Female empowerment or the opposite?

[Christine Joy G 1]

Zia was portrayed as a strong and intelligent woman who knows what she wants. She makes her own way on expressing herself, not being afraid of what others might say. I cannot say that she is not sexualized because of her desires but all in all, it's not against feminism. At least that's what I think.

[kperm]

I actually felt like the book had misogynistic undertones throughout. Every single woman was talked about with sexual undertones. Even the future MIL, “Her smooth golden thighs wink from underneath her dusty rose tennis skirt, complete with a white spaghetti-strap shirt”. And Makayla is portrayed as a caricature of a person, as if being successful and still being a good person wasn’t possible for women. To me, this book felt written by someone who sees women as one-dimensional and doesn’t have a very high opinion of them.

I agree that misogynistic undertones were present in the book. Unfortunately, such things happen way too often. I also thought that the author was objectifying women and seeing women as one-dimensional.

[Medhansh Bhardwaj]

I don't think the book was sexist. Zia's character was portrayed as sweet and innocent, yet bold and passionate. I couldn't cite any instances where the author purposefully puts down Zia, or women in general.

[shravsi]

This book is filled with mixed signals. One doesn't need to be sexually objectified or aggressive to be a feminist. As this book deals with sexual confidence the author's intention became foggy. For example, female characters' body descriptions. Some descriptions were downright misogynistic. I would say the intention to deliver a strong female character was there, but the execution could have been more nuanced.

[Vishnu Priya B]

What I read from the author's description is that Zia is both strong and aggressive and successful at her job, but she's also insecure, has appealing bodily features, is sexually appealing, has a great libido and also wants to be accepted by men. While the first part definitely sounds like she's a strong and brave woman, the second part gives it away. To me it seems like, seriously? Can a woman be all of these things at the same time? What is the possibility.? I would say the description of Zia as something a modern male would describe as feminism.

From what I have experienced, I would say accepting me as myself with all my flaws and imperfections and taking responsibility for it without being a martyr is what feminism truly is. Which Zia's character obviously isn't. Again, I don't even want to start with the other female characters. So, I think it's quite the opposite of female empowerment.

[Recee Ann]

Zia to me is the type that just wants to live her life not caring about what anyone has to say about her. Her crave for sex is out of hand, yes, but if a man did the same thing as she did they won't likely judge him that much. Someone's clothing doesn't determine their personality.. it is the inside that matters the most. Someone can also have an innocent face and still be rotten to the core so I don't think that's what the writer intended.

[Satwik Mohanty]

The sexism is there, especially in the description given about the other female characters. But I think it was necessary to feature Zia as a bold female character. She is strong and independent and her portrayal feels more empowering than the others.

[Goodness C N]

To portray successful women as aggressive. You know, painting this picture that career women will always be angry is cruel. I do believe that this book has sexist undertones.

[Suzer6440 xyz]

Zia is a strong woman in this book. I don’t see this book to be against feminism. However my thought is that the author shows the characters power and confidence NOW —-as these qualities are such that woman did not show long ago

[Humera955]

You can not call it feminism and at the same time it's not sexist also i think the character of zia needed to be described that way to describe the situation better. And it was necessary for the character development of zia.

[Gabriella1997]

I actually felt like the book had misogynistic undertones throughout. Every single woman was talked about with sexual undertones. Even the future MIL, “Her smooth golden thighs wink from underneath her dusty rose tennis skirt, complete with a white spaghetti-strap shirt”. And Makayla is portrayed as a caricature of a person, as if being successful and still being a good person wasn’t possible for women. To me, this book felt written by someone who sees women as one-dimensional and doesn’t have a very high opinion of them.

I never thought of it like this. But looking back now I don't even know how I didn't notice the misogynistic atmosphere. But i can't decide whether it made like the book more or less because while I don't like misogyny, I already liked the book. However it did feel like the author had a negative experience with women that has influenced the way this book was written.

[EternalD]

I think the book ended up being sexist without wanting to be. User Karlee Berrios nailed in her critic. Being aggressive is not a sign of being a strong woman and independent. Aggression, in most cases, is a sign of impotence and unresolved psychological issues.

[dennisbragra]

For female empowerement to work the conversation needs to be wholesome. It needs to involve the men as well. Make men understand why the role of the woman in the society needs to be broadened

[NancyDrew12]

I for one didn't find the book sexist. I liked the addition of strong female characters because I feel like a lot of novels try to portray most women as weak. Zia came off as bold to me and there is nothing wrong with a bold woman.

[Mys_Trea]

I think the author's aim was to portray strong women, but fell short in some instances. For instance, in the description of women and their being objectified. It took a lot to see the women as anything other than sexual beings.