The Smart Wife by Yolande Strengers & Jenny Kennedy

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher MIT Press in exchange for an honest review.

The Smart Wife was a little disappointing to me. It looks at the concept of 'smart wives' through a feminist and sociological lens, discussing the implication of giving devices such as Alexa female voices. I found the idea of this fascinating as it's not something I've really thought about before and that in itself indicates how it is worthy of analysis. Why should robot servants have primarily female voices? And why don't people question it?

Sadly this book didn't really discuss these elements beyond the surface level. I appreciate that there haven't been any studies or detailed experiments about this topic, but the book felt a bit empty without those. I was looking forward to finding out what the public opinion was on these devices and whether those with a female voice are viewed differently or not, but there is almost nothing of that nature included. Instead there is some speculation but the bulk of the book seems to just be discussing different devices without much of the feminist angle applied beyond the basic concept of 'these devices are sexist'.

One chapter I did particularly enjoy was the section on sex robots. This did go into deeper discussion and I think it was the best chapter because of that. It explored some frankly quite disheartening statistics and what these might mean for the wider world. It was well-crafted, informative and gave me a lot to think about.

Overall, I think this book has a lot of promise but sadly it didn't do exactly what I expected it to. It lacked that depth to really hold my interest, but I think it is a fantastic introduction to the topic and I look forward to what else the authors (and other researchers) will do in this area. If you are intrigued by the subject matter, this is still well worth the read. Just be aware of its limits and enjoy it for what it is.

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Gender Explorers by Juno Roche

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I did not know what to expect going into this book. I knew it was a collection of nonfiction interviews with trans teens, but I was not aware that it also included interviews with their parents and also trans children as young as 5. Now I am fairly 'woke' as the kids say-my partner is trans, almost no one in my closest friendship circle is cis or straight so I am fairly aware of at least a few examples of trans experiences. However, even I was taken aback at the thought of a 5 year old who identified as trans. And that is precisely why this book is needed. I quickly realised my discomfort was entirely due to lack of exposure. Every trans person I know talks of knowing they were trans at a young age. Why should it be surprising kids at a young age know they are trans?

This book was amazing for so many reasons beyond simple education. Never before have I read so many POSITIVE narratives of coming out as trans, of being accepted by parents and peers alike. Is this a universal experience? No, of course not. But it was so lovely to hear that some kids do come out and their parents try hard and as a result, they have a positive experience and live without the fear of not being accepted. This is a story rarely told and it needs to be. It doesn't undermine the negative experiences but instead could offer hope to a child struggling with the decision to live as their true selves.

I genuinely think every parent should read this book. Regardless whether your kid is trans or not, this book had so many meaningful quotes from parents that I think apply to many scenarios. I'm going to include some of my favourites below but be aware I did read an unfinished ARC so I can't speak for the final version.

'You never get a second chance at a first reaction. Put unconditional love first. Anything else can be worked out later.'

'It's not about you, it's only about the child.'

'That's not an easy life. Why would anyone choose it unless there was no other way?' (about being trans being seen as a phase)

'If people stopped making 'trans' such a big decision, it would have made my decision easier and more valid.'

The kids had plenty of important things to say as well which I'm sure will resonate with many people, but personally for me it was the parents that both surprised and stuck with me. I know the trans people in my life are amazing but sadly the stories of accepting parents are harder to find. Maybe this book will be tough to read if you are trans and your parents/family are not so accepting, but overall this book just filled me with joy. As I said, I think all parents should read it and honestly all people. We can all always learn more and own voices books are the places to start.

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Exploiting Fandom by Mel Stanfill

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher University of Iowa Press in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an interesting read to me! When I requested it, I wasn't sure what to expect. I have minor academic experience of media studies and essentially no background in business, sports or any of the topics this book could come under (apart from a personal interest in demographics). The introduction was very dull for me as it is essentially just a list of the methodology. This was probably necessary as this seems to have been adapted from a dissertation or some other academic paper, but it wasn't really a great start to the book. Thankfully it was uphill from there.

By far my favourite sections were the first two chapters which focus on how sports and the media identify and view their fans in terms of demographics. Some fascinating points were made about how the industries assume default fan is a white male and how this influences both their marketing and reaction to fan behaviour. The author uses a wide range of sources and examples which creates a very in-depth and insightful look at fandom as a whole. I loved this section and thought it was excellently written.

The next bit was about the legality and fan's knowledge of the law. I must admit, I did skip most of this section. Law has never been interesting to me and while I was curious about fanfiction and the laws surrounding that, most of the focus was on fan's perception of the law without clarifying what the actual law was. I can see this being interesting to some but sadly it was not for me.

The final chapters are what I suppose the book is mainly about-that is, how fans engage in free labour due to their love of a work/sports team and how industries exploit this. These parts were fairly interesting and again, made some very good points. I would have liked to see this section expanded more with specific examples though. Every other section has lots of examples which illustrate the arguments well but there weren't many to be found in this bit. I know fandom's mere existence is a form of free labour in itself (promoting etc) but it still could have been interesting to find anecdotes of fans' work being used professionally or something similar.

Overall, I think this book's topic wasn't actually as for me as I thought it would be but I still enjoyed it immensely. It has well-written, thoroughly researched content and a cohesive narrative that brings everything together beautifully. There are some well-argued points to be made here and I think it raises some interesting questions. I would definitely recommend this book if you have any interest in fandom and how the industries treat their fans. Just be aware that it is an academic work and so some parts might be a bit dry or less compelling than others.

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