The Fictional Woman

by Tara Moss

The no.1 bestselling non-fiction hit! Tara Moss's first work of non-fiction - a fascinating mix of memoir and social comment - is sparking conversation all over the country. What are your fictions?

Tara Moss has worn many labels in her time, including 'author', 'model', 'gold-digger', 'commentator', 'inspiration', 'dumb blonde', 'feminist' and 'mother', among many others. Now, in her first work of non-fiction, she blends memoir and social analysis to examine the common fictions about women. She traces key moments in her life - from small-town tomboy in Canada, to international fashion model in the 90s, to bestselling author taking a polygraph test in 2002 to prove she writes her own work - and weaves her own experiences into a broader look at everyday sexism and issues surrounding the underrepresentation of women, modern motherhood, body image and the portrayal of women in politics, entertainment, advertising and the media. Deeply personal and revealing, this is more than just Tara Moss's own story. At once insightful, challenging and entertaining, she asks how we can change the old fictions, one woman at a time.

'This book, part memoir, part manifesto, catapults [Tara] into the frontline as a public commentator who demands serious attention. She is a welcome addition to any conversation about social justice, public ethics and the objectification of women, about which she knows a great deal.' Caroline Baum

'a nimbly argued, statistic-laden exploration of the various labels we give women and the impact this has on their lives' Catherine Keenan, ABC The Drum

'This is a book which needs to be read by men and women. Well written, clearly argued, informative, powerful and thought provoking. Forget everything you thought you knew about Tara Moss, with The Fictional Woman, Tara sets the record straight and takes her place as one of our generations great commentators.' John Purcell, Booktopia

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Womens

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2014

About the author

Tara Moss is an internationally bestselling author, documentary host and human rights advocate. She is the author of 15 books, published in 19 countries and 13 languages. Her latest, The Italian Secret, follows on from the internationally bestselling historical thrillers The War Widow, and The Ghosts of Paris, both set in the postwar 1940s and featuring '‘staunchly feminist, champagne-swilling, fast-driving Nazi hunter’ investigator' PI Billie Walker.

Moss is an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and children, and people with disabilities, and has also published two best-selling non-fiction books, The Fictional Woman and Speaking Out - A 21st Century Guide for Women and Girls.

She has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 and as of 2013 is UNICEF Australia’s National Ambassador for Child Survival, and has visited Australian hospitals, maternity wards and schools as well as Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon in her UNICEF role. In 2015 she received an Edna Ryan Award for her significant contribution to feminist debate, speaking out for women and children and inspiring others to challenge the status quo.

Her in-depth novel research has seen her tour the FBI Academy at Quantico, spend time in squad cars, morgues, prisons, the Hare Psychopathy Lab, the Supreme Court and criminology conferences, take polygraph tests, shoot weapons, conduct surveillance, pass the Firearms Training Simulator (FATSII) with the LAPD, pull 4.2 G’s doing loops over the Sydney Opera House flying with the RAAF, and acquire her CAMS race driver licence. She has hosted the true crime documentary series Tough Nuts – Australia’s Hardest Criminals on the Crime & Investigation Network, ‘Tara Moss Investigates’ on the National Geographic Channel and the author interview show Tara in Conversation on 13th Street Universal. In 2014 she was recognised for Outstanding Advocacy for her blog Manus Island: An insider’s report, which helped to break information to the public about the events surrounding the alleged murder of Reza Barati inside the Australian-run Manus Island Immigration Detention Centre.

She has earned her private investigator credentials (Cert III) from the Australian Security Academy.

Moss is a dual Australian/Canadian citizen. Visit her at TaraRaeMoss.com

Recent Awards and Accolades:

2012 Australia’s 20 Most Influential Female Voices

2013 Australia’s Most inspiring Women ‘who push boundaries, create change and motivate’

2014 Outstanding Advocacy Award for Manus Island: An insider’s report

2014 Cosmo’s The Women Who Made 2014 Better for The Fictional Woman

2014 Influential Women of 2014, alongside Malala, Laura Bates, Angelina Jolie and more

2014 The Hoopla‘s The Female Eunuch Award for The Fictional Woman

2015 Best Designed Non-Fiction Book Award, for The Fictional Woman designed by Tara Moss and Matt Stanton

2015 Part of the University of Sydney’s Leadership for Good

2015 Edna Ryan Award - ‘Grand Stirrer Award’ for making a feminist difference by speaking out for women and children, for a significant contribution to feminist debate and inciting others to challenge the status quo

2016 Champion of the West award for community service

2017 The Order of Lambrick Park

2018 International Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life ‘recognises the achievements of individuals who have used their position in public life, for example as a campaigner, politician or journalist to make an impact in diversity.’ Listed alongside Malala Yousufzai, Angelina Jolie, Bernie Sanders, Emma Watson, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet and more.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, well articulated and brilliantly narrated by Tara Moss. The tone and the non preachy way Tara delivered this message managed to open my eyes to the fact that as a society we still have work to do. Anyone who believes that women are equal and have the same rights as men in today’s society need to read this book! Seriously give this book as a gift to the men in your life, your female friends and your daughters your sons and anyone who doesn’t believe we should still be fighting the fight for good reason.

[Meags · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

In The Fictional Woman Tara Moss combines her personal memoir with an impressive social commentary on perceptions of modern women in society.

Moss expressed many touching and personal experiences from her own life, while also analysing and sharing many well researched facts and figures relating to everything from body image, motherhood and sexual assault, to the roles and value of women in entertainment, media and politics, as well as many keen observations of women in society, all in an articulate and non-preachy manner.

Overall, I found this to be quite an eye-opening and remarkable read. I was fully engaged from start to finish and I feel like I gained some important insights into my own thoughts and feelings regarding many pressing issues relating to modern women.

Highly recommended!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tara Moss is probably best known as a person you hate; she seems to succeed in everything she puts her mind to. Starting her career early at 14 as a model, she always dreamed about being a writer. People don't encourage others to be writers but they do tell girls that they should be a model. Eventually she did and it took her around the world and taught her so much; the experiences may not have been all good but it helped shape her life. Eventually she did start writing and her Makedde Vanderwall become a huge success and she created this character as a way to explore her interests in forensic science, psychology and other topics. Now with nine fiction novels under her belt Moss is giving us her first non-fiction book, The Fictional Woman.

The title comes from the idea that people tend to dismiss and stereotype others. Tara Moss is no stranger to this; she even took a polygraph test to prove she wrote her books. While this book starts off as a memoir it is important to know that this is a social critique on the world and feminism. The book begins as a memoir to provide context, an understanding of Tara Moss' struggles and her life helps to see where The Fictional Woman is coming from. Historical context is also an important part of understanding feminism as well, especially when it comes to gender equality and pop culture. There have been plenty of Spiderman (too many), Zorro and James Bond movies but there has never been a Wonder Woman movie. In literature, the female archetype stems from fairy tales and medieval fiction, heroines tend to face off another woman, often older and depicted as witches. Cinderella type stories require a man in order to live happily ever after and even chick-lit often portrays a gender inequality.

The Fictional Woman explores this imbalance in pop-culture and society and looks at where these archetypes come from. It is impressive to see the amount of research and information Tara Moss puts into this book; it really was eye opening. I highly recommend people read this book but I need to warn everyone it may contain triggers. I'm surprised to see that the imbalance is so prominent in today’s society and I am trying to make more of an effort to read a balance of authors. The problem I found is I tend to pick up books without taking notice on of the author, sure it sometimes easy to know their gender but I don't research authors before starting a book. I try to make more of an effort and it is an area I need to work on.

I’m really impressed with Tara Moss, she seems to succeed in everything she does; sure I’m a little jealous that she is so talented but I still feel motivated. For those interested, I recently wrote a piece about an author event with Tara Moss on Boomerang Books if you are interested, I talk in a lot more detail about The Fictional Woman. I have never spent so much time thinking about feminism, I plan to do a lot more of it, even read some more books on the topic. I might even incorporate it into my critical reviews; it is an important topic that needs to be addressed.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/...

[Karen Brooks]

One of the most thoughtful and erudite books on the female experience I have read in a long time. Rather than being exclusive or looking to apportion blame, Moss tackles the sometimes divisive subject of feminism and females through inclusivity and such a depth of understanding of culture, society and the various forces that shape us all.
Part memoir, part treatise on the way women are labelled and stereotyped and then read accordingly (and men as well), Moss patiently and cleverly deconstructs a range of assumptions, using a mixture of theory, excellent research, personal experience and anecdotes.
Commencing with herself as subject, she then goes on to explain her objectification – as model, a body, a survivor and even as a writer. Having entered the fashion industry at an early age, her desire to be a professional writer was delayed but when she finally did have her first novel published, she found that the “tag” of model and the negative (and at times crushing) social and cultural assumptions of this profession haunted her aspirations. Not one to let this deter her, Moss unpacks her slow acceptance by the literary scene with humour and stoicism, and uses it as a case study through which to examine the ways in which women are constructed in mainstream culture and why this happens and, more importantly, why it’s essential to critically examine these reductive representations and understand the limitations they impose on subjectivity and female agency.
Lucid, entertaining and always engaging, Moss briefly considers the female experience through history, thus providing a context before discussing topics such as “gender wars”, male and female beauty, the notion of the invisible and visible woman (the latter through marketing and advertising) as well as how the social and cultural roles of mother and father, among many others, impact, define and either elevate or reduce us.
Moss gently but very persuasively argues that while we have a tendency in society to target individual women (and sometimes men) for harsh criticism and worse, we’re actually failing to identify and thus change the greater forces that work to uphold and restrict women’s agency. Complicit in patriarchal culture we might be, but that doesn’t mean we cannot step outside its constraints or work to change it. Her message is strong and beautifully and succinctly delivered. Her chapter on “The Feminist” had me cheering.
Moss also tackles why we need to deconstruct and critically think about the images that bombard us, the labels that we so readily bestow. She discusses the value we assign to women’s appearances and how these are also connected to morality, redundancy, conformity and a great many other emotional and psychological hurdles and burdens. Citing statistics and a great many studies, she demonstrates the lack of female representation (and diversity) in everything from parliament, politics generally, Hollywood, workplaces, education, role-models, to the dearth of meaningful representation of women of all ages, shapes, sizes and talents, in culture generally. Women are still rendered as object (often domesticated) and the power of our bodies lies mostly in their ability to arouse desire or open wallets – in other words, female bodies are most often used to sell – even the idea of competition to each other. But what Moss also investigates are the ideas our bodies both sell and perpetuate in the limited representations available and what the labels thus assigned do to our standing and understanding or ourselves and others – at the individual, family, relationship, social and political level.
The tropes of maiden, mother and crone as well as “Madonna” and “Whore” enjoy a great deal of scrutiny throughout the book, and the power they have had historically, socially and culturally to shape an understanding of women – through popular culture and beyond - is explored.
A powerful book but without being preachy, I could not put this down. If I was still lecturing at university, I would place it on my courses. As it is, I can only recommend that people of all ages, both sexes, read it. It’s an enriching, thought-provoking experience that I for one am so glad I had and will do so again.

[Carolyn Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please note, Tara Moss can write. Somehow, despite the 9 best-selling novels she has penned in 15 years, this fact will still provoke surprise from People Everywhere who cling to the conviction that supermodels and writers are separate species. The Fictional Woman is a compelling and important book. Some will feel the need to point out that she is not covering any new ground in her social commentary and analysis of contemporary gender relations. Of course, that is hardly the point. This is both memoir and social critique, and the sometimes heady combination of the celebrity, the literary and the critical creates something unique: the model-tell-all-feminist-tract. It is clever and sassy, written from a unique vantage point, and I hope women and men and adolescents and magazine editors and photographers and models and authors and teachers and parents and human beings of all flavours read it.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard not to compare this to The Wife Drought after reading these in quick succession. Unlike Annabel Crabb, who managed to bring new veins of thinking in feminist thought with tight writing, warmth and wit, Moss seems continually focussed on reaffirming her credentials as a successful crime writer, even though she was once a model. Does she really earn extra points because she allowed herself to be choked to unconsciousness as research for her crime book? I think her constant attempts to prove herself only undermine her successes.

Trying to blur the line between memoir and social commentary is where I think the reader is let down in a compromise between both.

[Wiebke (1book1review) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this. It was very interesting to hear about her experiences and life but also about the facts and statistics. The way she talked about women in media and how we see them and what story we tell about them was very interesting. I can only recommend it if you are interested in this topic.

[Mahmoud Aghiorly · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب المرأة الخيالية للكاتبة تارا موس واحد من الكتب المميزة جداً والذي يجب أن يقرأه الجميع , الرجال والنساء , الكتاب في بدايته سرد بعض المواقف في حياة تارا موس و تجاربها الخاصة مع التحيز الجنسي والاعتداء وحياتها المهنية ككاتبة , وتقدم الكتاب قائلة أن احدى الصحف عرضت عليها ان تعرض على جهاز كشف كذب للتحقق من كونها تكتب الكتب التي تنشرها ام تقوم بشراءها و نشرها بإسمها و قد وافقت على ذلك ! و من ثم ركز الكتاب نوعاً ما على الضريبة التي تدفعها المرأة إن كان جمالها أعلى من المتوسط المتعارف عليه سواء كانت تلك الضريبة مفروضة عليها مجتمعياً من قبل الذكور , او نديا من قبل الاناث و ذكرت كميات التحديات الكبيرة التي تفرض على الانثى إن كان مظهرها الخارجي محط انظار انطلاقاً من الاستخفاف بأفكارها واحلامها و آراءها و حصرها بمظهرها الخارجي , وحتى تعرضها للتعقب والتلصص و احيانا الخطر و من ثم انطلقت تارا موس من ذكرياتها والتحديات التي فرضت عليها كعارضة ازياء إلى وضع المرأة ككل ف�� المجتمع وكميات التصنيفات والاحكام التي يجب ان تفرض عليها أينما كانت ومهما كانت , و تحدثت عن المرأة العاملة , المرأة الام , المرأة في السياسة و المراكز القيادية , المرأة المربية , واخيراً المرأة الحالمة و ختمت الكتاب بفصل فيه اعادة تقييم لمفهوم النسوية العام وكيف حاد هذا المفهوم عن اهدافه الرئيسية وهو فصل مميز أيضاً , و تستخدم موس في كتابها هذا الإحصائيات والأبحاث استخدامًا رائعًا لدعم حججها , فمعظم الافكار تم محاججتها بصورة واضحة و كانت غنية بالمعلومات و مثيرة للتساؤلات و احيانا كثيرة مقنعة لدرجة كبيرة قد تغير من قناعة القارىء , في الختام تارا موس حقيقة استطاعت في هذا الكتاب ان تفرض نفسها ككاتبة واسعة الاطلاع وصاحبة حجة و تقيمي للكتاب 5/5 و أنصح به جداً .

المقتطفات لاحقاً ..

[Ben Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really well written book about feminism. The early chapters deal with Tara Moss's own life, and her own experiences with sexism, assault, and her career as a model and crime writer. These chapters are among the most powerful in the book. The rest of the book is a very well argued rundown of sexism and prejudice in contemporary society. It covers a lot of the bases that commonly come up in arguments. I'd recommend it as a good book to give somebody who is looking for a "Feminism 101" primer. But that might give the wrong impression; it's a complex and well argued read, and Moss makes admirable use of statistics and research to back up her arguments. There is a genuine humility to her writing, too, that helps make the book more enjoyable. Moss doesn't write down her nose at her readers. She's open to ambiguity and qualifies her statements where she needs to. The result is a very reasonable tone that adds weight to her already powerful points. There were one or two points that I would quibble with, and a couple of chapters that were less interesting (to me) than others, but overall this is a fantastic, thoughtful book.

[Kate Belle]

A must read for every man and woman who believes in fairness and equality. We must rewrite the stories we tell ourselves about who women are. They limit us so deeply, they affect our relationships and our potential to live true to ourselves.

For full review click here: http://www.ecstasyfiles.com/blog/revi...

This is what I have attempted to do with my character Jade in Being Jade. She us confronting because she doesn't toe the social or cultural line expected of women. These challenging characters are much needed now, more than ever, if we are to shift the latent sexism that exists in the world.

[S.K. Munt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every woman needs to read this book. Actually no… everyONE needs to read this book."/>



This has been one of the most educational, exciting reads of the year for me, and I have to preface this review by saying that Tara Moss is an incredibly brave, concise woman whose voice needs to be heard.

I am target-audience number #1 for this particular book. Not only am I wife and mother of three girls that I need to set an example for, but I was raised by a single mother who was screwed over by 3 husbands, and I have three older brothers and two older sisters. I was never a model like Tara, but I was a cheerleader and coach/captain in my twenties and thanks to the fact that I happen to be blonde, blue-eyed and petite, I managed to get myself a few beauty queen sashes from bikini comps. I've done that kind of stuff, on top of hosting karaoke and getting into local theatre productions since I was sixteen, so locally, I'm probably thought of as… well… not how I am or who I am, but by what's written on my labels. And like Tara, I'm definitely a psycho magnet. To date, I can recollect 4 stalkers, 3 incidents of sexual assault or attempts at it, and have a list of other women who decided that I needed to be 'taken down' so long that James bond movies would have to go on for another 60 years just so he could have faced off with as many 'bad guys' as I have by the time he retires.

But despite my partaking in activities that are often deemed shallow by the masses, my ultimate dream (Since I taught myself to read at the age of 4) has been to become a writer and I just happen to have a very high I.Q to back it up. However, I probably needed to get the certificate declaring that tattooed to my face, because the words: 'I'm an author' tend to make people's eyebrows disappear into their hairlines. So learning that Tara Moss had to take a lie-detector test to prove that she had in fact, written her own books, didn't strike me as odd, but typical. How STUPID is that?!



Why were the people who accused her otherwise not tarred and feathered or had their intelligence come into question, for deciding that a pretty blonde who didn't go out of her way to hide it, couldn't have written her own books? I wasn't shocked no, but I should be- we all should be! As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing that a person can do to prove that they're stupid faster than insinuating that hair colour somehow affects what's going on inside their head. Yeah blonde jokes have been around forever so they're just a part of our culture now and easily shrugged off, but let's face it- once upon a time calling an African American the 'n' word or a gay man the 'f' word was considered normal and acceptable too…. but we can still imply that blondes are mentally devoid and what happens? 'Lol.'

Sorry, but I don't think it's funny, not one little bit, and solemnly swear to smack the next person who makes a blonde joke in my presence. Maybe that way, I can give the word 'blonde' a violent connotation! At least it would be a step up from 'bimbo'!




But you don't need to be all of the above to relate to this book- you just need to be either a) a woman or b) a thinker for The Fictional Woman to be relevant to your life.

Here's the thing; most of us are under the impression that sexism is the thing of the past, and until recently, I believed the same thing. After all, this particular mental disease (and like racism and homophobia, sexism is a mental disease as far as I'm concerned) works its way into our lives in a stealthy manner. As a girl who was raised by a proud single mother, I honestly thought that I'd managed to get through life untouched by it, because as obvious as SOME sexism issues are, all you have to do is watch a T.V show like Madmen or a movie like Mary Poppins and think: 'What am I complaining about? Look what it USED to be like!' Yes I've had ex husbands push me around, men force themselves onto me, have been overlooked for certain jobs because of my gender or cautioned against using my name 'Samantha' on my Zombie novel in case it put male readers off… come to think of it I can probably think of about 200 incidents in the last 10 years where I was stung by sexism, but I never let them bother me because I always found a way to overcome them. That's great for me- yay me! Problem is? This s#$% shouldn't be happening in the first place!!! But ever since I became an adult, I have been busting my ass to overcome things that no man has to deal with- and it makes life five times harder for me than it would if I had a twin brother doing the same stuff that I do, and I feel like an idiot for not having realised it before- for not having fought back harder.



Suffrage happened. The Sixties happened. The skirts came off and the power suits went on and we've seen so much progress in the last seventy years that we've been duped into believing that this is how things ought to be now: that we're alllll equal, because as women, we're allowed to say so and not get laughed at… unlike the poor homosexuals and ethnic races living within our countries, who are still battling so hard for the same right. From where we stand, things aren't too bad, right?

Right… But they're not ideal either- not even close, and I thank Tara Moss for snapping me out of my post-feminism stupor and drawing my attention to how far we have to go.

Usually, when I want to convince other people to read something, I'll highlight a particularly moving/ important passage or quote from a book and show it here to make people go: 'Ooooohhhhh' like I did. But here's the thing: this book was full of so many 'oooohhhh' moments that if the author had not signed it (making it prescious), I probably would have highlighted 3/4 of every page. I had a paperback copy and an iBooks one but unfortunately, Aussie readers can't share iBooks quotes to social media so I wasn't able to do what I would have done, had I bought it on Kindle instead. And my Facebook friends should be grateful for that because as it was, I screen-shotted and re-quoted enough as it was! Like I haven't already pushed my conservative FB peops to the brink of tolerance with all of my 'Yay Gay Marriage!' and 'Down with Andrew Bolt!' stuff… if I'd been able to fully express my enthusiasm for THIS, I'd probably have about 20 friends left…


And THAT is what's wrong with the world. THAT is why this book needs to be read. A woman should be able to point out that things aren't right without being the recipient of a lot of eye-rolling. A woman should be able to highlight social injustice without being labelled as a bra-burner (personally, I buy Playboy bras and adore them), or a femininazi (I'll stick up for a straight man being treated unfairly just as soon as I'll speak up for myself), and I shouldn't have to worry about making my gentlemen friends feel uncomfortable by speaking my mind 'and stuff.' This book is full of information that every woman needs to know and I will not baulk at the prospect of saying so, even if I do come off as overwrought and strapped to a soapbox.



Just do yourself and the world a favour, and read this and please, message me to let me know your thoughts. As women, we need to start working as one and not against each other. then, men and women together and then, the world.

[Julie Haydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book. Tara Moss discusses and exposes the common fictions about women, the labels, the archetypes, the out-of-date assumptions that so often prevent women from reaching their full potential. Woven through the facts, observations, arguments and quotes are stories from Tara Moss's life, which pack a punch. She comes across as intelligent, courageous, logical and, at times, funny (the first sentence on p.286 made me laugh out loud). I hope this book creates a dialogue in the greater community (I've already had interesting discussions with family and friends about it). To quote Moss: 'Skin colour is not character. Clothing is not consent. Feminism is not a lipstick or a body shape.'

[Kim Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads beautifully. Moss uses her own autobiography as a jumping-off point to think through a range of issues about women, feminism, and gender. Her command of the field is evident, but Moss really shines when she offers her own fresh perspectives on beauty, selfies, photoshop, and women in the public eye. A smart, sophisticated, yet accessible book. Loved it.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Articulate, thought provoking and a very accessible and enjoyable read. Moss uses her own personal experiences as the starting point to look at many of the issues regarding women, gender roles and feminism. One of those books that makes you want to pass it on to everyone you know saying "you need to read this"

[Dani Ringrose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Tara Moss convert. A bit late as a convert, because up until her appearance on Q&A, I too had categorised her as an "ex-model who dabbled in crime fiction". I had to put my attitudes in check after hearing her speak, after she made me a bit more thoughtful about how quick I can be to judge some women. The current resurgence of feminism tackling the small but cumulative issues that affect women - especially online - fires me up, and Tara has certainly fueled those flames for me. And after years of being trained to "walk home at night with your keys out to attack muggers and rapists", I've helped (at my school) to add to this slow shift away from victim-blaming and question why our society doesn't educate men to "not assault women" instead.

This book is part-memoir, part-reflective non-fiction, and I loved every minute of reading it. I am in the process of buying copies for family members and friends to read - because I don't want to give away my beloved signed copy! If you get a chance to hear her speak - and Tara is doing the rounds of quite a number of Writers Festivals in Oz this year on the back of this book - do so. She is articulate, thoughtful and mesmerising. (And she has caused an exponential increase in my purchase of red lipstick, due to one of her blog posts. 20 and counting.)

[L.E. Truscott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read and should be required reading for everyone - women, men, teenagers, school students, people of all ages, Fox News commentators, especially Fox News commentators, everyone.

The more I read of this book, the more angry I got. Not because the author was telling me anything I didn't already know, but because having it all spelled out so clearly (and so eloquently) in one place made it almost overwhelming. In some ways, we have achieved so much but in others, there is obviously so much left to do. But as I approached the middle of the book and starting to become calm, I had an epiphany. Don't get mad, get even - or equal, more appropriately. That's the whole point, after all.

The middle drags a little bit but overall the book is a beautifully written masterpiece, worth so much more than the six dollars I paid when I discovered it on the "Sales" pile.

The end notes and reading list could keep you occupied for years and are well worth exploring if you want to undertake a similar journey to the one Tara Moss has travelled in compiling an enormous volume of research.

This is the book Tara Moss should be remembered for and the type of book all writers should aspire to creating themselves. In a word (or two) - life changing.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually quite a brilliant book. Part-memoir, part-feminist manifesto, it grapples with many of the modern issues concerning gender rights in a way I have not heard put so thougtfully or effectively before. Tara Moss writes with erudition, compassion and empathy - and in this case, not preaching to the choir as, like myself, I think this book makes a convincing argument for many things I would not usually have taken that seriously were it to have come from a screaming arts graduate with pink hair and tattoos all over her pasty arms. Not the sort of book I saw myself reading - and I chose to read it merely out of curiosity - but actually something I could not honestly say I largely disagreed with. As with so many what I would call "left-wing" causes, there is much truth to the ideas. It's just the proponents I usually can't stand, to the point that I'd rather ignore them even if I ultimately agree with most of what they're saying.

Tara Moss is not one of those, so I would recommend anyone who professes to hate feminists to read this book and hear a proper argument made in its favour. The only other time I've said that was in regard to Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Women.

[Deb Bodinnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took me longer than normal to read for a couple of reasons. I went back over some it to really get the full benefit of Taras writing, not because it wasn't written well, it most certainly is, but to rethink a lot of points she made. The other reason more of a personal one, mind was on some trouble my own Mum is having at the moment with her memory, so putting what Tara was telling us about the "things" ( for want of a better word) we as women of all ages go through was probably hitting me a bit harder than it normally would have. Your book, Tara, has made me have another look at where I have been and where I might head in the future, as a Mother, wife, daughter and of course me. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

[Holly Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be more of a memoir, but a lot of it was on feminism and wider feminist issues, Moss using personal examples throughout. This is most certainly not a criticism, as I am a great lover of feminist non-fiction that focuses on first-hand experience. While most of the arguments weren't new to me, it is always interesting to see different takes on so-called 'women's issues.' Obviously Moss speaks from a place of privilege, and her books is skewed towards the straight, white, middle-class experience (as so many books on this subject are), but she doesn't claim to speak for all women, and does include some statistics from marginalised groups. Overall this was fantastic, and adds another welcome voice public discussion on gender.

[Lizz Sayers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought Tara made some interesting points on gender inequality. I particularly liked the mother chapter which revealed some startling facts about how women's bodies and the choices they make regarding pregnancy, birth and motherhood are still dictated by the law (men) in many countries that make abortion and even miscarriage illegal. I recommend this book to anyone that has a negative view of feminism as this book reminds us all what the essence of this movement really is about - advocating women's rights in all facets of life.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be read by all young females (Australians) who think they have it all and take for granted what they do have in terms of equal opportunities. Moss illustrates so well that things have not changed that much in the land of Aus over the last few decades. Yes we women are supposedly equal to our male partners but the statistics still prove otherwise.
Part biography, part social commentary - it is simply written but full of classic up-to-date examples of the plight of women in Australian society.

[Sunili]

Hey so is actually excellent. Tara Moss includes some memoir-ish stuff but I like that it can also be seen as a series of essays on socio-political issues that are insightful and well reasoned. I listened to the audiobook - the author's narration is expressive and enjoyable. But I'd be tempted to get a hard copy just to highlight quotes and stats as references!

[Cormac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really clever exploration of the way women are pidgeon-holed throughout their lives, and how this is used to hold them back. Loved it, was an interesting and easy to read book with a powerful message.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloquent, educational, inspiring, a must read for everyone!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.....exceptional

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you care about a woman or girl, then I can highly recommend this book. The writing is accessible and clear, the issues of extreme importance, and ending provides a stirring call to arms.

[Bex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, thoroughly well researched, heart-breaking, hilariously depressing and eloquent book that everyone (yes, everyone ) ought to read, please and thank you !

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, not what I expected from this memoir at all, I assumed it would mostly be about feminism, something I’m not really interested in, but as I’m such a huge fan of Tara Moss and her amazing crime and paranormal books I was really keen to listen to her non-fiction book, The Fictional Woman, feminism or not.

And I LOVED IT!!!

Tara Moss delivers a super interesting, thought-provoking, informative, deeply personal and frank memoir. She’s an inspiring and dynamic speaker. A must read for everyone!

The last few weeks I’ve been listening more and more to audiobooks and I get through most of them within 1 to 3 days, and this was one I listened to in 2 days. I adored The Fictional Woman so much I passed my physical book on to my daughter. I really hope she will love it as much as I did.

Highly recommended

Book No.17 #20Backlistin2020 Challenge

[Emily Wrayburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally posted on A Keyboard and an Open Mind 08 July 2016

I had been thinking for a while now that I really should be including a bit more non-fiction in my reading, and when I saw Tara Moss’ memoir available through my digital lending library, it seemed like a good place to start. It was a blog post written by Moss on the gender bias in book reviewing in Australia that gave rise to the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge, so even when I was getting a little bored with some of the content of this book, I felt I should push through in order to be able to review it properly.

Tara Moss was born in Canada and embarked on an international modelling career at the age of 16. At 25, she quit modelling and published the first in a successful crime series, and has since followed that up with many other novels. Her experiences as a woman have been many and varied, and she discusses both the labels she gives herself and the labels others have imposed upon her over her career. She combines this with social commentary on the ways women are represented in media, and provides stats and significant backup for her arguments.

I found that the strength of this book were Tara’s personal anecdotes. It was both horrifying and fascinating to hear of the ins and outs of the modelling world, the sexism she experienced in different places she was sent to work, and some other entertaining stories that she included along the way. I am fairly sure I could hear her voice breaking as she talked about being raped at age 20, by a friend (as is actually statistically more likely that the narrative of the stranger in a dark alley), and I felt a lump in my own throat as I listened to her talk about the two miscarriages she experienced, and how miscarriage is so much more common than anyone realises.

The data that she also uses in her book is extremely important and is material that should be common knowledge for everyone. If this book leads someone to the startling surprises regarding such issues as pay gaps and other gendered issues, then that is great. But for someone like me, with even a passing interest in feminism already, I found that a lot of it was stuff I already knew, and in the chapters that were more social commentary than memoir, I found myself getting bored, as I was treading familiar ground. There were times when Tara’s points of view and arguments did not entirely line up with my own, and I appreciated the opportunity to consider why I disagreed with what she said. However, this was fairly rare.

Having said that, I realise that change happens very slowly, and that with movements such as feminism, often things have to be repeated over and over before those in power really get it. So from that perspective, I do appreciate and applaud Tara Moss weighing in on this important subject.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The term 'feminist' has always confused me. Moss' book opened my eyes to what it means to be a feminist; what the feminist movement is about; and how it sets out to challenge gender inequality and change dominant notions ingrained in both genders. As I read this book, I asked my husband and adolescent sons some questions, and was amazed at how, at such a young age (15 & 10), they are already influenced by dominant gender views and stereotypes. I wish I'd had this insight and knowledge twenty-years earlier. Chapter 15 nailed it for me:

"There is, at the time of writing, not a single mother in Australia's federal Cabinet. This is not a reflection of the abilities of those who are in Cabinet, but it does speak to a larger issue of work culture that sees mothers as less capable of devoting themselves to work outside the home, while a man's parenthood status remains irrelevant to perceptions of his ability.
In September 2013, after Labor lost the federal election and Kevin Rudd stepped down, there was much speculation about who would take over the leadership of the ALP. Former prime minister Bob Hawke spoke of the contenders, flagging Bill Shorten as his favourite (he later became the new leader)....Hawke said of another popular candidate, Tanya Plibersek (while shaking his head), 'I don't think she's a candidate for leadership, she has a three-year-old child.' He went on to say that Plibersek was 'a very, very impressive representative...she's proved herself a capable minister...' however, 'I think the most Tanya would be interested in would be...deputy.' Interestingly Shorten, whom Hawke considered the best candidate for the job, has a child of exactly the same age.....
As it happens, while there are no mothers in Cabinet, the majority of members are fathers. The only woman in Cabinet, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, suggests that this is just the way it is, but at the end of the day, they choose something which means they can't have something else.
Leaving aside the seemingly obvious fact that no one can technically 'have it all', in the real sense, why is it that, even now, the most powerful people in our country believe that work/life balance and the important role of parenting is simply 'women's business' rather than the business of both parents?" (Pg 258-259).