Book review: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

Well hello to you my reader chums! I'm a feminist, a huge one in fact, and a large advocate for women and how we are misrepresented in so many ways in life. I love reading anything about feminism, building my knowledge, and understanding more about the patriarchy and how as women, we can smash it and fight for our rights to be viewed as equal.

This post contains affiliate links.

I saw the book 'Invisible Women' on my local bookshop's Instagram and as soon as I read the blurb, I had to buy it. I think it's so important to learn and be aware of how inequality is still a prominent issue across the world today and this book highlights that in an incredible and insightful way, looking at case studies, stories, and decades' worth of research.

Book review: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

Synopsis

Invisible Women shares how in a world mainly built for men, we're ignoring half of the population aka women and this often leads to awful consequences. The author includes a huge collection of case studies, stories, and worldwide research which illustrates the hidden ways women are forgotten and the impact it has on us all as a society.

Thoughts on the book 

Genuinely, this book is mind-blowing, to say the least. I don't even know where to begin on explaining the level of insight it has on how women are forgotten in society and the lack of research there is for us in so many different scenarios that many of us wouldn't even think of.

The book is broken up into different areas of research including daily life, the workplace, design, and public life, with chapters included under those topics. Each chapter was more shocking as you went through and some of the statistics I read really surprised me. For example, in the workplace how men and women have different body temperatures so the air con in offices is kept at a lower temperature to aid men - and that's why women are often found wrapped up in blankets or huge jumpers as it's too cold for them. 

One of my favourite parts of the book was the medical section and the lack of research behind developing drugs/treatment for women. It baffled me that a lot of the time new drugs are tested on male cells and if they don't work they're forgotten about. However, due to women's natural biology, drugs work differently in our bodies and we're not given the option to see if it works for us as it didn't on the male cells first. Also, how long it can take for women to get a diagnosis on any medical matter as doctors would generally tell women 'it's all in their heads' and again, due to lack of research, the doctors aren't aware of what could be wrong as they're simply not taught as much about women's bodies as they are males. I found this so interesting as it's definitely something I've experienced personally when going to see my GP. 

I also really liked it when it talked about how we've been ingrained as a society to think of men and women as different gender roles, for instance, a man as a scientist and a woman as a care worker. There were several studies in the book where children, both boys, and girls were asked to draw a scientist or a doctor, and the majority would always choose to draw a man, over a woman. Over decades this study has been repeated and more people are drawing females, however, it's crazy to think that it's ingrained in our minds, that you would firstly think of males of those roles. Instead of thinking of a woman. 

The book is packed with an intense amount of knowledge to do with politics, human rights, natural disasters, the gender pay gap, unpaid work women do, sexual assault, gender roles and the worth of a woman's body - and how all these things link into the gender data gap that is so prominent in our society. It's intelligent, cleverly written, eye-opening and a book everybody needs to read to understand the data bias in a world designed for men.

Ending 

The book doesn't necessarily have an ending as each chapter is around a different topic to the next. However, there is an afterword that sums up everything in the book and gives an overview of exposing data bias in a world designed for men. It summed it up in the perfect way and is a well-rounded way to finish the book.

I absolutely loved this book. It's sheer brilliance on every single page and something that I think should be implemented someway into schools so younger readers are able to learn about feminism, about the data gap between men and women, and how inequality still exists today. Let's smash the patriarchy together!

I hope you enjoyed this review. Do you have any other feminist book recommendations?

Thank you for reading <3

4 comments

  1. I really love this book too. I've not yet finished it because I have the hard back version and it's difficult to carry around with me (although not so relevant in lockdown). But what I have read has been so eye-opening.

    xo Sarah | Oomph London

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your lovely comment. It's incredible isn't it?! I hope you enjoy the rest of the book! xx

      Delete
  2. This sounds like such an eye opening read, the points you've mentioned are shocking, so I can't imagine what else is in there. I must pick this up xx

    Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know if you do and what you think! It's a mind-blowing read xx

      Delete

Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful in anyway. I'd love to hear any feedback you may have.