Book Review: PussyPedia
Curiosity Killed the Cat but satisfaction brought it back
Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back - I saw this bright pink, bold, book at the bookstore; so I decided to buy it. Now I’ve read it, I’ve got some opinions on it and have decided to share my review of the Pussypedia.
The Pussypedia is written by Zoe Mendelson and illustrations throughout created by Maria Conejo 1 The simplest summary of this book is a translation of dry, logical medical literature into normal English that anyone can understand regarding the pussy and surrounding areas.
What I liked
Learning everyday
I find I am learning much more out of school, than when I was in them. For example; period pains. I was brought up with the fact that the pain was just a part of life as a woman.
Now, I am 32 years of age and I realized the reasoning for this pain. We are aware that: during the menstruation cycle, the egg is released into the uterus waiting to get fertilized. If the egg is not fertilized, it gets shoved out from the uterus.
The uterus is where a baby is held and grows until it’s ready to be born. Since the uterus can’t distinguish between an unfertilized egg and a baby, all it knows to do is push it out.
I learnt that the Uterus is the strongest muscle in your body by weight. It’s immensely strong; because it is meant to contain a baby, then when the growing’s done, push out a baby.
So the pains you feel during your period is your Uterus revving up. Once I read this; the regular pain that comes with my cycle made so much sense! To put it in machine terms, you’ve got a v6 turbo charged diesel engine supercar testing itself out every month for when it has to haul a load over 3 times its weight.
The Pill Talk or lack thereof
Another thing I learnt was the lack of research with hormonal birth control; all the types.
I was on hormonal birth control for a year, and I frequented the doctor because of the side effects I experienced. I remember having to go through 4 different brands before I could find one that I could tolerate. I decided to get off of birth control pills because of the depression and weight gain. I felt normal after stopping the birth control pills; no more depression and I went to a healthier weight.
I had to listen to my body, go back to the doctor to figure out a solution. All this I did on my own.
I see discussions on social media where more women discuss the possible bad side effects of hormonal birth control; but it’s just a discussion. Instead of research, measurements and evidence to look at the benefits, side effects and potential disadvantages of birth control; we’re going back to talking amongst doctors, close friends and family. Small clusters of hushed discussions and old wives tales. Much like my younger days I had to get help on the ground because couldn’t find much information to help me make a decision about hormonal birth control.
That sentiment is reflected in the Pussypedia; the Author looked for research but found very little and what research was found was inconsistent. I feel in a way we already knew the lack of information, feedback and research on the good and bad of hormonal birth control. But, having it shoved in your face with the sad realization of that fact makes me feel dejected.
Room for Improvement
A new definition of pussy
Vagina comes from Latin meaning sword holder. Unsurprisingly the penis was referred to as a sword. The author established at the beginning of the book that by using pussy to relate to the whole lady's area should be used because it’s made of many parts and, pussy is usually said with a smile. “Oh yes” I thought, “I do like this!”
Then, in the forward she has this: “As time went on, I learnt many more things about my cunt”
When I read that, I had to smack my head with the book in shock. I looked it up just to be sure I knew the meaning. Cunt: a vulgar term for a woman’s genitals or someone you dislike.
Why should that word be be used in reference for something beautiful, amazing and part of the creation of life. Why would you refer to her in such a horrible, low, disgusting way? Girl come on! We just established to u se Pussy and you go and write this?
Just Europe
The research she has done is extensive and the last 54 pages of the book are dedicated to the notes and references throughout the book. But, it was just European and North American medical information; Plenty of Dutch, German and USA studies but where were the others? On page 15 there is mention of ancient Greek, Arab and Persian records of the observation of the clitoris; but that was it.
I was hoping with such a bold title and the research done behind it that this would encompass the whole world! Where is the Karma Sutra? The Karma sutra isn’t just about sex2, but that is the part that made the text popular in Europe! It was brought over in late 1800’s went “Our society is too stiff and prudish to have an open discussion about sexuality, so let’s read some foreign texts and focus on ”3
Another one is the Su Nu Jing? The basic book of Taoist sexology? Okay that example isn’t that well known in the Western hemisphere unless you’re already into things like Taoist ideology or Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Now, in their defense, this book is in English to an English speaking audience; it makes sense that there are a bunch of European references. But, as before, with a bold title; PussyPedia - I would have thought that she would have gone all around, up and down the world with her findings and compiled it in the book.
I disagree
To make it easier to take in the information presented in the book, the author has put in her commentary throughout. But at times, when I read her commentary parallel to the facts, it was jarring to me. Like opposing ideas crashing into each other.
Here’s an example; in chapter 7 it talks about hysterectomies.4 In there is this reference “Studies range from saying that 10% - 90% of hysterectomies in the USA have been unnecessary.” Wha -; 10 - 90%?5 The author’s got the research but the evidence provided is inconclusive; almost irrelevant.
She follows it up the paragraph with this “ It makes sense that The Patriarchy would be extra controlling over the uterus because the uterus is humanities way of making more humans, which is something you need to man the nozzle on if you want to control a society”. I think she’s getting a medical system problem confused with a political and societal problem.
In her defense, the author made a point where there are people who don’t want and don’t need a hysterectomy, get one. And the ones who really need it, don’t. That same issue of who gets and who doesn’t get a hysterectomy can apply to other procedures as well; cancer treatments, appendix removal, knee replacements, pacemakers and the list goes on.
A doctor’s misdiagnosis can also play a part in whether a person gets the right treatment or not. In 2023 in the USA there were an estimated 371k deaths from misdiagnosis and 424k who are disabled from it. 6
From what’s presented, how can we be so sure that an issue like hysterectomy procedures, is from a patriarchal system and not a flawed medical system?
Final thoughts
What surprised me most about this book is the fact that I have one, a pussy, I should be pretty knowledgeable about it. I learnt more than I expected in this book. The book covers many things that I’ve not mentioned that are good; masturbation, consent, miscarriages, STIs and drugs.
It’s indeed an informative book with great interpretive illustrations and breaking information down to easy chunks for all is great. But I feel that this book just missed the mark for me; I was excited to read it. But as I kept reading I felt that the excitement went down to a deflated balloon at the end.
This book gets a “fine” rating from me. 2 1/2 stars out of 5
https://www.instagram.com/pwordpedia/?hl=en
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0fl4b21/kama-sutra-a-misunderstood-ancient-erotic-manual
https://qz.com/india/1654024/how-kamasutra-was-first-published-in-english-against-norms
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6507979/
https://www.lasvegasgynsurgery.com/blog/who-shouldnt-get-a-hysterectomy#:~:text=While%20a%20hysterectomy%20can%20be,hysterectomy%20is%20not%20an%20option.