Everywoman: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth

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This is part-memoir, part-reflection on womanhood. Jess Phillips doesn’t actually discuss her political views to any great extent in this book, she primarily focuses on women’s issues, such as domestic violence, rape, the gender pay gap, and the ways that women are silenced in the work place. Her views on the importance of feminism and equality are explained clearly and powerfully. Although this may sound heavy going, the book is actually quite light hearted in general, and I laughed out loud at some parts. I've always been quite fond of Jess Phillips. She speaks her mind (sometimes a little too much), but at heart, she seems to care about what she does, and genuinely wants to make a difference. Yes, she wears her heart on her sleeve, in a working environment which doesn't really accept that sort of thing, and I respect her for it. Politics really should be done differently, and generally speaking, I like those who challenge the status quo. If you’re thinking, ‘Jess, who?’ then I’m glad that there was something about ‘Everywoman’ and ‘truth’ that caught your eye.

I read this book in one weekend while house-sitting for my sister. It was so hot out that I basically hibernated on the sofa in front of a fan and devoured this book.Lord knows we need more MPs like Jess Phillips . . . as fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed in this refreshingly bracing memoir." ( Metro) Or you might already know me as that gobby MP who has a tendency to shout about the stuff I care about. Because I’m a woman with a cause, I have been called a feminazi witch, a murderer and threatened with rape. The internet attracts a classy crowd. This book is an interesting look at what it’s like being a woman predominantly in the political sphere but the material is applicable to many other careers particularly those where a woman has dared to attempt to participate in and challenge an otherwise patriarchal career. Jess talks about her upbringing and the struggle of balancing having a family and maintaining her political career and she talks openly about the sacrifices she has had to make to continue doing her job. She discusses online abuse and the threats she has received simply for having a political opinion and she talks about times she has been patronised for daring to think she can ‘have it all’. The central message seemed to be that women need more confidence in their abilities, mainly in the world of work but also their capability to have a career and children. This leads to a heartfelt but flawed defence of all-women shortlists. Phillips compares three women elected in this way against three men, and says "look, these women specially selected by me are more qualified than these particular male counterparts". So this not only proves nothing, but would also allow nepotistic employers to choose their mates for the top jobs so long as they can find some examples of employees who were chosen on merit but weren't top performers. I doubt Phillips would think that acceptable as a Labour MP. She also asserts that being the 'best woman for the job' is a nonsensical comment because no-one says that Jessica Ennis won 'girlie gold', a terrible analogy as women's sporting events only exist because the best women cannot compete with the best men. As well as harrowing stories from her time at Women’s Aid on domestic abuse as further illustration of why she stands up for what she stands up for.

Don't get the idea that this is a dry, weighty, preachy tome, it is nothing of the sort. It is full of warmth and humour, filled with the loud and proud Brummie voice that Jess is so well known for. I had the privilege to hear her speak last year in Birmingham and she was such a wonderful speaker, full of wit and anecdote. How I wish every one could have an MP like Jess. How I wish we all had a cheerleader, a friend like Jess. This is required reading for anyone interested in gender relations, who thinks the patriarchy is a thing and who wants to understand how it works, what they can do to combat it. That means, teenage girls, middle aged women, teenage boys and middle aged men. Jess Phillips knows the truth . . . and here she shows how scary and sad as well as joyful and liberating the answers can be.' Damian Barr

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This is a plain-talking, no-nonsense account of Jess Phillips' life, how she got into politics, and her opinions on certain key issues, such as abuse against women. I LOVE the strength of her voice throughout - it really does make you think no, we shouldn't put up with this nonsense, and that's great. I tend to get switched off by books in which people just bang on about how great they are, but the (somewhat lengthy) bragging here is offset by vulnerability, honesty and a passion for instigating meaningful change on issues of critical importance. Handled as a piece of writing, it’s kind of shapeless and rambling, sometimes shallow and disingenuous (the line about ‘education, education and education’ – give me strength), and – aside from that encounter while out canvassing – pretty unfunny. This book is a mix of laugh out loud hilarious, make you cry unbelievable and shares some completely absurd statistics, like people in the UK donating more to donkey charities than to women's charities (no offence to donkeys, cute beans).

The problems with this book, again, start with the title: "Everywoman". I assume that instead of suggesting this is about "every woman" she means "Everywoman" in the sense of being just like you and me, salt of the earth, representative of this here gender that we have. Like Moran's book, Phillips has written a book that is really mostly about herself. It's fine to write a memoir or autobiography. It's more of a problem when you don't seem to know if you're writing a book about yourself or about all women. I do not want any particular woman to set herself up as Everywoman, because firstly it's impossible for one individual to represent the huge diversity that exists within this gender, and secondly every time someone tries it is without fail a white, middle class (which she is, whatever people may say about her accent) professional, able-bodied, cisgender, heterosexual woman. Ever since she was elected to Parliament in May 2015, Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, has been making the headlines for doing what women are simply not supposed to do: speak up. Whether that's for talking about the time she was sexually assaulted, or reading out the names of one hundred and twenty women and girls who were murdered, or about the unnecessary VAT on sanitary products, Jess isn't afraid to stand up and tell the truth. Jess tells the truth even when that means she is threatened, often with rape or even with death. She knows exactly what it's like to be on the frontline in the fight for equality, what it's like to deal with sexist comments day in and day out, what it really means to be a woman trying to change things in a man's world. Self Promotion - it’s very refreshing to hear someone just straight up talk about how they had to promote themselves to get where they had got.The book is an easy read, Jess writes in a conversational style as though you were chatting with her personally, as with her other books she doesn’t use jargon so don’t worry if you have no knowledge of how politics works as this book will still be accessible. It's semi-autobiographical, and we learn a lot about Jess' teenage self, her siblings, family etc. Particularly uplifting was a chapter on sisterhood, where Jess relays stories of her mother and mother-in-law, and stories her friends have shared about women helping other women. I also liked the chapter where Jess covers self promotion and how we need to do it more, noting the fine line. I loved this book and I greatly admire Jess Phillips. This is a plain speaking guide on how she got into politics and how she handles all the shit now she is there. Written shortly after Jo Cox’s death, she examines how the stakes are set for women in positions of power and how to deal with attempts to silence women’s voices. I’d heard of Jess Phillips before with some of her tweets being retweeted into my timeline, but I didn’t really know much of who she was. This book was a great intro into her mind and the things that she stands for. I digress. This is a great book. It's a wonderful concept. Brilliantly spaced between the chapter formats and her voice isn't lost like some in this structure are.

This woman is nothing short of a hero. I love the fact that she has a potty mouth and is also very brazen and open about her reservations about her life as an MP. Leveraging tokenism - accept that spot as the token woman on the all-male panel but bring your own demands.

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In EVERYWOMAN: One Woman's Truths About Speaking The Truth, Jess encourages all women to follow her lead. To stand up and speak up, even when it seems that the world is against them, to dare to alter that world and - maybe - make history. From growing up ininner-city Birmingham in a radical socialist family, through the trials of her teenage and student years, through working at Women's Aid and finally in the Houses of Parliament, Jess shares her experiences and her thoughts on what it means to be a woman today. There's nothing wrong with being all of those things of course. But women who fall outside of that group, even by one category, know that we do not and never will be allowed to represent all women. So, speaking the truth isn't always easy but I believe it's worth it. And I want you to believe it too. The truth can be empowering, the truth can lead to greater equality, and the world would be incredibly boring if we let all of those people who allegedly know everything, say everything. It was pretty hard to deal with some of the sections, like when she talks about some of the horrific trolling that she has had to encounter. It’s hard to relate to that as someone who has never gone through it, but it’s not something that anyone should have to cope with.