May 15, 2016

Emma Watson prefaces Laura Bates' 'Girl Up'



Emma's preface:
'I will preface this by saying - anything that makes navigating being a teenage girl even slightly easier is a godsend. This book is not for the faint-hearted (think lots of swearing, pictures of vaginas and "patriarchy busting"), but frankly I think that might be what we need - a book that unapologetically addresses what teenage girls are really dealing with. Don't understand what your teenage daughter is going through or, even if you do, how to help her tackle it? This is the book for you and for her. So necessary. SO timely. Thorough. Straightforward. Well researched. Intelligent. 0% patronizing. Hopefully we can save a few more women some years of self-loathing and "what's wrong with me" questions.'


Book's description:
They told you you need to be thin and beautiful.

They told you to wear longer skirts, avoid going out late at night and move in groups - never accept drinks from a stranger, and wear shoes you can run in more easily than heels.

They told you to wear just enough make-up to look presentable but not enough to be a slut; to dress to flatter your apple, pear, hourglass figure, but not to be too tarty.

They warned you that if you try to be strong, or take control, you'll be shrill, bossy, a ballbreaker. Of course it's fine for the boys, but you should know your place.

They told you 'that's not for girls' - 'take it as a compliment' - 'don't rock the boat' - 'that'll go straight to your hips'.

They told you 'beauty is on the inside', but you knew they didn't really mean it.

Well I'm here to tell you something different.

Hilarious, jaunty and bold, GIRL UP exposes the truth about the pressures surrounding body image, the false representations in media, the complexities of a sex and relationships, the trials of social media and all the other lies they told us.

You can buy it on AMAZON

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is it this?

Anonymous said...

Eden is it possible to pin the Panama Topic at the top as it's clearly the most popular article here? Thanks

RT said...

The Panama Paper incident has been explained. I checked them myself. The subject matter here is for young woman and how they are treated by the world at large. This is a related issues given Emma's motivation was to protect her anonymity, unwanted attention being an issue for most women/girls I have spoken to about this.

We could ask why young women still need books like GIRL UP in 2016. I why we seem intent and making famous people live up to standards most of us don't match before allowing them to use the privilege they have to make things better.

If we discourage the good ones we cannot complain about the behavior of the bad. Look at what Emma Watson is trying to do before condemning her for the world she lives in. She never claimed to be perfect we projected that on her and others like her.

We may not get the leaders we deserve but we do get the celebrities we deserve. Make them the good ones.

Ross Taggart (@RTHG82)

Anonymous said...

How about the lives of people who gave it all to save others, to give them a better life, History and the present day is full of such women.

AnnieBC said...

@Eden, where does this come from? I'd like to read the source, if possible. Thanks in advance :)

Eden said...

I found both the preface and description at the amazon link I posted ;)