You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne (16+ recommendation, trigger warning for sexual assault)

Inequality between men and women in our society is lit up under a spotlight. Belle and Joni live in a society where if you identify as female you can choose to follow the Doctrine and try to become a ‘Pretty’. That means, amongst other things, you need to live up to nearly impossible beauty standards and be sexually passive for the benefit of men. Or you can refuse to comply and be labelled an ‘Objectionable’. If you do that, you face social rejection and ridicule.

I’m not gonna lie, parts of the book made me REALLY uncomfortable. Descriptions of Smut (porn), where women are spat on and degraded, is something the Doctrine encourages people to watch to reinforce men and women’s places in their society. There are loads of descriptions of the pressures people face to look a certain way, and even though this is dystopian, it’s not that far from the truth. There’s a long way to go before there’s true equality between genders. 

This book isn’t the right prescription for you if you want to feel warm and cosy about the world, but it is right for you if you’re fed up of misogyny, and you want some validation.

“ . . . we’re all groomed to worry constantly about what we look like – it’s a deliberate pressure. It’s designed to keep us down. To limit us. Divide us. Masks…Beauty…it’s all about weakening and dividing us.”

This is a book for anyone who’s pissed with the #patriarchy, #misogyny, or struggling with the impact of #sexualassault and #bodyimage (although massive TRIGGER WARNING — there are some deeply disturbing descriptions).

Video review here