Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide in Oly Reads

Feb 01, 2013 Galen Johnson rated it did not like it

Shelves: non-fiction, book-club-books

I heard a number of people rave about this book, so I was excited to read it. By the time I was finished with the first two chapters, I was left with an uncomfortable, almost icky, feeling. Not from the subject matter (which is disturbing but a topic I have read about extensively), but from the tone of the writing. I kept reading, thinking it would get better. But soon the book and the uncomfortable feeling became worse, and I started to be able to name the source of the ickiness and my overall I heard a number of people rave about this book, so I was excited to read it. By the time I was finished with the first two chapters, I was left with an uncomfortable, almost icky, feeling. Not from the subject matter (which is disturbing but a topic I have read about extensively), but from the tone of the writing. I kept reading, thinking it would get better. But soon the book and the uncomfortable feeling became worse, and I started to be able to name the source of the ickiness and my overall discomfort with the book: Ethnocentrism. Sexism. Paternalism. Lack of cohesion to the arguments. So, most of my review will focus on that. BUT, I do have to say that the subject matter-- the horrors of slavery and rape and the sexism and the poverty that so many people around the world suffer-- is something that should not be ignored. I would rather have people read this book than have no information on these topics at all. However, I wish that people would either get their information from another source to begin with or hope that people quickly move on to reading better, more open and thoughtful sources on the topics.

One thing that rubbed me the wrong way about the writing (and the internet now tells me that this is a common complaint about Kristof’s writing) is the “othering” of the victims, the painfully western perspective on all things and the paternalistic tone. The victims are rarely portrayed as full human beings, but objects whose story begins and ends with their suffering (or, perhaps, extends long enough to serve as a success story for the authors or other saviors.) Rape victims are named, pictures of women in operating rooms are shown, and the privacy of these victimized women is not respected in the way that would be demanded for western subjects. Most women in the book are referred to by their first name, most men (especially western men) are referred to by their last names. Yes, there are exceptions, but look at the chapter section on the charity work of Overlake High School-- a male Newsweek writer and the male school principal are referred to by their last names or full names, a female student by her first name (even though the full names of all three were given when introduced). This might seem like a small thing, but it is an easy-to-quantify example of the paternalistic tone the authors take with the women they write about.

The authors explicitly address that their writing will be anecdote-driven in a section explaining sociological research that demonstrated greater action taken by people hearing personal stories than hearing statistics about an issue. I will ignore the fact that this infantilizes readers (ha, we just need to emotionally manipulate you here rather than actually educate you!), and say that it is actually a good thing they mostly avoid statistics because they seem incapable of writing about numbers well. In one chapter, they wrote, “One experiment....found that after three years family planning programs reduced the average number of births to 5.1 in the target area, compared to 6.7 in the control area.” Average births per WHAT? Per family? Per acre? Per woman? The reference is given in the notes, but it wouldn’t have taken that much extra writing (or editing) to just make the sentence helpful to begin with.

The lack of consistency (if not outright contradictions) regarding real, workable solutions to the multitude of problems presented in the book was especially frustrating. There is constant proselytizing for more education for females, but then in a chapter on improving rural health care the authors write, “One sensible response [to the lack of doctors in rural areas] is to start training programs in Africa that produce many more health care professionals, but in two- or three-year programs that don’t grant MDs that allow the graduates to find jobs abroad.” So, besides making extremely broad generalizations about an entire diverse continent, the authors think Africans should be educated enough to help themselves but not enough to participate in the opportunities of the world? We westerners should impose limits on how high you Africans can rise, but we will also look down on you for thinking your women are less deserving of opportunity than your men?

The authors seem to be writing for a U.S. audience (many of the charity examples are from the U.S., and comments are made about the need for Americans to see more of the world), but there is no discussion of why the U.S., a developed, non-Muslim, country with equal voting rights, pretty good health care, and education for women, still has non-negligible problems with human trafficking, violence against women, and with disparate quality in maternal health. We have outlawed brothels (in most states), and yet there is still a problem with women and girls being forced into prostitution against their will. Human trafficking in the U.S. is a problem, even if the majority of the victims come from other countries. Why don’t the authors discuss this when proposing better education, harsher laws against brothel owners, and women speaking up as solutions? Clearly, there is much more depth to all of these issues than the authors are willing or able to go into.

I could go on and on-- multiple times in each chapter, I have “?!?!?!” in the margins beside unclear statistics, sexist statements, and contradictory ideas. The bottom line is that this is an important book topic, but it has been mangled in the execution. While there are some concrete suggestions for how to move forward on these issues, there are also statements such as, "If you're a parent, take your kids not just to London but also to India or Africa-or to the other side of the tracks in your own hometown." Yes, because everyone interested in helping others has the disposable income to travel the world and lives on the "right" side of the tracks. I do hope that more people learn about these human rights issues, and I hope that readers who have been inspired by this book also read the criticism by writers like Teju Cole, Elliott Prasse-Freeman, Sally Scholz, and Laura Agustin.

[Disclaimer: I have not finished the book yet, so if the last chapter has a big twist like in “Gone Girl” and all the previous chapters need to be re-interpreted, then obviously I have missed out.] [Okay, I finished, and if anything I think even less of the book.] ...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Elaine Nelson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, politics, sociology, psychology, gender, ebook

Thoughtful & passionate look at the condition of women throughout the "third world", seen through the lens of a few specific issues, ending with the rallying cry that the liberation of women is necessary for development & social growth. Some really horrifying/scary stuff here, but also inspiring stories.

(BTW, my first ebook read on my new phone, checked out from the library. A pretty decent reading experience, although a few lines at the bottom of the screen were occasionally cut off.) ...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Janie rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

One chapter and three stories of eviscerating violence into this book I was unsure about whether I wanted to pursue it. It's worth it.

Some of the truths they tell about Western aid are much too often overlooked. Kiva gets a shout-out. ...more

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