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Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman

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'Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman' by Lindy West is a collection of autobiographical essays that touch on topics such as feminism, fat acceptance, online trolling, rape culture, and societal issues. Lindy West's writing style blends humor and seriousness, offering a fresh and honest perspective on personal experiences and social activism. Through her essays, West shares her journey of self-acceptance, advocacy, and challenging societal norms, making the reader reflect on important issues in a relatable and engaging manner.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is accessible and engaging, often blending humor with significant social commentary.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative combines childhood anecdotes, professional challenges, and personal growth, focusing on fat acceptance and societal pressures.

Setting:

The settings range across personal and professional landscapes in contemporary America.

Pacing:

The pacing is dynamic, with varied speeds that keep the reader interested through both humor and deeper reflections.
Why is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” the go-to small talk we make with children? “Hello, child. As I have run out of compliments to pay you on your doodling, can you tell me what sort of...

Notes:

The book is a collection of essays that blends humor with serious reflections on body image, feminism, and personal experiences.
Lindy West wrote for The Stranger and Jezebel, gaining prominence for her feminist commentary.
A key theme is the criticism of how society treats women's bodies and their autonomy, particularly regarding reproductive rights.
The title 'Shrill' plays into the stereotype thrown at women who speak up—depicting them as overly loud or emotional.
West discusses her journey from being a 'shy mouse' to an outspoken advocate, describing her evolution in self-acceptance.
She addresses the issue of rape jokes in comedy, sharing her experiences in debates about their appropriateness.
The memoir includes her experiences with online harassment and internet trolls, detailing the impact on her mental health and self-esteem.
West's writing style is engaging and accessible, making complex social issues relatable and understandable to a wide audience.
The book touches on personal stories, including grief over her father's death, showcasing vulnerability alongside humor.
Lindy West advocates for body positivity, emphasizing that being fat doesn't define one's worth or ability to be loved.
She stresses the importance of being loud and unapologetic about one's identity and experiences, challenging societal norms.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include discussions of fat shaming, online harassment, mention of abortion, grief, and misogyny which could be triggering for some readers.

From The Publisher:

Shrill is an uproarious memoir, a feminist rallying cry in a world that thinks gender politics are tedious and that women, especially feminists, can't be funny.

Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible - like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you - writer and humoristLindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but.

From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; to her struggle to convince herself, and then the world, that fat people have value; to her accidental activism and never-ending battle royale with Internet trolls, Lindy narrates her life with a blend of humor and pathos that manages to make a trip to the abortion clinic funny and wring tears out of a story about diarrhea.

With inimitable good humor, vulnerability, and boundless charm, Lindy boldly shares how to survive in a world where not all stories are created equal and not all bodies are treated with equal respect, and how to weather hatred, loneliness, harassment, and loss, and walk away laughing. Shrill provocatively dissects what it means to become self-aware the hard way, to go from wanting to be silent and invisible to earning a living defending the silenced in all caps.

Ratings (11)

Incredible (3)
Loved It (5)
Liked It (1)
It Was OK (2)

Reader Stats (24):

Read It (10)
Want To Read (8)
Did Not Finish (1)
Not Interested (5)

2 comment(s)

Incredible
2 months

i tore through this and absorbed every word

the collection is arranged very thoughtfully; west draws you in with a hilarious essay about her options for a fat female role model growing up, which will have you gasping with laughter

(i'm glad i'm not the only one disturbed by the sexual tree in the last unicorn)

and slowly segues into the darker and more intense parts of her life

mostly involving trolls harassing her online for being a woman with an opinion

her writing is effortless, effervescent, and accessible

i want to stand up for her and beat all those trolls back with a stick, but she doesn't need me to, because she has found compassion for people in their darkest places

more than once she expresses her hope that her actions have had a positive impact on other women

and they have

thank you, lindy west, for being there and taking the heat for those of us who can't

 
Liked It
5 months

Really funny

 
 
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