This was a fascinating, if depressing, read. The book is entirely about data collection and comparing the data between men and women, with a focus on how women are being let down globally with current design and norms.
There’s no way I can fully sum up the book, it is chock full of references and stats and numbers on men and women and their different experiences in the world. I’ll try to hit all of the topics though. The book starts by talking about how male bodies and male experiences are always seen as the default, despite the fact that women make up half the world and have very different bodies and needs. It first covers daily life, such as traveling (women being more likely to use public transit and many women being attacked on public transit) and architecture (think bathrooms and how women’s rooms tend to be designed so less people can use them at once). Then it moves to work and how women do more unpaid labor, are discriminated against under meritocracies, are expected to have the same needs at work as men (particularly impacts pregnancies), and women workers’ health being worth less than men’s. After that it’s design of how tools and protective equipment are designed for men while new products aimed at women can’t get a foot in the door. Next is medical issues with drugs having different efficacies and symptoms for common ailments being different, not to mention women’s pain not being taken seriously in general. Finally there’s public life with women’s work being exploited, gender gaps in the family, and women not getting elected to public office or being taken seriously in leadership positions. Finally it’s the dark chapters talking about how women are disproportionately impacted by disasters and dying at higher rates as a result.
Ok so there is so much information in this book. I am blown away by the amount of research that must have been carried out to write this. Criado Perez is so thorough and absolutely incredible for digging up all of this information and statistics.
Some parts are so depressing to read though. Hearing about all of the women who got harassed on public transit made me want to never step foot in a bus again. And the discussion of the lack of medical studies including women in their trials hurt my faith in science and in my field. Despite all that though, it’s still such an important and validating read to hear about how women have been repeatedly let down by modern design. This was the most thorough discussion of why the lines for women’s bathrooms are so long in my opinion! (It boils down to men’s rooms having urinals so they can have more people use them at once, and women being more likely to have children, be elderly, have medical conditions that cause them to use the bathroom for longer, or be menstruating. So even if the bathrooms service the name number of people, women are going to need more stalls in order for it to truly be fair.)
She does note in the introduction that she was limited by minimal information available about women, and few studies separating their data by sex. When possible, she tried to include data separated by race as well, but even fewer studies do that. While reading I did note passages where she acknowledges that there would be differences based on race but does not have the data to demonstrate it. However my main complaint is that the whole book does not make a single mention or trans or non-binary individuals. And sure, I bet that there is very little data out there on this. But there are times where Criado Perez directly conflates sex and gender, equating being a man to having a penis. And again, sure, likely this all only applies to cis men. But she never acknowledges this! There is no mention of the impact of these things on trans women, trans men, or non-binary individuals! And even if the data doesn’t exist, there’s no need to continue the erasure of trans individuals by equating being male to having a penis. Or by equating women to giving birth and being pregnant. Which yes, primarily impacts women. I’d love to see an acknowledgement that men could give birth too. Having said all that, this book still has so much data in it that it is still inherently so useful. I just want a more well rounded discussion on the difference between sex and gender and how that can impact people as well.
To sum up: this book has its limitations. It is a tour de
force of research and data collection, but the discussion can lack nuance. I
found it incredibly valuable though, just take it with a grain of salt should
you pick it up.
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