'How To Be a Woman' - Caitlin Moran

Dear all,


Welcome to my first ever book review. Exciting stuff!

A few months ago, I had in my usual fashion been harping on and on about how much I wanted a read a book called 'How to Be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran, a TV critic and columnist for The Times. As a regular old teenage girl with regular old insecurities I was hoping the book might provide some enlightenment on not only my crippling personal, womanly issues, but perhaps also with my changing career aspirations.

The book follows Moran's life experiences, from a 13 year old girl with six siblings growing up in Wolverhampton, right up to her thirty-something year old self today. She stops along the way to cover the ordinary growing up issues, but also incredibly controversial ones, such as abortion, pornography and feminism. With the occasional experience we're more unlikely to share, like meeting Lady Gaga in a club.

As an 18 year old woman reading the book it covers things I've experienced (and, let's not lie, at times been scarred by), like first periods, shaving and young love. But it also touches on things I'm hoping to experience but terrified of doing so in the future, like getting married and having children.

So, after reading a few chapters a day for about a week, I finished 'How To Be a Woman'. 


And. Just. WOW.


GIRLS. You know that well-worn feeling of nausea and dread you get every time you have one too many glasses of wine where you think you're alone in the world and no one else suffers from the problems that you do and you'll just have to struggle through every day life until you die in a saggy heap of unhappiness? Well... would you believe me when I told you that that doesn't need to be a thing any more?

No, really. I'm serious.

This book is remarkable.

Moran articulates perfectly everything we've been thinking about, crying about, complaining about, keeping bottled up, in a way that made me laugh-out-loud. And not in a sort of 'quiet-sniggering' way. In a "I'm-on-a-plane-to-Budapest-with-all-my-university-friends-and-I'm-guffawing-at-this-thing-while-they-all-give-me-the-'what are you smoking?!'-eyes". Before this book, I could not have imagined laughing about the things that have kept me up at night, on the brink of tears, trying to convince myself it was all going to be ok.

Don't get me wrong, there are moments where our opinions don't concur. For example, I don't agree with her love of the term "c**t". I think it's a horrible word, one which I certainly wouldn't use about anyone, never mind my own... you know... But it doesn't matter that I don't agree with her. I support the sentiment entirely: reclaiming and rebranding "c**t" as a 'strident feminist's word' is a brilliant idea, and one that should be admired.

Because after all, feminism, to a certain extent*, is about us all having our own ideas on what constitutes feminism and us sharing solutions to our every day feministy problems, like that arsehole on the bus who wolf whistles at you every morning, or that guy in your A level maths class laughing at you because he's insecure that you're better at Maths than him.

*NB expect a stern post about feminism relating to Page 3 of The Sun and 'choice' feminists in the near future. SPOILER: they do not impress.


Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars


Age group: For women, I would say from around 16 to 40 and for men from around 20 up.


Final Comments: Absolutely cracking book. Wonderfully written, comic in places, emotional in others. In terms of emotional education, this book is a must-read. Men AND Women.

Men, the sooner we all get on the same page about feminism, the better, and I really believe that this book can give you some insight into the problems women face every. single. day.



For those of you wanting to read 'How To Be a Woman' or if you just want to check Caitlin Moran out there are some useful links below:

The link for 'How to Be a Woman' on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Be-Woman-Caitlin-Moran/dp/0091940745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430251340&sr=8-1&keywords=caitlin+moran+how+to+be+a+woman

And the link for her most recent novel, 'How To Build a Girl': http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Build-Girl-Caitlin-Moran/dp/0091949017/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430251378&sr=8-2&keywords=caitlin+moran+how+to+be+a+woman

Caitlin Moran also has her own website, where she sells absolutely hysterical tea-towels, t-shirts and a particularly humorous pair of briefs... Here's the link to that too: http://www.themerchandisingshop.co.uk/shop/shop/product_list.php?&shopid=592

Give her Celebrity Watch a read in The Times on Fridays if you want a little taster of Moran's hysterical writing but otherwise enjoy the book and do comment and tell me what you thought.

Lots of love,


Philly