What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape is not an easy read by any means and for anybody that has suffered sexual abuse of any kind there are sections that I believe will be particularly triggering to individuals. However this book is an important conversation on the subject of rape. Sohaila Abdulali discusses how rape should not be a subject we ignore. It's an endemic problem that can affect anybody and disproportionately effects black and indigenous women and transgender individuals.

I think the most poignant aspect of this book for me was Sohaila Abdulali's questions about the impact our conversations or lack of conversations about rape will have on our future generations. What do we teach our children in sex education, how do we discuss consent with our children, how is sexual pleasure for women Vs men discussed? What language and words do children have to articulate and understand rape or sexual violence? How will this impact the relationship the children of this world have with each other?

This book raises a lot of questions and whilst I don't think it is perfect as Sohaila Abdulali refers to rape victims as her more frequently than not. Although in some cases she caveats this by saying she uses her but the term "she" but the situations applies to all, I think it would have been better to just go straight for a non-binary term of they/them to ensure that all people could identify with the points she makes. Although I imagine that the audience of the book is predominantly women. However, she does make reference on numerous occasions to the fact that men, transgender people and nonbinary people can all be raped. I just think clarity of gendered language throughout could have been a bit more nuanced.

Despite this, I feel this book has a lot of value and is an important starting point for difficult conversations. It made me think, it made me sad, it made me angry and more. I also enjoyed reading several, of the many, articles that Abdulali referenced to throughout as additional materials that provided more food for thought. Overall I'm glad I finally read it as it's such a relevant and topical book.