Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers

Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power

By: Sady Doyle

Narrated by: Chloe Cannon

Women have always been seen as monsters. Men from Aristotle to Freud have insisted that women are freakish creatures, capable of immense destruction.

Maybe they are. And maybe that's a good thing....

Sady Doyle, hailed as "smart, funny, and fearless" by the Boston Globe, takes listeners on a tour of the female dark side, from the biblical Lilith to Dracula's Lucy Westenra, from the T-Rex in Jurassic Park to the teen witches of The Craft. She illuminates the women who have shaped our nightmares: Serial killer Ed Gein's "domineering" mother Augusta; exorcism casualty Anneliese Michel, starving herself to death to quell her demons; author Mary Shelley, dreaming her dead child back to life.

These monsters embody patriarchal fear of women, and illustrate the violence with which men enforce traditionally feminine roles. They also speak to the primal threat of a woman who takes back her power. In a dark and dangerous world, Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers asks women to look to monsters for the ferocity we all need to survive.

©2019 Sady Doyle (P)2019 HighBridge Company

Loved it!

The story was amazing and I really liked the narrator. It was empowering to me as a woman.

Food for thought

This book contextualizes our societies underlying subconscious view of women in a way that is both enlightening and challenging. I didn't agree with all the conclusions but the examples used where excellent and the book gives space to draw your own conclusions. This is not a book for first timers in feminist theory though, some understanding of tropes, feminist history, and women&economics will allow a reader to get the most out of this book.

This book is exceptional!

Sady Doyle picks apart major events, ancient mythology, Hollywood blockbusters, & even mindless daily traditions down to their core; exposing their roots in the community indoctrination of patriarchal norms that surround us.

This entire book will have you on the edge of your seat & the edge of your sanity as the entire world shifts before your eyes.

It reads almost like a collection of essays. Easy to follow and packed with references to existing works as well as documented historical accounts.

Mandatory read for all women

I don’t have enough great things to say about this book. The author unveils the truth that has been swept under the rug for so long. She dives into how women have been perceived in literature and how that reflects how men are able to treat us and control us. She presents facts that are almost too awful to be true that we’ve allowed to go under our noses too long. This book is so empowering that it has truly made me look at the world and men differently.

It feels like it was made for people like me!

this covered many topics I am fascinated with. if gender studies, pop culture, true crime or horror films interest you -- read this book!