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Publisher's Summary
It’s the 21st Century. Why the hell are women - 51% of the population - being treated like second class citizens?
The Indignities of Being a Woman candidly traces the history of womanhood and investigates how much things have really changed for womankind. By carefully x-raying areas such as body image, marriage, mental illness, fashion, and politics, this audiobook examines what it was like to be a woman in the past versus what it’s like now, when women are constantly told equality between the sexes exists but reality proves otherwise.
It’s the brainchild of two childless comedians, Merrill Markoe and Megan Koester. Markoe is a multi-award-winning comedy writer whose credits span television, magazines, and books. She has four Emmy Awards, one for each of her dogs. Koester has written for VICE, Jezebel and the Guardian and has one basic cable acting credit. The two writers—one a comedy veteran, the other an emerging talent—intersperse their dry wit with their own experiences of being long-suffering feminists in the modern world.
Chapter 1: Inequality
Chapter 2: Beauty
Chapter 3: Sex
Chapter 4: Religion
Chapter 5: Marriage and Family
Chapter 6: Body Image
Chapter 7: Crime
Chapter 8: Fashion
Chapter 9: Hair
Chapter 10: Medicine
Chapter 11: Entertainment
Chapter 12: Politics
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars54
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4 Stars13
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3 Stars6
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2 Stars1
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars48
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4 Stars14
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars47
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4 Stars17
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1 Stars3
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charlotte
- 2018-10-05
Best book on Audible so far!
The most entertaining way to learn about how women were treated through history. Great work!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 2018-11-27
I hate this world more than i presumed possible
The writers are preformers were wonderful and really drilled in the dread of being born with a womb, physically or spiritually.
I will now, forever and always, have the contagious tunes that they provided.
Sincerely,
A fed up person, now more than ever, willing to punch toxic masculinity in the balls.
☺
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Diamanda Pollock
- 2019-07-05
100 STARS!
Unbelievably well delivered, these women are top notch in everything from research to delivery of information. Their wit is incredible, I am so glad I bought this gem! If I was a cryer, I'd be laughing and crying simultaneously;)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brent
- 2018-10-14
An insightful read
This book was exceptional, both in content and performances by the authors. the fact it was narrated as a audiobook is what made it even more enjoyable. The back and forth was entertaining between the authors.
on the note of content, it was stellar! a huge insight into the mistreatment of women throughout history and a very obvious indication of how far we still need to go.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- marcus
- 2019-10-24
starting to see my own ignorance.
Prior to this I vaguely understood women face more discrimination and challenges, but after listening I see just how much I never understood and unconsciously had the privilege of never having to think through.
Progress towards unbiased equality is much more recent, much less permanent, and much less to the extent I had assumed existed. Also as events of recent years indicate it's much more under threat than I wanted to believe.
The detailed descriptions of historical and more modern indignities as far as absurd expectations and pressures placed on women by men in multiple areas of life were shocking and scary. Even more so when compared to the double standards of what men were historically (and still are) allowed to get away with despite the many restrictions and expectations on women in the same areas. I knew in a vague way things were unfair, but yeah......it's way beyond just unfair!!
It's worth a listen. The narrators are articulate and easy to listen to and their heavy amount of cynical humour helps. They've also got great chemistry and are passionate about what they're talking about. It's not a boring recitation of historical facts. It feels weird to say I liked it because it's not "fun" to hear about the ongoing and past awfulness but the content was clearly well researched and is presented in a clear and compelling way. I am left wanting to learn more and make sure I'm not assuming I understand gender stuff when I know I don't. There is much to think about and act on.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- PCR
- 2019-04-12
lots of laughs
lots of uninhibited language, which suited the material. Age difference in presenters was beneficial to the topic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2019-04-08
Best book on audible!!!
It’s about time this book is available! I love the comedy presentation of these always hard to hear facts about women’s experience throughout time. Critics are bound to say ‘get over it, it’s history and doesn’t exist anymore’ but that just shows how ignorant they remain. I love the authors, the delivery and the thoroughness. One of the best books I have read. A must read for all women and girls. Hey, why not change regular history books for this one. It’s a lot more informative and interesting. I couldn’t put it down. Way to go Megan and Merrill. You win!!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- plaj
- 2018-10-12
I knew there were a lot...
But the depth of indignity... A... fun(?) listen... because of the way Merrill and Megan present it. But it’s the worst of subject matter. There is so much more to present that isn’t here. A sequel is surely in order. But M&M shouldn’t have to go through researching and presenting it again. Nobody should.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2019-07-10
Sarcastic and glib.
Disappointing, as this topic could have been covered more productively. Blah,blah blah blah blah!!
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eagle Loft
- 2019-05-23
Informative and entertaining
Loads of information about the treatment of women throughout history, all of it horrifying to imagine. Everything is told in a humorous way, making it a fun listen despite the seriousness of the topic. Merrill gave an excellent performance and was easy to listen to. Megan was too cynical and used way too much swearing for my tastes. I would have loved to share this with my tweens for the content, but the over-abundance of swearing makes that not possible.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-03-11
Not for,everyone..but I laughed A LOT!
If you don't at least have a feminist flag stored in your closet somewhere, if you are a Donald Trump fan and/or apologist; or if you are troubled by some pretty raunchy language..this may not be for you. I day "may not" because I detest bad language but I still laughed a lot as I listened. if you need a good laugh and some female comiseration, I highly recommend!
49 of 51 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NotExMilitary
- 2019-03-10
Hilarious history of people as seen through the eyes of the down trodden-us women!
For the 51% of the population whose job has been to procreate and do the laundry, this funny, insightful romp through history is payback for the macho male viewpoint we’ve all been force fed all of our lives. Enjoy, this is a treat. I personally would like to dedicate ‘The Indignities of Being A Woman,’ to my -ex husband, who would claim to have done the laundry but would have put his only clothes all the way through the wash and dry cycles leaving the rest of the laundry in the washer and dryer in various stages of completion. Well, he didn’t now where the sheets and towels went anyway. In a house with one small bathroom and one small linen closet, he would have had to figure out which shelf to put them on. Oh, and that would have required folding them before putting them in a shelf. You all know what I mean, cause we’ve all been there.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Adam
- 2019-02-16
Insert Political Joke Here
Let's start with the good. The narrators are quite entertaining. The acidic humor is always delivered with a wink. And now for the bad - it's very repetitive. They continually shoehorn Trump jokes throughout, which takes the whole audiobook from genuinely entertaining to cringe-inducing as a little goes a long way. "Here it comes. Yet another Trump/Russia/grab, etc. joke." In each chapter topic, they cover indignities women faced but never in significant detail. There is no time to stop and investigate the unfortunate roses on this speedy tour. Betty Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir are significantly better choices if you really want to dig into the indignities of being a woman.
155 of 176 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- B. Fisher
- 2019-02-01
Okay
Enough with the Trump Admin jokes. I knows he’s terrible, I just don’t need to be reminded about him at every break.
Otherwise pretty good content. Sometimes sounds like it wanted to be a podcast instead.
92 of 105 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Beckersly
- 2019-03-08
This book...get it!
I have been a long time fan of Merrill Markoe and her humor/writing. I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it.
The flow between Merrill Markoe and Megan Koester is really great. It makes this come across as a podcast where two buddies are just chatting about history and all the horror that comes with it, and I really enjoyed that.
This goes through a lot of disturbing truths about women's history but thankfully, it also makes you laugh at the same moment you are horrified. If you want to learn some things, be horrified, and laugh until it hurts...all in equal measure-use a credit and get this one. It's worth it.
Some interesting facts I learned:
-hardened plug of crocodile dung was used as birth control. how? listen to this audible original to find out.
-women's makeup used to blind them and many more horrible side effects...EVEN DEATH but they still used it.
-the term hysteria comes from the greek word for uterus and obviously hysteria only effected women.
I could continue with interesting and insane things that I learned in this book but I'll just let you go listen to it and find out for yourself.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Alaina Carron
- 2018-09-25
Not for Me
I stopped listening after a half hour. I found the facts interesting and agreed with things these ladies were saying but it was too hard for me to listen to. I kept getting lost in the side remarks and swearing. This would be a good book for someone looking for this type of humor but I wasn't. After looking back at the description I believe I probably should have expected this.
64 of 78 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- fuzzywoolabear
- 2018-11-29
Adult version of Horrible Histories
When I was in elementary school there was this book series called "Horrible Histories" and they had books on the Groovey Greeks, Rotten Romans and basically all the world empires. They used comedy in telling the myths and history and it was super fun to read.
This, is that series grown up. I loved the riffing between Merrill and Megan before and after the essays and I enjoyed the format of the book. It is a really fun listening experience.
The reason behind 4/5 is that you can listen to this with young listeners . Too much cursing and political jokes that'll go over their head. I do wish that they'd put out a version suitable for junior high age ladies because the content is great and want everyone to understand how history and culture all around the world have affected women.
27 of 33 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- sierra
- 2018-09-30
snarky, cynical, snide and too damn true...
the chronicle of,as the title suggests... the inequities, indignities and out right horror of being a woman... from ancient times through to the modern age.
if you are a woman, know or like any women or have chance to ever encounter one... it might serve you or just humanity to brush up on the stunning accounts, details, facts and unavoidable misery of herstory... history of women-kind, especially since it is possible to have earned s masters degree in history and never crossed paths with any of these details.
36 of 45 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-02-17
Enlightening and entertaining- I really enjoyed it
Enlightening and entertaining- I really enjoyed it more than I expected to. Good book- go women!
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kristin Austin
- 2019-02-14
Just soooo awesome
A great walk thru time of all the indignities that womenkind have endured. BUT...whilst the topic was fraught, Merrill and Megan made it an absolute joy to listen to and take part in - I’ll admit, there were moments of yelling at my phone and much eye rolling. But, what if every book could be that great a learning journey!! Well done gals!! 20/10.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful