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The book tackles important themes surrounding feminism with Zia recounting her experiences with predatory, misogynistic men and Bryce adopting a role rooted in him trying to exercise respect around Zia. There are also many references to sexism and sadism through the eyes of our killer. However, there are also some potentially sexist tropes in the books depending on how you look at it (five inch heels to work, ambitious women acting aggressively, etc.)

While the book seems to be intentioned at taking a progressive stance on sexism in the modern world, do you think it succeeds in its mission?

I actually felt like the book had misogynistic undertones throughout. Every single woman was talked about with sexual undertones. Even the future MIL, “Her smooth golden thighs wink from underneath her dusty rose tennis skirt, complete with a white spaghetti-strap shirt”. And Makayla is portrayed as a caricature of a person, as if being successful and still being a good person wasn’t possible for women. To me, this book felt written by someone who sees women as one-dimensional and doesn’t have a very high opinion of them.

I don’t believe that the author intends for the book to be sexist. I think they are trying to portray Zia as a strong female. The way it comes across to me is that she is trying anything and everything she can to make the male characters like her.

A lot of ambitious women are more aggressive. If you have ever watched some of the feminist documentaries, some of those women were down right vicious. I think it depends on the entirety of the situation. Wearing five inch heels to work doesn't go against feminism. I do agree there were a lot of areas where the male misogyny can be seen. The descriptions of the women in general. But talking about what a women is wearing isn't going against feminism.

According to me, for being a strong and bold woman, one needs to be a little aggressive . Dealing with a situation in front of oneself can call for entirely different sides of us. Its all about the circumstances. Every women is different. Putting them in a single category and comparing them is not fair. I don't think anything in the book is against feminism.

I think the author intended to portray some female characters as strong, ambitious and formidable however, this did not seem to have been achieved as the book could be said to very minor sexist views or a sexist undertone. The description of female characters erroneously left them objectified instead of focusing on the content of their behaviours and characters.

It's more of empowerment to me. Zia is portrayed as brave and unashamed of who she is and what she wants, even if it is sex.

I think Zia was portrayed just fine by the author, aggressive isn't sexist when used to describe a woman as strong as Zia. I think that in this instance, it was more of being real than being sexist.

Aggression doesn't mean one is going against feminism. I have mixed feelings about the book. Though there are misogynistic undertones, females are portrayed as strong individuals who can go to any lengths to get what they want. These are just some traits of strong women and nothing that should be considered sexist.

I do not feel that the book was against feminism, I would agree that some descriptions in the book sounded misogynistic, Zia is portrayed as a strong woman who goes for what she wants.

I don't think it was intentional to be honest. But I did find a lot of misogynistic scenes. In my opinion, it might be because of deeply rooted clichés of how a strong, independent woman is supposed to be. Allow me to elaborate. To me, it sounds like if the author tried to portray Zia like that, because the character was built over a stereotypical foundation, which resulted into misogynistic undertones on her description and scenes.

I don't think this book is against feminism. I think it's just showing the power of women nowadays, not like the old days where women can't even wear pants like men.

For me, talking about a woman wearing 5 inch heels or any number of inches for that matter, it doesn't indicate anything going against the fundamentals of feminism. As much as I could understand, the book intended, through the character of Zia, to show woman as being bold, strong headed and vocal about their wants and needs, doesn't matter what those wants and needs are. The book did succeed in showcasing a strong woman. As far as sexism is concerned, it is definitely there, particularly in the descriptions given about different female characters.

Karlee Berrios wrote: ↑04 Aug 2021, 11:50 I actually felt like the book had misogynistic undertones throughout. Every single woman was talked about with sexual undertones. Even the future MIL, “Her smooth golden thighs wink from underneath her dusty rose tennis skirt, complete with a white spaghetti-strap shirt”. And Makayla is portrayed as a caricature of a person, as if being successful and still being a good person wasn’t possible for women. To me, this book felt written by someone who sees women as one-dimensional and doesn’t have a very high opinion of them.

I couldn't have said this better myself. I completely agree that, while the author may have been trying to promote strong female characters, it seemed to get lost in the translation with these descriptions of the various females in the book. I kept wondering why the male characters weren't described in the same fashion.

I got mixed signals from the author throughout the book. So much that I wanted to find out if the author was a black woman, like I had originally thought. There are sections that really jump out as real personal experiences from the point of view of a black woman, so I think the author attempted, at least, to write a story where a female character grows from being an insecure person to a sexually confident one. I think the lack of clarity of purpose comes from the story time-skipping right when Zia's confidence begin to develop; this is when she goes out with Bryce. This causes her newfound sexual independence to come across as shallow. Instead of seeing her grow and begin to want Bryce to desire her, it just seems like she immediately cheated on him.