How to Be a Woman (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

• Caitlin Moran: Add a description of this character.
• Germaine Greer: author, feminist and inspiration to author
• Madonna
• Charlie
• Rachel
• Lizzie
• Vicky
• Jennifer Ehle
• Courtney
• Cheryl Cole
• Eddie
• Charlie
• Dorothy Parker
• Steve
• Marina
• Patti Smith
• Pete
• Dave
• Peter Andre
• Weena
• Graham Coxon
• Victoria Beckham
• Burt Reynolds
• Jilly Cooper
• Nancy
• Terry Wogan
• Kylie Minogue
• Cathy
• Kate Winslet
• Keef
• Jennifer Aniston
• Duchess of York
• Jenny Agutter: Actress
• Katie Price
• David Bowie
• Diana
• Scarlett Johansson
• Oscar
• Frida Kahlo
• Caz
• Matthew Vale
• Oprah Winfrey
• Barack Obama
• Benny Hill
• Matt
• Polly Toynbee
• Catherine Zeta-Jones
• Chevy Chase

Quotes edit see section history

• “It really is important you say these words out loud. "I AM A FEMINIST." If you feel you cannot say it - not even standing on the ground - I would be alarmed. It's probably one of the most important things a woman will ever say: the equal of "I love you," "Is it a boy or a girl?" or "No! I've changed my mind! I don't want bangs!" Say it. SAY IT! SAY IT NOW! Because if you can't, you're basically bending over, saying, "Kick my arse and take my vote, please, patriarchy."”

  Caitlin Moran

• “Very often, a woman can have left a party, caught the bus home, washed her face, got into bed, read 20 minutes of The Female Eunuch, and put the light out before she puts the light back on again, sits bolt upright, and shouts, "Hang on - I'VE JUST HAD SOME SEXISM THROWN AT ME. THAT WAS SOME SEXISM WHEN THAT MAN CALLED ME "SUGAR TITS' - TAT WAS SEXISM, AND NOT AN HONEST MISPRONUNCIATION OF THE NAME 'ANDREA'!"”

• “In short, how can you tell when some sexism is happening to you? Well, in this matter, what ultimately aids us is to simply apply this question to the issue: Is this polite? If we - the entire population of the earth, male and female alike - are just, essentially, "the guys," then was one of the guys just...uncouth to a fellow guy? Don't call it sexism. Call it "manners" instead. When a woman blinks a little, shakes her head like Columbo, and says, "I'm sorry, but that sounded a little...uncivil," a man is apt to apologize. Because even the most rampant bigot on earth has no defense against a charge of simply being rude.”

  Caitlin Moran

• “One doesn't want to be as blunt as to say, "Girls, get the f**k off the podium - you're letting us all down," but: Girls, get the f**k off the podium - you're letting us all down.”

  Caitlin Moran

• “Women who, in a sexist world, pander to sexism to make their fortune are Vichy France with tits.”

  Caitlin Moran

• “Just as pornography isn't inherently wrong - it's just some f**king - so pole-dancing, or lap-dancing or stripping, isn't inherently wrong - it's just some dancing. So long as women are doing it for fun - because they want to, and they are in a place where they won't be misunderstood, and because it seems ridiculous and amusing, and something that might very well end with you leaning against a wall, crying with laughter as your friends try to mend the crotch-split in your leggings with a safety pin - then it's a simple open-and-shut case of carry on, girls. Feminism is behind you.”

  Caitlin Moran

• “Simply being able to vote isn't the same as true equality. It's difficult to see the glass ceiling because it's made of glass. Virtually invisible. What we need is for more birds to fly above it and s**t all over it, so we can see it properly.”

  Caitlin Moran

• “The transformation of my body from something that does little more than poo and do jigsaws into a magical department store that will, one day, vend babies takes up nearly all my time and worry.”

  Caitlin Moran

• “And if a woman should say she doesn't want to have children at all, the world is apt to go decidedly peculiar: "Ooooh, don't speak too soon," it will say -- as if knowing whether or not you're the kind of person who desires to make *a whole other human being in your guts, out of sex and food,* then base the rest of your life around its welfare, is a breezy, "Hey - whatever" decision. Like electing to have a picnic on an unexpectedly sunny day, or changing the background picture on your desktop."”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London
• Wolverhampton
• United States
• Paris
• England

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Modern Feminism: Describe this theme.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Caitlin Moran (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Many, many swear words, lots of descriptions of sexual situations, definitely only suitable for an adult!

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Nonfiction › Women's Studies
• Books › Entertainment › Humor

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Book Review: Remember when feminism was about The Sisterhood? About women clubbing together to stick it to The Man, patriarchy or whatever they were calling the system that kept them in a state of social subjugation? Those days are gone. Today, if Caitlin Moran's wildly successful feminist tract How To Be A Woman is anything to go by, feminism is less a universal club and more a bitchy sorority, made up of well-connected women like Moran who consider themselves better, more spiritual and more "real", than other women, than lesser women, than what the Victorians might have called "fallen women". Feminism is now about asserting the moral superiority of enlightened women over unthinking, uncouth broads.
• How to be a Woman: The official website for the book.

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history