Everyday Sexism

February 15, 2016
Sexism as it exists today in Western culture is a normal, everyday experience in the lives of women, according to Bates. She knows this from personal experience as well as from the thousands of women who have shared their experiences through the Everyday Sexism Project, a website founded by the author and dedicated to cataloguing instances of sexism. With pages of facts, well-reasoned and detailed arguments, and an expanding supply of painful stories of women and girls told in their own words, Bates shines an unrelenting light on sexist acts of oppression, laying in stark detail and clear language how sexism causes problems for women in every area of their lives, from girlhood to education to their working years. The argument she builds is inescapable: sexism affects everyone, with damaging consequences not just to women but to all people and to society as a whole, and no one could read this book and fail to be moved.

February 15, 2016
A British feminist activist gathers together stories from women worldwide about gender-based denigration suffered in both private and public spheres.When Bates realized just how many "little pinpricks" of sexist intrusion-- which included everything from male leering to outright physical assault--she had to deal with every day, she finally fully understood the deeply rooted nature of gender inequality. In this book, she shares her experiences alongside those of women who have written on Bates' website about everything from "the niggling and normalized to the outrageously offensive and violent." As she sees it, the main issue at stake is that "sexism is often an invisible problem." Moreover, society forces women into silent compliance through various forms of abuse. Stories from young girls and adolescents, for example, reveal how they are still faced with the difficult and unfair task of reconciling pressures to be sexually available with those that condemn the expression of female sexuality. As adults, young women just out of college, who routinely face sexual harassment on the job, earn on average just 82 percent of what men do. And those holding elected office are still in the minority worldwide and are themselves often the targets of belittlement due to their gender. Bates suggests that the media, a social apparatus that "is controlled by men, for men," plays an especially invidious role in the creation and perpetuation of damaging messages about female identity. Furthermore, those who do not fit the desirable image of femininity--whether because of age, race, class, or sexual preference--face even greater discrimination. The points the author makes about the struggles girls and women face worldwide are not new, but Bates' digital activism and the passion behind her project to "force people to recognize that [sexism] is real" are forces to be reckoned with. A potent reminder of how far feminism has come and how far it has to go.

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July 1, 2016

Collecting thousands of tales from women (and men) of abuse, catcalling, and sexism through social media, Bates has updated the 2015 British edition of this book to include more information about women in politics, on campus, and in the media. Each of the 12 chapters begins with two pages of eye-opening vital statistics, along with tweets from those who have experienced sexism. While some of the Briticisms may puzzle American teens, the global scope of the examples will inspire teens to speak up and change the world. A multitude of campaigns (It's on Us, Know Your IX, #YesAllWomen, Ready To Run) and organizations (Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Equality Now, National Organization for Men Against Sexism) are discussed throughout and are listed in the resources section in the appendix. Students can visit the Everyday Sexism Project's website and follow it on Tumblr and Twitter. Pair with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists or any book from the Amelia Bloomer list. VERDICT A must-have for high school libraries to fill their social justice and feminism collections.-Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Having spent a lifetime ignoring, or brushing off, or letting it slide, British writer Bates found herself on the receiving end, yet again, of everyday sexism and sexual harassment and decided that she had had enough. Goaded by her own experiences, she began an online dialogue with other women to find out about their encounters, and she was shocked by the deluge of responses she received about similar or worse stories from women of all ages in every socioeconomic situation across the UK and America. After creating a venue for women to share their daily challenges and significant experiences with sexist confrontations, Bates gathered personal observations, provided statistical information, reviewed media coverage of women, and studied the lack of serious response or even the attempt to protest the barrage of negative feedback women endure regarding their appearance, intelligence, and moral conduct, day after day. Readers, whether newly educated or empowered by Bates' comprehensive, well-researched report, will find it useful for starting discussions between the genders. A list of resources, additional information, and ways to get involved are included.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2016

Based on a successful social media project--a response to what Bates describes as her "tipping point," the moment following a series of episodes of harassment she was expected to accept as part of an investigation into what it means to be a woman inhabiting public space--this debut examines the deeply entrenched, systemic sexual double standards that marginalize and oppress women today. As a contribution to research and studies of sexism, Bates' book offers a confident mixture of personal narratives, data, and anecdotes the author has collected over the years and is most compelling in its utilization of a nonlinear approach to the subject. Rather than start with girlhood and move through the phases of women's lives, the author opens with the political realm and goes on to interrogate preadulthood, the education system, the workplace, and public space; a strategy that allows her to spotlight the ways in which systemic oppression has no beginning or end. Occasionally, the author's tone and syntax seems off-putting (e.g., using "his junk" in reference to a man's online presence)--a phrase that risks alienating readers from an important point about sexual double standards. VERDICT Bates invites provocative, much-needed dialog that will promote more nuanced exchanges regarding the issues women face. [See Prepub Alert, 8/24/15.]--Emily Bowles, Building for Kids Children's Museum, Appleton, WI

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2015

On April 16, 2015, Bates's blog, The Everyday Sexism Project, enjoyed its third anniversary and scored big as the No. 1 trending topic that day on Twitter. Bates started the blog in 2012 after she was sexually harassed on London public transportation and found her declarations resonating with women worldwide. Her aim: to inspire a new generation of women to acknowledge openly the issues they face.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2016

Using hundreds of tales from women (and men) about sexual abuse, catcalling, and sexism, Bates draws from her social media project, Everyday Sexism, to create a must-have title about social justice, feminism, and microaggressions. (http: //ow.ly/iyXM305ME9V)-Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.