Review: How to Think Like a Woman

I really enjoyed this ARC from Netgalley. Regan Penaluna makes some incredibly insightful points in her book How to Think Like a Woman. Not only about women in philosophy but women in academia, and more widely, in society. Though I've seen some commentary in other reviews about the inclusion of Penaluna's own experience at university and with her professors being unnecessary to the point, I feel these are essential to understanding the pervasive misogyny and racism that has kept women from gaining equal footing with their male and white counterparts. Penaluna's insights here show that though women have many more rights and opportunities than they did then, the same views of inferiority that kept them in the shadows have seeped into this century and still impact women today, though much more subtly than before.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. If you are picking this book up to learn how to "think like a woman" you may be disappointed. But if you want to learn WHY women think, and why women think the way we do, you will find some valuable insight into how women navigate this world, all the considerations we must make before we act, the limits we come up against, and how we try to dismantle or break through them. Having experienced how academia is more favourable towards white cis-men in their fields, we need more women like Penaluna to continue to challenge the assumptions that women just "aren't suited" to the work. I look forward to seeing more work from Penaluna in the future!

Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna is out now. Grab your copy from Booktopia.

Note: This book has been received as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. All views, ratings, and thoughts are my own.