Name: Tanja Hoffmann's review of Women & Power by Mary Beard
Item: Women & Power
Rating: 5
Author: Tanja Hoffmann

Mary Beard

THE NUMBER 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER24 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS IN THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10Why the popular resonance of 'mansplaining' (despite the intense dislike of the term felt by many men)? It hits home for us because it points straight to what it feels like not to be taken seriously: a bit like when I get lectured on Roman history on Twitter. Britain's best-known classicist Mary Beard, is also a committed and vocal feminist. With wry wit, she revisits the gender agenda and shows how history has treated powerful women. Her examples range from the classical world to the modern day, from Medusa and Athena to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton. Beard explores the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, considering the public voice of women, our cultural assumptions about women's relationship with power, and how powerful women resist being packaged into a male template. With personal reflections on her own experiences of the sexism and gendered aggression she has endured online, Mary asks: if women aren't perceived to be within the structures of power, isn't it power that we need to redefine?From the author of international bestseller SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.

A Manifesto

Women & Power

Tanja Hoffmann

At long last, Mary Beard addresses in one brave book the misogynists and trolls who mercilessly attack and demean women the world over, including, very often, Mary herself. In Women & Power, she traces the origins of this misogyny to its ancient roots, examining the pitfalls of gender and the ways that history has mistreated strong women since time immemorial. As far back as Homer's Odyssey, Beard shows, women have been prohibited from leadership roles in civic life, public speech being defined as inherently male. From Medusa to Philomela (whose tongue was cut out), from Hillary Clinton to Elizabeth Warren (who was told to sit down), Beard draws illuminating parallels between our cultural assumptions about women's relationship to power--and how powerful women provide a necessary example for all women who must resist being vacuumed into a male template. With personal reflections on her own online experiences with sexism, Beard asks: If women aren't perceived to be within the structure of power, isn't it power itself we need to redefine? And how many more centuries should we be expected to wait?

Hannah Yang

my girl virginia woolf encourages women to write in "a room of one's own" and in what feels like a sibling set of lectures, mary beard encourages women to speak. a brilliant overview of the ways that society distances women from power, bringing up many important questions that unfortunately seem far from being considered seriously, much less answered. a quick, enjoyable read that should (hopefully!) induce daily reflection and self-evaluation.

(side note: appreciating that the book is titled a 'man'ifesto... perhaps drawing attention to an entire genre, which happens to be linked to powerful and revolution-starting public speech, being gendered?? maybe that's a stretch)

Arianna M

"We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for, and how it is measured. To put it another way, if women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than women?"

linda

I first began Women and Power over winter break. Don’t worry, everyone, this book is very short. It is the approximately the size of the palm of my hand and the same thickness as a paperback copy of Frankenstein. Mary Beard is a classicist and historian at the University of Cambridge, and she is well known for her anthology of Roman history, entitled SPQR. Beard is also a committed and vocal feminist. In Women and Power, Beard discusses the ancient underpinnings of misogyny and anthologizes how society treats and perceives powerful women. 

What I found most interesting about Beard’s book was her commentary on the public voice of women. In US and European history, I learned about the idea of separate spheres - gendered divisions of labor and responsibilities. Throughout history, women have struggled to hold a formal stake in the political sphere. According to Beard, in ancient Rome, “public speaking and oratory were exclusive practices and skills that defined masculinity as a gender” (17). Moreover, there are countless examples of attempts to write women entirely out of public discourse, from an episode in the Odyssey when Telemachus tells Penelope, “Mother, go back up into your quarters, and take up your own work, the loom and the distaff...speech will be the business of men, all men, and of me most of all; for mine is the power in this household” to a recent event, when Elizabeth Warren was formally silenced by Republican senators while attempting to read a letter by Coretta Scott King on the floor (7). 

According to Beard, one way in which women have attempted to address this power imbalance and reclaim their “public voice” is by adopting androgyne attributes: in Elizabeth’s speech at Tilbury, she states proudly “I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too,” before rallying her troops against the Spanish Armada. There’s a reason why Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton both love wearing pantsuits, a clothing item which was first introduced in the 1920s when a small number of women began adopting a masculine style. Beard herself writes, “we have no template for what a powerful woman looks like, except that she looks rather like a man” (54). As a reader, I struggled with the morality of women adopting masculine attributes in order to acquire power or bolster legitimacy. Yes, it’s important for women to become visible leaders (CEOs, politicians, etc.), but is it possible to accomplish this goal in a way that does not reinforce societal stereotypes? When can we elect a strong female leader and respect her for her feminine attributes? 

When I read Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me last summer, one line resounded clearly in my mind. In response to Canadian-American author Saul Bellow’s question, “Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus?”, Coates asserted “Tolstoy is the Tolstoy of the Zulus.” I interpreted Coates’s argument as thus: there is no need to find an African equivalent of Tolstoy; there are plenty of seminal African literary figures who hold their own against Tolstoy himself. 

In a similar manner, we often described Elizabeth Holmes as a “ female Steve Jobs” before her fall from grace. In the current election cycle, Kamala Harris has been dubbed by several news outlets as a “female Barack Obama.” I hope that one day, we can stop ascribing epithets to powerful women describing them as the likenesses of men. I hope that one day, we can truly recognize them for their success in their own right.

An updated edition of the Sunday Times BestsellerBritain's best-known classicist Mary Beard, is also a committed and vocal feminist. With wry wit, she revisits the gender agenda and shows how history has treated powerful women. Her examples range from the classical world to the modern day, from Medusa and Athena to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton. Beard explores the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, considering the public voice of women, our cultural assumptions about women's relationship with power, and how powerful women resist being packaged into a male template. A year on since the advent of #metoo, Beard looks at how the discussions have moved on during this time, and how that intersects with issues of rape and consent, and the stories men tell themselves to support their actions. In trademark Beardian style, using examples ancient and modern, Beard argues, 'it's time for change - and now!' From the author of international bestseller SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.

Hannah Gallacher

This is a really fascinating, quick read that looks at women and their relationship with power in a way I’ve never seen before. Bear uses Classical examples in comparison to our modern day to exemplify how and why systems of power are largely built to keep women out.

Marina Riaza

Lo único malo es que se me ha hecho muy corto y me esperaba algo mucho más extenso y que analizase más en detalle pero en general me ha gustado como se expresa la autora y me parece interesante lo que analiza.

An updated edition of the Sunday Times Bestseller Britain's best-known classicist Mary Beard, is also a committed and vocal feminist. With wry wit, she revisits the gender agenda and shows how history has treated powerful women. Her examples range from the classical world to the modern day, from Medusa and Athena to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton. Beard explores the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, considering the public voice of women, our cultural assumptions about women's relationship with power, and how powerful women resist being packaged into a male template. A year on since the advent of #metoo, Beard looks at how the discussions have moved on during this time, and how that intersects with issues of rape and consent, and the stories men tell themselves to support their actions. In trademark Beardian style, using examples ancient and modern, Beard argues, 'it's time for change - and now!' From the author of international bestseller SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.

Sahi K

It’s always nice to find a reference to a book while reading another book, and that’s exactly how I found this and decided to pick it up immediately. I didn’t realize that it’s just a short collection of lectures by the author, but it is extremely profound regardless.

I know only a couple of the more common Greek/Roman myths and haven’t read the classics Iliad or the Odyssey, so it was fascinating to see the author trace the origins of women disempowerment and silencing to those myths. What’s more surprising is to see how these age old beliefs rooted in misogyny still reflect in popular current thought, albeit maybe in a different form - now manifesting as twitter trolls and rape/death threats on social media. The author doesn’t give us any clear solutions but asks all of us to examine the relationship between women and power, how we can try to gain it collectively (not just concentrating on individual high achievers) by not falling into the stereotypes of powerful women created by men. I particularly liked this line of hers -


  We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for, and how it is measured. To put it another way, if women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than women?”


To conclude, I just wanna say this was quite interesting to read. If you like Greco-Roman mythologies and would like to know how the fraught relationship of women with power has age old origins, you should pick this up. It’s an illuminating experience and can make us reflect on what more we can do to rid our culture of these notions of women’s inferiority. It’s also very short and packs a lot of information in a few pages, so pick it up and hopefully, it’ll surprise you.

Rose Stanley

Clear and to the point. Only wish it had been longer!

First essay was 4 stars, second essay was like 2 :/

Mariana Afonso

An approach to the connection between the Classical culture and the power gender dynamics of today. 
It has a clever tone and writing, an interesting perspective, and it is indeed enlightening when it comes to the comparisons between the Greek and Roman civilisation and the Western Society.
However, I find that it lacks depth in great part of the comments the author makes. The classical world parts are very well explained, but the examples and conclusions regarding the modern times are not explicit, they seem to be conjectures without many foundation - even though we can understand easily the meaning of the message and why the author reached those conclusions.

Jeni Enjaian

I hoped for far more from this book than I ended up receiving. I had hoped for an in-depth historical take on the historical roots of the apparent conflict between women in power, and the men who resent that power and other similar strains. However, as I should have realized by the subtitle "A Manifesto," Beard stands on her soapbox and shouts in sneering language about basic injustices some women have faced combined with sickening, all too real images from art and literature. I learned absolutely nothing from this book and in fact have soured on Beard as an author. I likely will not read other works by her even though I likely would fit quite well into her target audience.

Virginia Su

Having been in a competitive public speaking environment for the last 6 years, I could not help but find Mary Beard's first essay, The Public Voice of Women, to be super powerful. I can't even count the number of times I have been asked to lower the pitch of my voice or to stop "whining". Her second essay is just as eloquently written and just as, if not more, relevant in these recent times.

b.andherbooks

A tiny book that overall has a great thesis but may surprise some readers with its brevity. The title and synopsis oversell what is in fact just a synthesized version of a couple lectures given by Mary Beard. I'm glad I checked this out from the library as it was a fascinating read but would have been grumpy paying the cover price of $16.95 or $9 for the Kindle version.

Basically, Beard argues Western Culture has had thousands of years of practice silencing women, gives multiple examples especially in her wheelhouse (Greek/Roman history), and ties ancient texts to modern examples.

I did really appreciate all of the images, the end notes, and the further reading lists. Also, this checks off the

Megan

4/5 - A very short read, started and finished on a flight to Madrid. Based on a series of lectures, delivered by the author, it retains a sense of the fluidity of spoken language (perhaps fitting with the subject of the book), whilst still being highly coherent and structured as if solely written. I enjoyed this book because it educated me on issues I had never known about before - namely the role of women and their ability to speak in Ancient Rome and Greece. I loved how the author drew parallels to show the effects that these times have on the modern present, in some ways determining the ingrained attitude we have to women speaking now. I found this to be a highly thought-provoking read that I have pondered over immensely in the days since, and would recommend to anyone interested in feminism or just modern sociology paired with ancient roots in general.

Laura Dobie

Mary Beard makes compelling parallels between the classical world and the present day to illustrate the myriad ways in which women are silenced and excluded from power. Essential reading.

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Women & Power by Mary Beard

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