Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen - Alix Kates Shulman

I'm back with a review of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kates Shulman, a revolutionary feminist novel published in 1972, shocking audiences nationwide. The novel focuses on a middle-class American woman in fifties suburbia who, having found herself blooming from ugly duckling to prom queen during high school, strives desperately to hold onto her beauty and her self-worth through her twenties.

The expectations on women to be proper, to find a good husband and become mothers at a young age is a prospect unnatural to our protagonist, who unashamedly collects a string of lovers and smashes through the barriers of misogynistic double-standards.

The novel was highly shocking at the time, which reveals a lot about society back then - readers found themselves primarily taken aback by the main character's promiscuity and less so by the horrific sexual harassment, abortion restriction and rape which she encounters, not to mention the double standards lingering around every corner.

The author is bold, daring and sardonic and paints a sorry picture of the life and expectation of women around the world, much of which still stands true today. What springs to mind? Catcalling, unwarranted grabbing in clubs and questions about when you're getting married or having babies, to name a few examples. I am certain that every woman can relate to this novel and that many men would find it eye-opening too. Despite its cynicism, the novel is witty and refreshing, and what I found to be an enjoyable read!