“The patriarchy is falling. It’s time to smash it. This graphic novel shows you how.”

I quite enjoyed this work. The artwork was fun, and the humour, on point.

Sadly, I found there was less “Smashing of” and more merely “Pointing out” the Patriarchy. I was hoping for a feminist version of The Anarchist’s Cookbook and I got an illustrated Slam Book.

There was also a dreadful lack of care when speaking of suicide. Throw away lines like “Some struggled with inner demons and gave up along the way.” are shallow, inaccurate, and hurtful.

While I’ve been critical, I do look forward to these women’s next graphic novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight for this graphic ARC.

As a graphic history of sexism/misogyny and feminists (and proto-feminists) fighting back, this book is right up my alley. Smash the Patriarchy was a solid read that I mostly enjoyed, but it did have some shortcomings I wanted to address as well.

I think the way it addresses history is fun and interesting. It has a good sense of humour and accessible art that really pulls you in. It talks about a lot of important women throughout history, as well as men who tend to be widely renowned despite being virulent misogynists. It's a solid educational resource, especially for budding feminists who are new to feminism and women's history. It also includes a lot of interesting historical quotes both against women and from women, and that adds to the overall historical experience in my opinion.

Unfortunately it does have some flaws. It tends to list off a lot of rapid fire names without actually going into it at all about what the women are being listed off for, and while that leaves room for further reading and research, it means that there are pages of content that read like a history book index more than an actual learning opportunity. Additionally, I found two aspects quite problematic, and I want to address them specifically. First of all, when referring to important women throughout history who died by suicide, it says "some struggled with inner demons and gave up along the way" which is a very gross and upsetting way to describe suicide and as a society we need to be moving past this language. And second of all, although there are trans women featured among lists of names and faces, their being trans isn't really brought up at all, and the lists of names and faces also include several noted TERFs without mentioning that aspect at all. I think that this kind of uncritical listing leaves way too much room to just be in the middle ground on trans rights, and I don't think that's acceptable when trans lives are at risk.

I did get a lot of enjoyment out of parts of Smash the Patriarchy, and definitely learned some new stuff from it. I think I would have a hard time recommending it though because the audience it's most suited for (budding feminists) are the ones most in need of the TERF=bad conversation, and this just casually name drops TERFs without talking about that at all.

I love when I feel like a graphic novel has taught me something I otherwise would have never learned. This graphic novel is filled with inspirational women (and a few men) who stood up to smash the patriarchy. This is a beautiful homage to all those who have fought for women's rights throughout history.

I also love that this is a translated graphic novel: meaning this novel will be in the hands of so many more people thanks to the translated copy into English.

I already had a predisposition to not love philosophy, and after having read this novel, I really do detest most of them. They had the power to set the stage for change and instead, they chose repression.

Read on if you would like a history lesson told by brilliant women (in the novel as the hosts of this history lesson) and a colorful look at the women's rights progression. I am sure the history here could extend into many more volumes.

Loved it!

Wow.
This is a MUST READ graphic novel that is an introductory look into the history of patriarchy [and the damage it has done] and is a great intro to all the sexism that patriarchy has caused and the beginning of the women's rights movement and how women continue to fight today to be seen and to have all of our HUMAN rights restored [funny how men don't have any of their rights and privileges taken away at any point in time; just shows how much work still needs to be done] and the right to vote [worldwide], choose what they deem right for their own bodies/lives and the right to just exist.

Brilliantly written and illustrated, this book will absolutely inspire and reignite the flame of the need to fight for what is right and I think everyone should be reading this.

Thank you to Marta Breen, Jenny Jordahl - Illustrator, Siân Mackie - Translator, NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight/Helvetiq for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley & Helvetiq for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great introduction to feminism and the patriarchy! I like how it bobbed and weaved through history, giving us relevant historical figures from both sides with interesting quotes from each. The art style was really fun as well. An excellent addition to the non-fiction graphic novel collection!

Smash The Patriarchy is a short graphic novel that focuses on feminism and influential female figures in history. The illustrations were beautiful and the content was interesting. However, I did not find the book to be representative of feminism as a whole. I want to see diverse populations represented in the media I interact with and Smash The Patriarchy did not deliver on that end. Also, I was not impressed with the J.K. Rowling shout-out... very tone-deaf.

Smash the Patriarchy is a short graphic novel focusing on the history of the treatment of women in society, along with specific stories of women throughout history who were on the forefront of pushing for respect and fair treatment for women. The art in this graphic novel was beautiful and the stories were all very interesting. Some of the women covered were ones I hadn't heard of before and I enjoyed learning their stories. My only critique is that I wished it was a bit longer and covered more women's stories.

I wanted to love this more than I actually did. It gave white feminism, and while I get that you can't address all aspects of identities within womanhood + patriarchy, this was definitely geared to white women. Even the illustrations seemed mostly white until you got to the random pages of diverse women.
You could take time to google these women, but is the average person doing that? What's the point of including people like Marsha P. Johnson with no mention of the unique experiences of Black women and especially Black trans women?

I’m a fan of the use of comics and graphic novels to relay history or critical ideas and this one does a decent job of that! In a somewhat informal and humorous approach, this comic book highlights in “wall of shame” style the many culprits who uplifted and patriarchy and and spotlights the many women who stood up to them and pushed back.

Some of these stories were absolutely wild and I had not heard of them. However my main critique was that this felt very “white feminism-y” which is honestly what I expected but I kept waiting to be proved wrong on that front. Yes, there were women of color highlighted and the images also had disability rep but honestly you can read this and wonder if there were ANY historical feminist figures who were Black or non-white. I’ll give it three stars because I did think it was well done within the scope of the author and artists but definitely lacking when it comes to diversity of feminist thought and representation.

An awesome little book that distills what the patriarchy is, how it came about, and who influenced it. Marta Breen also highlights many of the women who were fighting against injustice along the way. It is a very short overview, but a great addition to feminist literature.

This was one of the best informational graphic novels I've read in a while. I love the style used to portray the different people that almost had a School House Rock meets political cartoon energy.

I found that I learned a lot more about feminism and historical patriarchy. I know how the patriarchy effects me today, but I didn't really get a full grasp of how it was utilized throughout history, and what important thought leaders and scientists played into patriarchy.

This was a very important read and I highly recommend it.

All opinions of this book are my own. I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review to help authors and publishers.

#NetGalleyArc This was a fun, quick read. A great way to learn some history and to discuss the problems of our world.

Fun, quick, overview of patriarchal thought and history. Loved the inclusion of specific men and their opinions on women and how it contributed to societal norms. Felt good to see names like Darwin that are universally lauded contextualized in a new light. Diverse representation of historical figures and thoughts was appreciated. I think I could have read another 25+ pages (maybe the page of faces with numerical sidenotes could be expanded). Enjoyed the inclusion of the authors themselves as well. Felt like Bill Nye to science but Marta to Feminist History.

This quick graphic novel is an intro to feminist history, looking at who and what has tried to keep women down, and highlighting several women throughout history that broke the rules and smashed ceilings to make the progress we see today and hope to build on in the future. I liked the narrative set-up here, I had originally thought it would be several short chapters highlighting various feminists and their actions. Instead, the narrative takes a more overarching approach, moving along through time by topic as feminist history changed while inserting stories about relevant women throughout. This was good for the flow, but limited the amount and variety of women the authors could showcase, though they did a good attempt at both with what space they had. The art was bright and colorful, and the writing style was fun and engaging, definitely geared towards teen readers. While I wish it had been longer, this book was still a fun read.

Engaging artwork and a great blend of historical facts and interpretation. I feel like the book could have benefited from chapter headings or sections to smooth over the transitions between different topics or time periods. Teens will appreciate the frank discussion of the rights of female people, but may be confused by how the book peters out at the end.

A quick, breezy introduction to feminist history! I really enjoyed how the artist illustrated various panels and ultimate kudos to the authors for making everything flow together into an easy-to-follow narrative. While I think it could have gone more into trans- and LGBTQ aspects of feminist history, especially in the section about women who dresses as men, I still think it provides a good starting point for people who are just being introduced to feminism and feminist history like young women.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for a review!

As a history major I loved how it brought to life various figures in history in a way that is palatable for the general audience. It is very hard to make history universal and talk about key figures or moments in history without getting a negative reaction from others. Topics are also amazingly framed like the male gaze was honestly a hard hitting to the point moment. It is definitely a good graphic novel about various important topics that I think will teach teens a lot.

Aside from some formatting issues on my Kindle, I liked the author's presentation of feminist history. I especially liked the illustrator's decision to convey these women and their stories through comic format. It takes the reader through thousands of years of human development, introducing a range of names and faces to inspire further study, without slowing its breezy pace. The book is a nice balance between broadness and specificity, and will serve as a well-rooted introduction to feminist history.

Thank you to NetGalley and Helvetiq for provided an advance copy of this book.

A graphic novel that pokes fun at the men throughout history that tried to keep women in an inferior place and the kick-butt women that fought against them? Yes please!!

This is history lesson in its purest form but is made much more fun to read because of the format. As a reader that LOVES non-fiction pertaining to women's history, this was a light and fun way to learn about well known but also lesser known women throughout history that fought against societal norms to advance the cause of women being treated as equals. This book angered me because of the simple minded men that rallied against equal treatment of women, (and the reminder that this continues today) but then filled me with hope seeing how women have always persevered against the patriarchy (and we will continue to fight).

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

A history of patriarchal ideas along with women that tried to smash the patriarchy, all in graphic novel form! I loved this so much! The illustrations are great as well as the ideas within. I definitely think girls should read this to understand society better and to learn that being a woman means being strong.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a honest review.