Finished the book earlier today, lot to process and think through. It’s a similar feeling to reading Kapital where everything suddenly just clicks and the entire world is recontextualized in a way that makes so much more sense. I didn’t realize how deep the patriarchal brain worms go, the book does a great job of getting you to look back at your childhood and see the ways you’ve been conditioned from day one. I’m still making connections between a lot of different thoughts, feelings, and formative experiences, everything really goes back to the same place. I didn’t realize that I have so much deeply ingrained misogyny to excise, so many ways my behavior and thinking is molded by adhering to a patriarchal ideal.

I hope to get my thoughts together and contribute more to further discussion threads, I’m just immensely grateful to everyone here that recommended this book! I’ve already started pushing it on everyone I know that I think would be even slightly receptive, it’s such a good introduction to feminist ideas. Begged my girlfriend to read it to no avail, really hoping I can get her to eventually as I’m not nearly as eloquent as bell hooks. Also doesn’t help that I can’t even try to describe some of the things mentioned without tearing up. I feel like this book perfectly describes the alienation I’ve felt from being with women that ask me to open up and then ignore me/get upset when I actually do. Fingers crossed it goes differently this time, I’ve already spoken very frankly about suicidal ideation and depression with her. Cried in her arms before we even officially started to date so if that didn’t scare her off hopefully some theory won’t