Girl Up by Laura Bates

Girl Up by Laura Bates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

They told you you need to be thin and beautiful.

They told you to wear longer skirts, avoid going out late at night and move in groups - never accept drinks from a stranger, and wear shoes you can run in more easily than heels.

They told you to wear just enough make-up to look presentable but not enough to be a slut; to dress to flatter your apple, pear, hourglass figure, but not to be too tarty.

They warned you that if you try to be strong, or take control, you'll be shrill, bossy, a ballbreaker. Of course it's fine for the boys, but you should know your place.

They told you 'that's not for girls' - 'take it as a compliment' - 'don't rock the boat' - 'that'll go straight to your hips'.

They told you 'beauty is on the inside', but you knew they didn't really mean it.

Well I'm here to tell you something different.

Hilarious, jaunty and bold, GIRL UP exposes the truth about the pressures surrounding body image, the false representations in media, the complexities of a sex and relationships, the trials of social media and all the other lies they told us.


I am not sure really how to review this book. It sits slightly awkwardly with me. I am not a feminist and never tried to be and so some of the way this book has been written wasn't for me.

This book is very crude in places, just not my cup of tea. Yes there are lots of good points in the book and I feel other women/ younger girls should know and read but perhaps not in this way. If you are a lover of feminism or even writing an essay for university on this subject I would recommend you pick this book up as there are lots of great points in it and the author is honest throughout.

I enjoyed the fact the book was broken up with illustrations and diagrams throughout, I thought this stopped it being too 'heavy'. I can recognise that the author has spent a lot of time researching and clearly has a passion for this area, but I feel that sometimes it has been represented in a crude way. One that doesn't sit kindly with me. This is probably a bit of a controversial review as I can see most people who have read this have really enjoyed it. However, I have always reviewed a book honestly. There were parts of this book that I skimmed as I could see I wasn't enjoying the way it was written. Saying this, it doesn't mean it is an awful book as many will love this and be able to relate to it.

I have given this book 3* for the authors clear interest in this area and the fact she has backed her thoughts and writing up with expert opinions. The grammar and English is also correct throughout which makes a book much more enjoyable to read.

Although this is not a book for me, others have loved it and I would recommend you read it to for your own opinions on it.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.