Customer Reviews

It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I was aware at some point that this book was in the works. Imagine my surprise at finding a brand new copy of it in the back of a taxi this weekend. "Keep it," the cabby told me as he dropped me off for my appointment.

I started reading it right away in the crowded but quiet lobby of my "specialist." I must have looked like a fool, trying and failing desperately not to giggle and laugh out loud as I read. Thank god I was called in to my appointment before completely humiliating myself in front of the rest of the other people in the waiting room.

Once at home I could laugh out loud all I wanted. Marcotte is clever and whip-smart. She's fair and her analysis is spot on. Googling her turned up a cornucopia of other material she's written, all of it in a hip feminist voice that succeeds not just because she elucidates with humor, but because she speaks with compassion and care.

Highly recommended.

I thought it was hilarious (in a good way), and I don't see how any reasonable person could find a flaw with Amanda's premise -- that misogyny is bad, and humor has a large part to play in how we maintain our sanity. The book cleverly attacks other oppressions besides sexism (racism, homophobia, etc.) and manages to get in a plug for vegetarianism too (two pages that were highly amusing to me because I am a vegetarian).

No, it's not a political treatise. If you want that, buy another book. This book is much more fun than your average political treatise.

Having read several good reviews of this book, I was excited about it, thinking it would identify the sexism women face in day to day life and give suggestions on how to deal with it. Instead I found that the issues and situations the author talked about were not at all ones I could relate to. She focused a lot on issues such as abortion myths, Purity Balls, why women change their last names after marriage, and how to go on strike when Girls Gone Wild comes knocking. While I'm sure these and other similar examples of sexism occur and matter in certain women's lives, they have never happened to me. I expected some good discussion of something I and many other women deal with all the time: sexism in the workplace and in schools, and how to go about dealing with it. She had very little to say about that, which is a huge issue for the majority of women in America. As a result, she came across as writing about issues that have mattered in her life and perhaps those of her specific background but not having taken effort to find out how sexism affects women leading different lives. This resulted in very narrow and uninformed views of the ways in which sexism affects women which I found alienating.

I suggest that anyone thinking about buying this book check out the author's blog which is on [...] first to see the author's writing and issues of interest to get an idea of the topics she writes about and considers "feminist" issues, and if you still are interested after that, look through the book at a bookstore before spending your money. I wish I had.

This book is very much worth it and provides a great introduction to the hierarchical systems of dominance and oppression that drive so much of our stupid culture. If you already know about the insidious and wide-ranging effects of racism and patriarchy, you'll get a good laugh out of the way Ms. Marcotte shows us these effects. If you're still naive enough to believe that America is a place where everyone has equal opportunity, this will open your eyes. It's a perfect gift for your clever high-school or college-aged niece or nephew: it will help them become aware of just how rigged the system really is.

It seems a bit easy to tag Marcotte as "the new Molly Ivins"; they are, after all, both smart feisty women from Texas. However, you if enjoy reading smart, funny writers, you couldn't do much better than Amanda.

Marcotte takes a somewhat jaundiced eye towards the patriarchy, and the book comprises less a treatise against the institution, and more of an attempt to stay sane. You're not going to find great arguments; you will find some great pranks. Know that going in and you'll have a blast.

I ordered Amanda's book as soon as I knew it was out, and I was not disappointed. Well, I was a little disappointed--my husband took off with it and read it cover to cover before I even got my first peek! I had to listen to him snort and cackle, and keep myself from asking what the joke was. I finally got it back from him, though, and "It's a Jungle Out There" is hilarious, irreverent and wickedly clever. If you're looking for a dose of levity to take along while you're fighting the patriarchy, look no further.

I liked it and found it funny, but superficial in terms of inspiring. Would recommend Saundra Pelletier's "Saddle Up Your Own White Horse" to read for inspriing ways to take charge of your life!Saddle Up Your Own White Horse: 5 Principles Every Woman Needs to Know

I bought this book to give to a friend for her birthday and couldn't resist peeking inside first. Now I've finished the book and I'll have to explain that her present has creases in it because I couldn't put it down. It's right up any 20-something's alley. Amanda writes with the sarcasm and wit our generation to which our generation is used, while exposing this truth behind most anti-choice and wingnut conservative arguments: They hate and fear women and seek to control them.

In a world were you can not turn on the tv without sexism in a very idiotic form starts pouring through the screen you need humor to keep you sanity.

I loved this book

As a long-time reader of Pandagon and a great fan of Marcotte's writing, I pre-ordered the book as soon as I heard about it. It far surpassed my highest expectations! I'm an old-timer, one of those "second wave" feminists and I cannot express how delighted I am with this new generation of young feminists picking up the banner. None do a better job of leading and educating than Amanda Marcotte. Irreverent, side-splittingly funny, speaking in a voice both hip and confident, this book should be required reading for every young person (yes, men too!).