Review of ‘Sex Power Money’ by Sara Pascoe
‘Sex Power Money’ by Sara Pascoe
What’s it about:
3 words… sex, power and money. Haha. But seriously. This book looks at how the three are interlinked and biological and social influences. There are loads of examples and it’s actually bursting with facts and studies (I did skip a few of these).
There also is a podcast of the same name where you can get an audio fix of this debate: Sex Power Money
What Lynn learned:
That (arguably p.299) that sex is only power if it is linked to economic rewards. The UN says that 99% of the world’s land is owned by men. Really everything has to be seen through a money lens as we cannot escape it’s influence.
I need to stop asking ‘boy or girl?’ as the first thing when someone is expecting a child. This just reinforces that sex is the most important factor about someone. As Sara says, we don’t go ‘starsign or race?’. (P. 22)
You can actually become addicted to a person. When connecting and falling in love with someone, the reward chemicals involved can make us feel like that person is essential for our survival. (P.51)
In 1982 there was a scratch-and-sniff centrefold in Hustler which is wild and disgusting. (P.102)
The othering of sex workers has a significant influence on the perception and role of these people in society. Referring in the media to women by derogatory titles as their key identity serves to dehumanise them which leads us to care less about them as equals. (P. 238)
Fave quotes:
‘Even though it's only a minority of men who are violent or predatory, I don't know if men realise that girls are trained our entire lives to minimise the danger from you - and blamed if we don't.’
‘Fear and arousal is not just a great band name, they predispose our deepest, most subconscious emotional needs.’
‘I can’t imagine a young man being told not to dress a certain way because a homosexual person might find them sexy. In those instances, the target of the attraction would never be blamed. Responsibility would rest with the feeler of feelings.’
(I honestly want to write ‘AMEN’ after each of those)
Why relevant right now:
Is sex, power and money ever not relevant? Reading this book, you’ll definitely see how influential all three are. This is such an important read to gain an insight into some of the sinister functions of the topic and provoke us to change things.
Interest factor: 4/5
Coffee table cred: 4/5
Ignorance of external world while reading: 3/5
Book cover design: 3/5
Help the existential crisis: 3.5/5
