I did love the book. I generally like to read about women and our history or feminism. Amazing research stand behind this book and it is well stucktured and the most important is to be enjoyable a book which has so many information, and this is one of those.

I was very kindly given an e-arc of this book through Netgalley and Vintage Publishing.

There is a very strong argument made in this book. By examining the way socialist countries in Eastern Europe observed sex, traditional gender roles, women in the work place, gender equality and the process of child-bearing compared to their Western counterparts, Ghodsee makes the case for a socialist influenced West. She argues that where Western countries believed socialist states to be backwards and regressive, they were actually decades ahead of the US and Western Europe when it came to their opinions of women.

Though she does acknowledge the places where socialist governments crumbled and made way for dictators- she speaks at length of Romania, where women were forced to have children and directly inspired Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaids Tale'- she still writes emphatically and with passion about women's economic independence. With revolutionary anger in her words, this slim volume packs a mighty punch. I struggled towards the end of the book, as the chapters are very heavy on the statistics and jump quickly between fact and memoir-esque anecdotes.

However, it's definitely interesting and if I knew more about socialist Eastern Europe, I'm sure I would have gotten more out of it. But definitely a great read for people who want to read more about women across the world under different governmental types.

'Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence' by Kristen R Ghodsee is available now.

"Most importantly, reclaim your time, emotional energy, and self-worth from the reductive logic of capitalism. You are not a commodity. Your depression and anxiety are not just chemical imbalances in your brain but reasonable responses to a system that thrives on your dehumanisation."

Drawing on decades of research, this book brings together a lot of academic work into one accessible book. It is an analysis of women's lives under capitalism compared to the lives of women who lived under socialism (mostly in examples from the ex-Eastern bloc). Looking at various aspects of women's lives such as work, motherhood, sex and voting, this book gives a refreshing account of the positive effects of socialism

Award-winning author Kristen Ghodsee has written a handful of books exploring communism, gender and ethnicity, and after appreciating Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism, I will be purchasing her other works to dip in and out of. As soon as I read the synopsis for this, I knew it was right up my street. Having had an issue with capitalism for as long as I can remember, I was not in need of convincing that adopting some socialist principles may be a better option for many people, including women. However, the fascinating information provided had me completely engaged, and I found it difficult to put it down. I usually take my time with non-fiction but not here! She illustrates that communist ideology could lead to real improvements in women’s literacy, education, professional training, as well as access to health care, the extension of paid maternity leave, and a reduction of their economic dependence on men.

I understand that this is a divisive and controversial topic and politics often gets people hot under the collar but we owe it to ourselves to look for a better way instead of just accepting the way society and wealth currently work. Sometimes I find that books such as these waffle on in an incoherent fashion, but I felt the arguments here were easy to understand and to comprehend. There are many examples from communist and post-communist states that back up many of the points she makes. I hope that this book gets the wide readership it deserves as the case it presents is a strong and convincing one. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Bodley Head for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

A thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening read on the multiple ways women's lives benefit from socialism. Ghodsee was preaching to the choir but her case is incredibly strong and convincing nevertheless, and is backed up with many examples from her research and time spent in Eastern Europe. Highly recommended!

I found this a really interesting and fascinating read. It's definitely going to be controversial and will divide people. How the overall argument makes a lot of sense. Not sure if it's the author or editors but well done for acknowledging that feminism often forgets race. The main problem is that there isn't a solution except voting and finding your own way to fight the system. The main problem with this book is that it's very American. I actually enjoyed the personal case studies and more of that would have been great. It also was a good way to celebrate some unknown (to me!) women and men who fought for women in socialist countries. A bit more on the Scandinavian countries would have been good to.