Caitlin Moran

Piecing together common-sense observations with scenes from her own life, the author sheds new light on feminism, discussing the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues for both women and society itself.

How to Be a Woman

The New York Times bestseller—part manifesto, part memoir—that put a new face on feminism as it cut to the heart of issues with an irreverent, transcendent, and hilarious touch—now available in a limited Olive Edition. “There are lots of things to love about Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman….A glorious, timely stand against sexism so ingrained we barely even notice it. It is, in the dour language [Moran] militates so brilliantly against, a book that needed to be written.”—New York Times Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them? Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother. With rapier wit, Moran slices right to the truth—whether it's about the workplace, strip clubs, love, fat, abortion, popular entertainment, or children—to jump-start a new conversation about feminism. With humor, insight, and verve, How to Be a Woman lays bare the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues not only for women today but also for society itself.

Patrick Book

4.5 stars! Funny! Inspiring! Realistic and honest and true to life (I mean, as far as a 35 year old dude can tell — it seemed rather genuine)! Really British!

Wynter

I had so much fun reading Caitlin's memoir! While I agreed to disagree with her on a few points, I found myself nodding and smiling all too often to criticize this book too much. She is funny, brutally honest, and oh so relatable. And she really gives Katie Price a piece of her mind. Brilliant!

1913 - Suffragette throws herself under the King's horse. 1969 - Feminists storm Miss World. NOW - Caitlin Moran calls Katie Price 'a mimsy Quisling f**k' and demands to know why pants are getting smaller. There's never been a better time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few, nagging questions do remaina Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should you get Botox? Do men secretly hate us? What should you call your vagina? Why does your bra hurt? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby? Part-memoir, part-rant, How To Be A Woman follows Caitlin Moran from her terrible 13th birthday ("I am thirteen stone, I have no friends, and boys throw gravel at me when they see me.") through adolescence, the workplace, strip-clubs, love, fat, abortion, TopShop, motherhood and beyond. After 100,000 years of the patriarchy, the world may never be the same again!

How to be a Woman

MacKenzie Hamon

I could see where Moran was coming from for a lot of the book, and found her anecdotes quite enjoyable. However, she completely alienated me when she chose to have a chapter on how having children was the most important thing in her life and completely changed her as a person, and followed said chapter with one on how not having children was also okay. As someone who continually flip flops between having kids and not having kids (and leans toward the latter more often than not), I was praying Moran would address the issue with much less hipocrisy in an attempt to please everyone, and write to the root of the issue, which is one I see affecting a lot of women today. I finished the book, but I couldn't get behind her after that, and was incredibly disappointed.

Caitlin Bohannon

Everything Tina Fey's Bossypants should have been - honest, insightful, and funny (and thankfully without treating gay friends as hip accessories). I loved that the chapter on how amazing it is to be a mother is immediately followed by a chapter on why you should never have kids. She often demonstrates the rare ability to see the validity in the wide range of choices women make, rather than simply justifying her own or pushing those choices on other women. In the end this is more about her own personal journey than a guidebook, but it should definitely be added to the reading list for both men and women as a fun companion to other feminist literature.

Jeannette Ordas

Very likeable, funny, feminist and I enjoyed the chapter on her abortion best. While I enjoyed the book, sometimes I felt like I was skimming the pages a bit too much. Also, why the hell didn't she mention how she went from a loner with no friends at 15 to a writer at Melody Maker at 16?!! 3.5 stars.

Kate R

If you like Caitlin Moran on twitter, this is book along the same thread. Laughed out loud several times, full of witty and painfully truthful observations. I would like her to be my best friend.

Deniz Erkaradağ

I recommend this book to every feminist fella. Yes, it doesn't say something you've never heard but what it says is something we need to remind ourselves constantly.

Nadine 

A refreshing feminist diatribe narrated by the author. Slightly showing its' age (2010) by references to the pop culture of that decade but still (unfortunately) relevant today. 
No nonsense look at all types of (some taboo) topics.

Sarah Vaughan

Only made it to page 41 of this one. Funny, but a bit raunchy for my taste. I know a lot of people really enjoyed this one, but I have too many books waiting for me right now to push through this one.

Caroline Lewicki

I love this book so much. Caitlin Moran is hilarious, honest, and lovingly hard on us women who worry about so many things society has told us we need to worry about.

Caitlin tells a story pertaining to the chapter and then relates her experience to the "real world" for women. She acknowledges that not all women experience the same things and she recognizes that there is no one way to be a woman, but I related to her and really enjoyed hearing her thoughts and perspective on the situation women are in. I'd love to read what her thoughts are now, as this book is 7 years old and it seems little has changed.

Jenny Smoothy

Can't say I found this book to be the hilarious tour de force of down to earth feminism that I was sold. While I always appreciate a different point of view, I found some of the assumptions and generalisations to be exclusive and untrue. I definitely won't be recommending this to anyone. 

Alex

I loved it so much! Every woman should read this! Actually, just everyone should read this.

Elena Garcia Navarro

YES! just FUCKING YES!

If you're a woman and still haven't read it, go and read this book (quick, you need it even when you're not aware of it), if you're not a woman, also read it, you need it more than we do.

Amanda Wells

While I didn't agree with Moran on a few points, I wholly supported the overall premise of her book, which is 90% memoir, 10% argument that feminism is a good thing. I found her story telling to be quite funny, and I was genuinely interested to see how her life unfolded as each anecdote passed.

Her analysis of women's issues through the lens of her life and understanding of feminism was a little hit and miss, but tended towards a generally agreeable conclusion: that women are often unfairly treated and shouldn't be, that we need to rethink our understanding of certain 'norms', and that yes sexism is definitely still a thing.

All in all, I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone who has read feminist-leaning pieces or collections .. But I would totally recommend it if you were after a memoir that was funny and looked at life from a left leaning funny woman's perspective.

Анастасия Розова

3.5/5

I will say right off the start that I didn't agree with everything that was said to the word, but the main message is clear to me and should be to everyone reading it.
Leave women alone. Let them live their lives.
I know that message and I love that message. Anyone who doesn't should at least make an attempt to read this. 

The style was easy and funny, the book itself is not very long, so all of it felt to the point. I am glad I have chosen this as an audiobook, the author's voice is very nice and she's doing a great job at narrating the book. I love when authors themselves are doing it.

Laura

One of the best feminist books I have ever read. She is brilliant and funny. Would recommend this book without a doubt

Pam Sartain

there is a lot of autobiographical detail in this book, and that makes you realise that this is really someone who has gone through these things (none of them too traumatic, in case you're worried!) and approaches feminism from a stand point that anyone can understand, and hopefully, get behind!
I hadn't encounter Caitlin Moran before this book, but I've really enjoyed her writing style - home truths mixed with humour and the ability to not come across as someone preaching to the converted or otherwise!
I read this as part of Emma Watson's book group 'our shared shelf' and I love that I'm being exposed to books that I wouldn't pick up on my own!

It's a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. But a few nagging questions remain... Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby? Part memoir, part protest, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking.

Quick Reads 2021

How To Be a Woman

Amber Benn

I love this book, I listened to it while taking the bus, and it took a lot of effort not to laugh at many of the things said, and I defiantly recommend to anyone. 

Casie Blevins

I enjoyed this novel immensely. Although I did not agree with all of her views I found her humorous and insightful and in many ways spot on in discussing the oddities of being a female and what that means in a male dominated world. Every woman should put this book on her TBR list.

Erin 

I don't really read memoirs. I remember this being on the shelf and liking the cover, but wasn't really interested in actually reading it. I was pleasantly surprised...after initially getting over a different shade of humor that I am used to, I loved all the anecdotes that Caitlin had. She was really relatable, despite our lives and upbringing being vastly different. She was honest and truthful about life as a woman, and I really enjoyed that.

 Bruna Acioly Leão

Even though I don't necessarily agree with everything Moran says (especially on the first chapters and especially regarding modern medicine), I still thought this was a pretty good book. There were lots of moments when I laughed out loud and lots of other moments when I was all empowered and agreeing and wanting to take down the patriarchy.
If you want a book about feminism that focus on personal experiences and doesn't take itself too seriously, this might be what you're looking for. 
(I really liked her chapters on having kids - and not having kids - and on abortion).

Rachel

How to Be a Woman is hilarious! Caitlin describes various aspects of womanhood using her experiences and humorous insight. I don't know much about her career as a journalist, but I have read her novel and enjoyed it. She has a way of writing about women's issues in a witty, sarcastic and funny way. She makes a lot of great points, but going in you have keep in mind these are her opinions and it's okay to disagree, she even acknowledges this is how she feels wtf does she know kind of thing. I agreed with a lot, but I thought she was a bit insensitive to other cultures. How is someone not familiar with a groups customs going to suggest something is sexist without understanding it? You just can't. I enjoyed the parts of her sharing her own experiences and liked her insights and how she was able to add humor to it.

Caitlin Berger

Ahh, I enjoyed this book :) I've wanted to read it for a really long time, so I was super excited when I took it out from the library. Thankfully, this book really lived up to the hype! I found Caitlin Moran's writing funny, witty and just very honest. She didn't shy away from writing about any of her experiences as a teenager and adult. It was all very raw and powerful. To be honest, I didn't necessarily agree with all her opinions regarding feminism, but most of it was stuff I'd already read about and agreed with. This book wasn't a revelation to me simply because I've been reading feminist articles/books/posts for quite a while now. Nonetheless, Moran presented some interesting insight into certain issues. I especially liked her chapter on abortion; it is a must read for crazy adamant pro-lifers. 

I recommend this book to women AND men; it is hilarious and honest and the writing is superb. You'll learn many things and hopefully be convinced by what Caitlin has to say. A phenomenal read! :)

How to Be a Woman

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