Throughout history, women have had to deal with being second-class citizens in their own countries and homes because men just believe they are superior and assert themselves more, both physically and emotionally. Recently, we are seeing winds of change, but it’s not nearly enough. Literature is one of the greatest ways to gain a view and understand another’s point of view.
This is a listing of four fiction and four non-fiction books that men should read to better understand women and what they go through- whether as mothers, wives, colleagues, or even as survivors of sexual assault, subjugation, or mental illness.
Em And The Big Hoom
Jerry Pinto
Motherhood is considered sacred and the possibility that mothers can be even remotely ‘flawed’ is hard for people to digest. But isn’t that an unfair amount of pressure to put on someone who has her struggles? Society will judge a woman for being a ‘bad mother’, but not for a second to think about her point of view, her needs, or what she is going through.
Room
Emma Donoghue
Sexual assault against women has always been a serious concern and many depraved men, unfortunately, assume it is perfectly fine to assault women- from verbal harassment to molestation to even rape and forcing them into prostitution. Very often they don’t think or don’t care about the repercussions it has for the woman. It is high time that changes.
Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri
Many of us Indian men have been raised with a certain amount of entitlement- that our wives will move cities for us, will follow us wherever we go. It doesn’t matter whether they have a life or career or job, they will disrupt it and move heaven and earth to be with us. But have we really given a thought to what the woman goes through when she is displaced?
The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood
Many men believe it is perfectly fine to live in a society where women are routinely subjugated- where they have no choice but to bow down to the wishes of men, be it their father, brother, husband, or boss. But such a society is dangerous, and if there is one dystopian book that speaks of what could happen to women in the future if we continue like this, The Handmaid’s Tale would be it. In this chilling story, most women serve one purpose- to breed.
We Should All Be Feminists
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Why should men read this book? The title says it all. Because if we want the world to truly progress, it can only be so when men understand the importance of equality and inclusion. Women can’t be the only ones fighting for women’s rights, men have to play a big role in it too. Adichie, in this book-length essay, ruminates on the importance of raising both your sons and daughters as feminists.
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi
Throughout the modern world, women are treated as second-class citizens and more so in oppressed communities. As a male, you may have empathy for those suffering under a tyrant’s rule, but you don’t need to have greater empathy for the woman than the man.
Men Explain Things To Me
Rebecca Solnit
Are you familiar with the term ‘mansplaining’? It’s when a man tries to explain something to a woman, who is often already aware of it or knows more about it than the man, but the man persists. After all, he believes he must know more because he is a man. Well, read the book that launched this term. A collection of seven essays, Men Explain Things To Me, covers a variety of topics such as how society and online communities facilitate an environment that virtually condones rape, marriage inequality, and violence against women in a marriage, and how women who dare to speak up often have to deal with physical violence or rape.
Lean In: Women, Work, And The Will To Lead
Sheryl Sandberg
However much we may have progressed in the workplace, men very often don’t consider women worthy of being in the workforce, and if they are, men prefer them in secretarial or junior-level positions, not at senior level managerial positions. Enter, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO. In her book, Lean In, she highlights the importance of women in the workplace.