and realize your own self-worth while recognizing how you may have advantages that others do not. Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this audiobook for review. I'm glad that we have voices like Given's to enlighten the world and discuss these issues.