What does feminism mean to us, Indian millennial women? In our unique context, with a heady mix of tradition, family, ambition and Instagram, where does ‘revolution’ fit in? With candid, personal anecdotes, moving stories, and hard data, Amrita uncovers the invisibly seeped patriarchy from the intimate corners of our minds and refreshes the need for feminism in our everyday lives. Ranging widely over psychology, history, cultural studies and research with 100 women across age, class, caste and geographies, Everyday Revolution reveals the psychologically-denting impact of our gendered society. Smashing the patriarchy in our modern lives might not need expensive bra-burning but newer ways of coping, healing, eye-rolling and badassery. Therefore, across five themes – childhood , marriage , motherhood , beauty, and work – this book gives us thought experiments and writing prompts to do just that! P.S. Write as you read this experiential book and follow @everyday.revolution_ on Instagram to connect with a network of women in this desi version of Bluestocking Society.
Everyday Revolution by Amrita Purkayastha is a book that suggests to find clarity, conviction and joy with feminism. The writer over the weekends transforms herself into a feminist researcher and culture enthusiast and spends time interviewing women and watching reels.
The book stands out because of its authentic presentation in the form of data collected over surveys, research papers, articles, books, theories, health reports and from various other journals that count upto 37 as stated in the last part of the book under REFERENCE.
This book is extra special and gets closer to the readers with real life stories and prompts that initiates to pen their experience. Readers are encouraged to write after reading this book and welcomed to join the network of women on the Instagram. Moreover author puts forth many insights on the much needed topics of discussions, suggestions to struggling women, importance of sisterhood and to pursue “the life I love” rather than the pursuit of “having it all”.
This book with catchy title “Everyday Revolution” attracts the readers and wins them with a profound information on feminism in 228 pages. The author gradually sets the path to look into our own self with honesty from the growth stage called childhood, followed by marriage, motherhood and the beauty-that leaves a lasting impact on ourselves and then the work – that is more than just earning money. “A manifesto” and the” Last word” settles the sail on to a smooth finish.
Views of psychologists and behaviour scientist included in this book preserves the concept and the theme dealt with healthy support system. Every chapter though discusses the familiar issues faced by women, this book opens up a new window there by directing us to feel the fresh light and air.
The author’s view makes us to fondly remember fantastic and fabulous feminist like Naomi Wolf, Angela Yvonne Davis, Mary Wollstonecraft and Betty Friedan to name a few. But here the author speaks about Indian homes, Indian women and installs the need to create a revolution for the better self. She urges to have an inner revolution and I quote “May you find clarity to choose, the courage to follow through, and joy in changing your world a little bit every day.”
Amrita Purkayastha is successful in bringing an Indianness to the book through Bollywood along with using appropriate words & terms from many regional languages of India. This book is definitely a refreshing and inspiring artefact that will energise women to take small steps every day to raise above the set templates.
The author brings in a beautiful Bengali line, “Lodai Lodai Lodai Chai, Lodai Kore Bachte Chai.” It roughly translates as “let us fight and hustle always, as long as we live.” The luxury of retiring from the fight is yet to come.
Through this book the author convinces to bring in feminism in everyday life through kindness, compassion and empathy. Research is showing that people who are kind and compassionate are more satisfied with their lives, have better physical and mental health, and have stronger relationships. Being kind and compassionate can help other people, and make you feel good too.
Amrita Purkayastha's EVERYDAY REVOLUTION : Finding clarity, conviction and joy with Feminism.
What does feminism mean to us, Indian millennial women? In our unique context, with a heady mix of tradition, family, ambition and Instagram, where does ‘revolution’ fit in?
With candid, personal anecdotes, moving stories, and hard data, Amrita uncovers the invisibly seeped patriarchy from the intimate corners of our minds and refreshes the need for feminism in our everyday lives. Ranging widely over psychology, history, cultural studies and research with 100 women across age, class, caste and geographies, Everyday Revolution reveals the psychologically-denting impact of our gendered society.
Smashing the patriarchy in our modern lives might not need expensive bra-burning but newer ways of coping, healing, eye-rolling and badassery. Therefore, across five themes – childhood, marriage, motherhood, beauty, and work – this book gives us thought experiments and writing prompts to do just that! ___ 🙋🏻♀️This book is very close to my heart & one of a kind. If possible, I would love to gift it to all the girls I know!
The cover is intricately designed with well intended graphics like "ghar ki lakshmi" tattoo. It's brilliant. Even the back cover encompasses small small well meant graphics.
The concept of this book is fabulous It withholds all the major 5 stages of a woman's life and is therefore, relatable to every girl at some point or the other.
Every page of this book, I have coloured red & green & it has my annotations, it's so good & has extremely brainstorming content, things which sometimes shakes the dust off dormant regions of our brain, our life.
It breaks the shackles of society, patriarchy & reminds you, dear woman, you deserve every bit of the sky, you desire. You are equal & no less.
My favorite part was the real life stories, the prompts, the crux at the beginning & end of each chapter and the peppy, very energising writing style & the vocabulary is too good. Definitely recommend.
"Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it's about changing the way the world perceives that strength." Women, however strong they may be are regarded as the weaker sex and in this book, the author refreshes the need for feminism in our society across five themes – Childhood, marriage, motherhood, beauty, and work. This book has experts from women all across the globe and from various walks of life whose stories become the window to the world. Some of their experiences look heroic, some are insightful while others are touching and heartbreaking. It’s not just a book with women sharing their experiences in this patriarchal society but also of the incidents in the author’s life that led her to rethink the value and role of women. The language is simple and easy to follow. Everything is written unambiguously and there is no beating around the bush. When I read through the pages, I felt distressed to know that a girl child born in some families is still considered a burden or an unwanted one, not only in India but elsewhere too. Boys and men are still considered the privileged ones and women are expected to be submissive and fulfill the expectations of society that are expected from a girl. Reading through the various themes, I was able to get a different perspective on what feminism is and how society still behaves when it comes to women. The last chapter encourages women to find clarity to choose and the courage to follow through and bring joy in changing their world a little bit every day. The titles are catchy and have a ring to them. One of the other things that I liked in this book is the #prompt at the end of each chapter where a small exercise/writing prompt is given relating to the corresponding chapter and records our response / how we would react to that question. It was truly an eye-opener. A really good thought-provoking read that will benefit both men and women and show them what feminism is.
"Physiologically men and women are different. There is no debate about it. When we talk about equality and opportunity, we talk about cerebral opportunity. We are not saying we want to be able to be like a 200-pound man and beat the shit out of somebody else. We are not saying that." “We’re saying you give the ability to get the job, to be the CEO and nobody should question a woman's choices or her drive to be someone. So if she is 50, a CEO, and a mother of three. do not question her” -Priyanka Chopra
When I was a kid, I always thought, feminism has certain rules and regulations like they don't wear pink, put on makeup, or shave/waxed ever... but the real meaning of feminism is "equal opportunity to all" When I was reading this book, this book vaguely reminded me of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The author has shared much of her personal antidotes making it relatable and her pun and writing style are hilarious. I remember reading this book and sharing the book with my mom & we both were laughing at how relatable it seemed. This is sad how many women face the same issue.
What I enjoyed about this book was the prompt section, it was a fun little exercise on how to bring change, there are tons of books on feminism but nobody talks about how to change the existing mindset, a prompt section was really helpful. I and my mother tried a few exciting prompt challenges. The book has 5 themes, childhood, marriage, motherhood, beauty, and work.
Invest in this book if you are a mother & want to change the mindset of your upcoming generation. Invest in this book if you are an Indian woman, this book will helpful & relatable. Invest in this book with a mindset to unlearn the previous biases and prejudice & learn about feminism through an open mind.
Book: Everyday Revolution – Finding clarity, conviction, and joy with Feminism Author: Amrita Purkayastha Publisher: Notion Press Genre: Non-fiction Pages: 236
Everyday Revolution by Amrita Purkayastha is a book about what Feminism means in the current scenario. Based on the author’s experience with the research with hundred women who belong to different castes, classes, ages, history, and geography and have different experiences as well as her own, this book talks in detail about how there is a need for feminism in our day-to-day life. Covering the five themes- childhood, marriage, motherhood, beauty, and work throughout this book, this book gives food for thought and ideas to deal with the patriarchy!
The author has done a great job with the interviews and the research. Each chapter starts with some snippets from the interviews related to the chapter. After that, the author shares her experiences, views, and what the research says about the subject material and the issues, problems, and misconceptions around it and the solutions to deal with them. In the end, there are some prompts given to help the readers to understand themselves better and at the same time, be their best version. Before the prompts, most of the chapters have a story of someone who has to go through something that the chapter highlights, thus making the reader more empathetic to what is written there.
The author has done a great job with the issues that were raised, knowing the ground reality and concerns, this book talks in detail about them and how to deal with them. If you are someone who is looking forward to a book that talks about feminism in day-to-day life having minute details, you should check it out.
Everyday Revolution by Amrita, is a book on feminism dedicated to women who are curious and who write their own stories. As the title suggests, this book is about finding clarity, conviction and joy with feminism; and that it does very well!
The book delves into gender bias, casual sexism, unrealistic beauty standards expected from women and all that added pressure to be a multi-tasker and juggle between work and family. It also touches upon the pay-gap issue and era-old patriarchy, quite explicitly. The best part, all of this is narrated through real life stories of author herself and others. It doesn’t end there, the book has valuable view points of psychologists, health experts and behaviour scientists.
Amrita has written a very well structured book by organising the write ups and condensing them into chapters. There is data and facts to support the narrative by researching through innumerable articles, books, surveys, health reports, journals etc. I also liked the activities at the end of each chapter which made me feel more involved and part of the narrative, simultaneously, giving me time to reflect.
Feminism in itself is a very global topic but Amrita has very effectively downsized it for Indian women and their issues. She quotes from Indian cinema and talks about inner revolution extensively, to bring a change in this World.
Language of the book is simple and easy to follow, writing is strong and thought provoking. This book is not only for women but for men too, who want to be a better version of themselves and help in equality. Author has successfully provided a wonderful perspective on feminism with a touch of empathy and compassion.
Happy women's day to my amazing womenfolk here. This day calls in for a post on a book written by a woman, which is empowering and holistic in its approach to discussing women's problems.
This nonfiction discusses women's everyday struggles in the form of gender bias from birth to death. The problems we face in terms of beauty standards, marital and family expectations and the added responsibilities as a mother and working woman, the wage gap have been elaborated. The author discusses each by starting with her life story and the narratives of other women she has encountered. Not just women, as a true feministic approach, the author also discusses the unattainable standards that are set for men in the society.
The activity at the end of each chapter keeps the book interesting, where the author gives prompts to write down about. So many of the prompts made me deeply reflect on my past and helped me realise what really went wrong. The author's research is commendable as she has compiled much data available from studies worldwide. Her final essay on reimagining the world through a feminist lens was enlightening. It is a must read for all.
This book is on feminism dedicated to all women. It entails personal anectodes, facts and moving stories that triggers our minds and hearts. This is a transformative book which gives you clarity and a new perspective through personal anectodes across five themes childhood, marriage,motherhood, beauty and work.
I loved this book as it entails personal story and the language used is simple, easy to comprehend and writing was thought provoking. This book is for everyone and would suggest men to read this book to get a better clarity and help in equality. The author has researched multitudinous articles, books, surveys etc. which supports the narratives. The prompts at the end of each chapter helps to reflect.
Overall, a wonderful book on feminism with a new perspective which helps the reader to find the clarity to choose, the courage to follow and joy in changing our world a little bit everyday.
The book talks about feminism in five themes - childhood, marriage, motherhood, beauty and work.
It touches upon topics like gender inequality, unrealistic expectations from women, body shaming, etc.
The book includes personal anecdotes, poignant stories and hard data from research conducted on 100 women from different ages, classes, castes and geographies.
The scenario mentioned in the book has existed in our country for a long time and now the time has come to break these barriers and rise above them.
This book is an eye opener as it reflects the very essential reality of our society.
The prompts after each chapter are thought provoking and very interesting.
The author has done a good job by talking about the truth of feminism.
The title and cover page are catchy and appropriate.
What exactly is feminism? And how does it work in everyday life? Career. Family. Balancing traditions. Smashing patriarchy. Why we need feminism now than ever more.
Set across five themes – childhood, marriage, motherhood, beauty, and work – Everyday Revolution explores the meaning of feminism in the current context. A research with 100 women across age, class, caste, and geographies. A wholesome read with prompts at the end of each chapter for some reflection and introspection. Go pick it up already.
The book is must read for people seeking a realistic insight into feminism in modern India. The book is also recommended for people who want to understand how the behavior of society towards women has remained largely unchanged despite the seeming “empowerment of the females”. Overall, it is a thought-provoking book that can be enjoyed by any mature reader.
it is a must-read book to understand the struggles of women from the perspective of reality and true life stories and research-based facts. I give a five-star rating as I want more women to read and others to understand life, struggles, and how everyday revolution is possible for women in society.
Amrita's voice on millennial feminism was refreshing to read. The stories she discovered after talking to 100+ women are all our stories. Do yourself a favor, let gifting yourself this book be that one thing YOU do for YOU this week! This book reminded me "to never accept the status quo is the only human way to live on this planet." So relatable ❤️