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femmenova 's review for:

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo
4.0
informative reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: N/A
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A

This book was absolutely aggravating to read, especially the ending! Wow, I was grinding my teeth when THAT was the conclusion! Not that it was badly written, it's more so wow! I hate it here! This book was very informative, though it does discuss a conventional women as opposed to a disabled, a fat, a queer Korean women and how that would be like for her. Certainly, still a very interesting read nonetheless. I am just *begging*, nay I am *demanding*, that white reviewers from the west to shut up about their feminism and realise that context matters. I have seen way too many reviews commenting infantilising stuff that "no, it's okay, korean men don't know any better". I promise you, as a Southeast Asian person, men of all races know what they do when they exert their power over marginalised people. I promise you to drop your weird ideas about how feminism is not something familiar in the East when women from the East were front and centre fighting nationalist and socialist movements against white westerners invading and for Korea's purpose, Japan's invasion. Even in the text, it was mentioned casually so really, I am tired of all the infantilization happening in both YouTube and Goodreads (did not actually read anything here). 

Read the book and don't be weird about it. Maybe sit with your weird, weird views on people in Asia. We are not backwards, we are not stupid, your white feminist theories came from the people of colour birthed from your own western nations. Don't forget that.