Off with Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power

by Eleanor Herman Narrated by Erin Bennett

Overview

New York Times*bestseller Eleanor Herman, author of*Sex with Kings*and*Sex with Presidents,*returns with another work of popular history, exploring the history of misogyny against women with power from Cleopatra to Kamala Harris.

Imagine Donald Trump as a woman, called Donna. Would Donna Trump have been viewed as blunt, honest, and refreshing? Would she have won the election?

Imagine Hillary Clinton as a man. Howard Clinton says and does the exact same things as Hillary. Would Howard Clinton have been portrayed in a thousand Pinterest images as a witch, stirring a cauldron or riding a broomstick? Would he have been called a bitch on countless T-shirts? Would his thoughtful, circumspect answers to media questions have been seen as inauthenticity, secretiveness, and untrustworthiness?

There is a particular kind of rage-let's call it unadulterated bloodlust-usually reserved for women, especially women in power or vying for it. From the ancient world, through the European Renaissance, up to the most recent U.S. elections, the Misogynist's Handbook, as Eleanor Herman calls it, has been wielded to put uppity women in their place.

In a story that is shocking, eye-opening, and a powerful force for change, Eleanor Herman's signature wit and humor explores the patterns that have been operating for more than three thousand years-and are still operating today-against powerful women across the globe, including Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and more.

Each chapter analyzes a tried-and-true misogynistic method to keep women down, including: Her Overweening Ambition, Why Doesn't She Do Something About Her Hair?, The Dangers of Female Hormones, The Alarming Shrillness of Her Voice, The Mysterious Unlikability of Female Candidates, She's a Bitch and Other Animals, She's a Witch and Other Monsters, and Her Sexual Depravity. Herman ends the book by looking forward, examining ways to rip up the Misogynist's Handbook once and for all.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

This audiobook is an incredible collection of historical examples, case studies, and stories that will make listeners rethink the ways that society supports misogyny and demonizes women. Her accounts comprise what Herman calls "the Misogynist’s Handbook." Erin Bennett's narration perfectly matches the passion that fuels the research and calls to action. From Cleopatra to Hillary Clinton, from Marie Antoinette to Kamala Harris, history consistently demeans and vilifies women—especially those with power. With chapter titles like "Why Doesn’t She Do Something About Her Hair?" and "The Mysterious Unlikability of Female Candidates," this audiobook is an eye-opening look at the treatment of women. Thought-provoking and surprisingly entertaining, this audiobook will change the way listeners think about history and present times. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

05/30/2022

Bestseller Herman (Sex with Presidents) delivers a brisk and witty examination of the “organized smear operations” aimed at powerful women from ancient Egyptian ruler Hatshepsut to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Contending that female leaders have faced a “clear pattern of vilification across the millennia,” Herman identifies consistent critiques lobbed against “powerful individuals suffering from chronic no-penis syndrome,” including “overweening ambition,” “shrillness,” “unlikability,” and “sexual deviancy.” The book’s second half offers the strongest defense of Herman’s thesis, as she includes commentary by Hillary Clinton, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, and other contemporary women leaders on the media’s obsession with their sartorial choices, facial expressions, and voices; the death threats they received; and the misogynistic attacks they faced from political opponents. Herman also lucidly analyzes the “misogynoir” endured by women of color including Vice President Harris and U.S. congresswoman Maxine Waters. Some eye-popping statistics are tossed in without adequate context, as when Herman claims that Henry VIII executed 70,000 people, and she overstates how much recent scholarship has rehabilitated the reputation of the 16th-century French queen Catherine de Medici. Still, Herman marshals a plethora of evidence in support of her cause and draws incisive connections between the past and the present. This feminist history enrages and entertains. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

"Using enlightening humor as well as righteous, well-founded frustration and anger, Herman effectively deconstructs the tendency of men to focus on hair, voice, clothing, and body type rather than pertinent qualifications and accomplishments...a nice balance of serious inquiry and well-placed levity. Timely and politically spot-on, this is sure to be a popular title" — Kirkus Reviews on Off with Her Head

"Brisk and witty... Herman marshals a plethora of evidence in support of her cause and draws incisive connections between the past and the present. This feminist history enrages and entertains." — Publishers Weekly on Off with Her Head

“At a moment when presidential sex scandals have few immediate consequences, this book will remind readers of the moral and political complexity of the topic while providing an entertaining introduction.” — Booklist on Sex with Presidents

“Herman adroitly exhibits her storytelling prowess in blending the documented gossip of the time with personal details from interviews and memoirs to write a book that is both historical and wildly entertaining.” — Library Journal on Sex with Presidents

“Well researched…although humorous at times, Sex with Presidents does not water down some of the real miscreants who lived in the White House.”  — BookPage on Sex with Presidents

"A racy, revealing look at illicit sex involving the country’s highest office." — Kirkus Reviews on Sex with Presidents

"Packed with colorful character sketches and bawdy puns...this ribald and richly detailed history entertains." — Publishers Weekly on Sex with Presidents

“Sexy, Dishy and Funny” — New York Times

“Addictively Good Dish” — Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Addictively Good Dish

BookPage on Sex with Presidents

Well researched…although humorous at times, Sex with Presidents does not water down some of the real miscreants who lived in the White House.” 

New York Times

Sexy, Dishy and Funny

Booklist on Sex with Presidents

At a moment when presidential sex scandals have few immediate consequences, this book will remind readers of the moral and political complexity of the topic while providing an entertaining introduction.

Library Journal

07/01/2022

Historian Herman (Sex with Presidents) cracks open the book of misogyny to discuss the tropes and methods of tearing down women. Each chapter discusses various things that women are ridiculed for, such as their hair, voices, their "sexual depravity," and more. Herman relies heavily on contemporary, American politicians to make her case, specifically former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris. A good portion of the book feels like a rehashing of America's misogynistic political climate, specifically of the last six or so years, although Herman does compare these politicians to more antiquated historical figures. Notable women discussed include Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn, and Shirley Chisholm. What is lacking throughout is the discussion of the intersection of being Black and a woman. Instead of incorporating and expanding on this throughout the book, Herman includes a chapter about misogynoir at the tail end of the book, which makes it feel like an afterthought. Herman doesn't offer anything new to the discussion, although she brings humor and quick quips. VERDICT Fans of Herman's previous works will likely find this enjoyable. Libraries catering to academics should see this as an optional purchase.—Grace Caternolo

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

This audiobook is an incredible collection of historical examples, case studies, and stories that will make listeners rethink the ways that society supports misogyny and demonizes women. Her accounts comprise what Herman calls "the Misogynist’s Handbook." Erin Bennett's narration perfectly matches the passion that fuels the research and calls to action. From Cleopatra to Hillary Clinton, from Marie Antoinette to Kamala Harris, history consistently demeans and vilifies women—especially those with power. With chapter titles like "Why Doesn’t She Do Something About Her Hair?" and "The Mysterious Unlikability of Female Candidates," this audiobook is an eye-opening look at the treatment of women. Thought-provoking and surprisingly entertaining, this audiobook will change the way listeners think about history and present times. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-06-22
A far-reaching history that directly addresses the “misogynist’s handbook” that still plagues women in power.

From Cleopatra and Anne Boleyn to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton, Herman, author of Sex With Kings and Sex With Presidents, addresses the long history of double-standard practices that troublingly persist today. Why do men—and other women—wish to tear down ambitious, intelligent, accomplished women in positions of power, while often treating men in the same positions with deference? “In each woman’s story,” writes the author, “I discovered organized smear operations churning out unfounded accusations of sexual improprieties and criticisms of her ambition, untrustworthiness, appearance, and unlikability, accusations rarely made about male leaders either in the first century BCE or today.” Herman methodically sifts through these often false accusations, most of which follow the “misogynist’s handbook,” which was crafted to “enforce the Patriarchy, a concept so towering it must be capitalized.” In a typically amusing passage, the author writes about a “clear pattern of vilification across the millennia and throughout history to bring down powerful individuals suffering from chronic no-penis syndrome.” She shows how misogyny usually involves a fear of women’s bodies as life-giving forces and the male need to eclipse and harness that mysterious power for their own purposes, and she underscores how many religious traditions emanated from that need to control. Using enlightening humor as well as righteous, well-founded frustration and anger, Herman effectively deconstructs the tendency of men to focus on hair, voice, clothing, and body type rather than pertinent qualifications and accomplishments. Not content to merely call out these biases, the author advocates for the importance of electing more women to public office and getting men to stand up for women in the face of sexism. With chapter titles like “The Alarming Shrillness of Her Voice,” “She’s a Bitch and Other Animals,” and “Additional Tools To Diminish Her,” the text offers a nice balance of serious inquiry and well-placed levity.

Timely and politically spot-on, this is sure to be a popular title.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175960854
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,104,181

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