Mother of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored in an Economy Built for Men

by Katrine Marçal

It all starts with a rolling suitcase. Though the wheel was invented some five thousand years ago, and the suitcase in the nineteenth century, it wasn’t until the 1970s that someone successfully married the two. What was the hold up? For writer and journalist Katrine Marçal, the answer is both shocking and simple: because “real men” carried their bags, no matter how heavy.
 
Mother of Invention is a fascinating and eye-opening examination of business, technology, and innovation through a feminist lens. Because it wasn’t just the suitcase. Drawing on examples from electric cars to bra seamstresses to tech billionaires, Marçal shows how gender bias stifles the economy and holds us back, delaying innovations, sometimes by hundreds of years, and distorting our understanding of our history. While we talk about the Iron Age and the Bronze Age, we might as well talk about the “Ceramic Age” or the “Flax Age,” since these technologies were just as important. But inventions associated with women are not considered to be technology in the same way.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, History, Economics, Audiobook, Politics, Science

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Previously known as Katrine Kielos.

Reviews

[Lilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swedish financial journalist and author Katrine Marçal writes about the intersectionality of gender and economics in Mother of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored in an Economy Built for Men, and she does so in a way that makes the eye-opening content within not only revelatory but also fun and fascinating.

From the idea to attach wheels to luggage to electric cars to the modern walker, many inventions and ideas have been held back by gendered perceptions of their utility. Masculinity has oftentimes trumped innovation; I had no idea until reading this book that the history of electric cars goes back as far as the history of the gas-guzzling cars we are more familiar with today, but their evolution was halted by the perception that electric cars were meant for women, and to be a man seen driving one was to be less than a man. How weird is that? Gender roles are so cemented in our psychology that people couldn't even be objective enough to realize how preposterous this is. It's hard not to wonder what the climate crisis might look like today if electric cars had been received by society in the same way as gas-fueled cars and had similar opportunities for advancement. Gender bias has for millennia stood in the way of innovation. When society deems one half of the population as inferior and therefore not worth listening to nor catering products and new concepts toward, it is only natural that a plethora of potentially world-changing ideas go untapped. As Marçal herself notes, innovation merely requires the right person to be in the right place at the right time. But how many times was the right person considered the wrong one simply because of their gender identity?

After spending the first half of the book recounting examples in history of times that an invention or significant innovation was overlooked because it was designed by or for women, Marçal switches gears and launches into a more academic consideration of women's role in the international economy. She notes how financial institutions worldwide were never constructed with women in mind, and therefore, women hold much less venture capital than men. It is far more difficult for a woman to own land, get a business loan, or have her contributions taken seriously, in part because of the fields and skills that women tend to dominate over men. Those skills, demeaningly referred to as "soft" skills, are going to become increasingly invaluable as jobs shift towards automation; AI and robotics are not yet at the point where their fine motor skills or soft skills are developed enough to overtake certain sectors such as childcare, hospitality, human resources, etc. That's not to say they might not get there eventually, but as of right now, futurists that highlight the doom and gloom of losing our jobs to automation are overlooking jobs that are primarily held by women. As with the first machine age, the second machine age will extinguish old industries, but it will also bring about new ones. Who will adapt?

I didn't necessarily need this book to know that the contributions women have made to society have always been overlooked, but it provided so much new context to bolster that argument. Katrine Marçal swiftly became a favorite feminist author, with her command of her theses and her ability to walk the line between entertaining and informative. I learned a ton reading this book and I had a lot of fun along the way, and even though the content and reality of it can be frustrating and disheartening, I somehow came away from this book with hope, because there are so many bright and amazing women in the world just like this author. I trust that we will be the ones to bring so many solutions to the table regarding climate crises, automation, and other looming threats to the advancement of society. I would love to take a class taught by this women or one in which this book and topics are discussed. Highly recommended to any feminists/egalitarians out there who have an interest in sociology, economics, or the future. Fans of Melinda Gates or Yuval Noah Harari's writing in particular should enjoy this one!

[David Wineberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I reviewed Katrine Marçal’s first book Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner, I was most pleased with her directness, her mastery of her theses and her comfort in landing punches. I very much looked forward to her next book. Four years later, I am not only not disappointed, but delighted to have her take me down another path to make basically the same points and more. She is adding great depth to feminist positions.

Mother of Invention bemoans the all but total lack of respect for women as valid contributors to the economy. Only 3% of venture capital funds go to women. Women are relegated to so-called women’s work, which is paid far cheaper than men’s work. Their inventive and innovative skills are dismissed out of hand. Far worse than merely insulting, it means that humanity misses out on all kinds of leaps forward because only half the populations gets to contribute to growth. The book begins with several intriguing stories to show just how much we might be missing.

Karl Benz’s wife Bertha took the first Benz car on the world’s first long distance trip in 1888. She didn’t tell her husband, but took the kids to visit their grandmother, 56 miles away. With no highways and a car capable of going 10 miles per hour, it took 15 hours to get there. There not being telephones in common use yet, she had no idea her mother was away herself, so they turned around and went home. But along the way, she had to deal with a clogged fuel line, which she cleared with her hatpin, running out of fuel, which she remedied by buying a jar of a chemical mix from a store, using a garter to insulate an ignition wire, and asking a shoemaker to make leather covers for the brakes, which had never experienced such work as going down hills. Not only could she drive, but she knew the car inside out.

Bertha Benz had invested her whole dowry in her husband’s wild automobile dream, and then persuaded her parents to advance her some of her inheritance. The .75 horsepower, three-wheeler worked, and Mercedes-Benz soon became the biggest automobile brand in the world, thanks in no small part to Bertha Benz.

Marçal also spends a lot of time on electric cars, which are now coming back into use. The first versions were relegated to women, because she says, they did not: make the exciting automobile noises, require the strength to crank them into running, or break down and need manly attention to get them going again. Electric cars came with plush seats and glass vases. And roofs, which gasoline and diesel cars only adapted later on. And it’s because of women that we have electric starters on gas cars, after a man tried to help a woman start her car, only to have the crank fly off and hit him in the face. He died of gangrene not long after.

Another story tells how women were finally able to fly alone thanks to the addition of wheels to luggage. The invention of the wheel itself apparently was no eureka moment, but a 5000 year tale of incremental steps –ending with wheels on luggage. The rollator, the wire basket on wheels used by the elderly and disabled to help carry stuff and also to rest on, was invented by a Swedish woman suffering from polio. She couldn’t make herself into the aggressive CEO her invention needed to succeed, and ended up selling it to a local manufacturer for a pittance.

There’s a wonderful story about an army of master seamstresses sewing together the 4000 pieces of early astronauts’ spacesuits, and all the trouble NASA had with them because they weren’t engineers or bureaucrats. They did not fill out the forms, report the progress or prove the spaceworthiness of their work. But there was no question they had the best design, the best materials and the best workmanship of all the firms wanting the contract. Their company was Playtex, which had women front and center from the beginning.

The biggest reason they had the jump on everyone else was latex. Decades earlier, latex began to appear in women’s corsets and bras, giving them flexibility they had never known before. This same flexibility was key to astronauts being able to bend and maneuver, and differentiated the company’s bid for spacesuits from all the others. The fact that a bra maker beat out all the macho engineering firms was not a proud moment, apparently, because women’s underwear was hardly manly space-age stuff.

Marçal puts it in her terms: “ILC (International Latex Corporation) understood that the bra was a piece of engineering, just as they understood that their latex patent could allow astronauts to move on other celestial bodies—in addition to streamlining a woman’s waist. They understood that sewing was a technology, and that soft things can perform hard functions.
“Above all, they managed to build an organization that reflected this.
“And that is why they could innovate. And that’s what took us to the moon.”

There’s also the story of Paulette Grégoire, who took Teflon and used it in a pan - in 1954. The company her husband built out of that concept was and is called Tefal.

The point is, given the chance, women have contributed mightily. Imagine if they were treated as equals.

From these stories, Marçal eases into inequality and all its ugly aspects. Her command of this feminist realm is total and comfortable. She can be sarcastic and damning, or firm-minded and evenhanded, as required. It is a pleasure to read her confident and self-assured take on everything: “In 2019, just over one percent of Swedish venture capital was invested into companies founded by women. The choice of the word ‘skewed’ here is in itself interesting: We’re talking about money in more than ninety-eight percent of cases going to men. But fine, let’s call it ‘skewed.’” And “The problem isn’t that the men have snatched all the high-paid jobs: The problem is that certain jobs are high paid because they are filled by men.”

She then presents her analysis of how women got to be paid so much less than men. Women’s work was considered having to do with the body, which required no salable skills, as everyone could and did do it. So cleaning, childcare, elder care, housework and salons were cheap women’s work. “The body reminds us of all those things we find uncomfortable: our vulnerability and our reliance on others. The very things that we have been taught to see as ‘female.’ After all, this is what the patriarchy has always been about—taking the parts of the human experience that scare us, labeling them as female, and marginalizing them,” she says. Art was produced by men; women made craftwork. Wizards were employed by kings. Witches were burned at the stake.

Men’s work required education, experience and skills that women’s work did not. Employers took terrific advantage of this attitude by breaking jobs down to tiny increments and underpaying women to perform them. This is the system the world still operates under today. “Human exploitation isn’t anything particularly new. It’s basically the oldest business model in the world,” she says.

Worse perhaps, is the whaling model she says rules capital. In the 1800s, when whale oil ran everything that was important to commerce, whaling expeditions were risky, dangerous and a terrible gamble. Innovative capitalists invented a new way to fund them. They packaged multiple whaling expeditions, figuring if just one out three made it back with a shipload of blubber, the profits would be more than enough to compensate for the total loss on the others (Marçal takes readers on a typical expedition to show how it all came together – and fell apart). This model has come down to us as venture capital, enabling billions to be made by a few hundred people in the world, who understand they will lose on most of their investments, but score so highly on one or two it doesn’t matter about the rest.

This kind of aggressive investment also requires the recipients to be world-beating, aggressive, single-minded and fearless themselves. No holds barred, go for the monopoly ahead of all else, and never be afraid of offending. To Marçal, this is all but a pure prescription for males, or what we have driven them to be, and the numbers have shown it all along. Only women who can prove more manly than men need apply.

I particularly liked her analysis of where “innovation” is taking us now. Marçal says we are not employing innovation to make things better for humans; we are forcing humans to adapt to innovation. She says 9-5 weekdays is not a natural or even beneficial state of affairs. Work should be adapted to the desires and requirements of humans. The book was written before the lockdowns eased, but we can see the same thoughts expressed by what amounts to a general strike by low-pay workers. They are refusing to go back to work under the pre-pandemic rates and conditions. US President Joe Biden has his own solution: “Pay them more,” but it clearly goes far deeper than that. Marçal’s take is more detailed: people want freedom from exploitation, like they see in the ultra-rich. They want respect for their lives. Keep your nights and weekends, one half of minimum wage waiter’s job. No thanks.

She sees the new economy dividing into new segments: the ultra-rich, the people who service them, and the rest. And it’s so-called women’s work that will succeed. It’s the life coaches, caregivers, social workers and yoga instructors who will continue to be gainfully employed in the post pandemic, AI era. The truck drivers, machinists, warehouse workers and delivery guys are the ones at risk.

How will men handle this reversal? She spends a great deal of time on Friedrich Engels and his discovery of exactly the same situation in mid 1800s, during the first industrial revolution. Brand new factory jobs went to lower-paid women, and skilled men fell into unemployment. From that, men learned to take over, become far more aggressive and ruthless in business, and push women back into running the home and family. It was good for 150 years, but now artificial intelligence, robotics and automation are again putting men out of work. Or, as Marçal puts it, “Serena Williams beats Gary Kasparov.”

The evidence she presents shows we have always favored new tech. It colors our language and approaches differently from era to era, whether it’s in religion or business or relationships. We now speak of our brains as computers, needing to reboot and so on. We used to speak in farming terms, then in factory terms, and for the moment, high tech.) And that’s wrong, she says. We need to build an economy based on what is real – women giving birth not just to future generations, but to all the new developments we achieve along the way.

“We aren’t used to appreciating how important feelings, relationships, empathy, and human contact are to the economy. Or how central these things are to humanity as a whole. We are used to thinking of them as some sort of cherry on top—the frills that everything else may eventually lead to, as opposed to perhaps the most fundamental social infrastructure of all. Which is precisely what it is. This is what the robots may come to show us, and with this the new technology actually has the potential to make us more human, not less. “

The book, as you can see, is both varied and focused, entertaining and profound. All kinds of great stories are available to make Marçal’s feminist points. She’s not angry or embittered; she seeks to make her stances irrefutable and her outlook positive. This is a different kind of feminist writing, one that earns the reader’s respect and then even gratitude. Because the way she puts things, it’s a terrible loss to all of humanity that women don’t count.

David Wineberg

[Lina Karlsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alla borde läsa denna bok. En briljant diskussion om hur föreställningar om kön är kopplat till innovation, utveckling och vår syn på framtiden. Varje kapitel ägnas åt en specifik tankevurpa och varje gång tänker jag först ”hur ska hon få ihop det här nu då” till att snart inse att det hon lyfter fram är så logiskt och självklart. Vet inte hur många gånger jag inom mig utbrustit ”ja men såklart det fungerar SÅ” om saker jag aldrig tidigare ägnat en tanke egentligen. Den här boken var ett uppvaknande och en tankeställare. Framförallt var den dock en inspiration. Tänk vad mycket jag haft om bakfoten hela livet!

[Tanja Berg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores how good ideas get ignored because anything feminine is intrinsically bad, and woman is considered "other". The standard against which everything must be measured is a man (though forbid the thought that a woman would act as a man, that is unseemly). That is why putting wheels on suitcases took thousands of years after the wheel was invented. Carrying was a man's job.

When I moved to Germany in 2001, that was with a suitcase without wheels. That same fall, I had been traveling too soon after an emergency operation that saved my 23-year old self, and I remember that even carrying my little carry-on bag was heavy. From 2002, it was wheels and I have not for a single second missed my wheel-less suitcases. But I had to carry my luggage, with a fresh 15 cm scar on my stomach, because wheels on a suitcase was unmanly and the invention came super late and distributed whole-sale to all suitcases only at the end of the 1990's.

Women were the original computers. In low-paid jobs, they made calculations. The original programmer was a woman. It was only in the 1980's that programming went from a low-paid female type of job to the nerdy-man, high paid profession it remains today. A secretary was in the beginning a well-paid job for a man, and then that shape-shifted into a lowly female kind of job. I am wondering what the status of doctors, lawyers and psychologist will become, now that the these study-lines are long since female-dominated (at least here in the Nordic countries).

The original entrepreneur, according to common lore, was a man. It was the spear, the ax and other tools for destruction that we consider huge improvements to the human state. Cooking, pottery, bags to carry children and other wares in - not so much, although that would have made a vast improvement and were more likely invented by women.

We need the entire spectrum of ideas, and that not half the population is being consistently undermined. That which is considered feminine is not inherently bad, or simple. What is now considered low-paid female job, such as cleaners and care-workers - these are likely the last jobs that will be replaced by robots. The inherent complexity, along with human interaction, of these tasks cannot be so easily replaced. Financial analysts though, will likely be outpaced by algorithms before this decade is out. Just as Kasparov lost in chess to a computer. It it's logical and the rules are consistent, the machines wins. Our world is for most part, much more intricate than this.

[Francesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book off the back of Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men so I was expecting the same cold hard facts, statistics and eye-opening data about the world.

Instead I got a collection of rumours, speculation and cute bedtime stories about that time granny said she invented 'x' but Big Finance credited a man instead.

I found the stories Marçal had selected really interesting for the most part. But she waffles on about the "maybe" role of a woman in men's stories, she talks about the Kardashians - and I still have no idea what she was saying about them, she compares a computer physically playing tennis to a computer coded to play chess, she randomly mentions Steve Jobs marketing the computer mouse. I don't know. This book was all over the place.

I wanted to come out of this armed with new knowledge with which to take down the patriarchy, but instead I got an angry(?) woman ranting about men sometimes and then going off on a tangent about Covid????

I was desparate to get to the end before I was even halfway through. Really disappointed and also I dislike this kind of biased feminism because it makes us all look bad. Nothing in this book is statistically relevant or actionable, it's just isolated occurances where maybe a woman played a role in something a man did/does.

Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men is a far better book to arm yourself with.

[Sabine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det här var intressant läsning! Boken handlar om hur stereotypa könsroller lett till att den teknik som drivit vår historia i stor utsträckning skapats både av och för män. Jag köper resonemanget helt och hållet även om de exempel som används kanske inte alltid är de bästa. Mycket av läsningen är dyster ur ett feministiskt perspektiv, men jag fnissade gott åt avsnittet om hur dagens robotteknik och AI utvecklas av män för att lösa "manliga" problem (lyfta tungt, beräkna planeters omloppsbanor...) vilket gör att personer som arbetar i kvinnligt kodade yrkeskategorier i framtiden löper mindre risk att förlora jobbet till förmån för en robot.

[Ewa (humanizmowo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Świetna książka, zaskakująca z imponującą ilością ciekawostek i faktów.

[Vilda Rosenblad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Det var längesedan jag fick ett sånt feministiskt uppvaknande, och jag har saknat det!

En gång i tiden var jag inte bara feminist utan en aktiv sådan, med akademisk utbildning: dubbel magisterexamen i stats- och genusvetenskap. Men sedan kastade jag mig framstupa in i livet: i äktenskap, moderskap, företagande och skrivande, och även om mina grundvärderingar förblivit desamma har glöden slocknat. Det enda som finns kvar av min aktivism är att debattera incels på reddit.

Katrine Marçal lyckades blåsa liv i glöden igen. "Att uppfinna världen" tar sin utgångspunkt i hur vår syn på kön styrt den tekniska utvecklingen, först med exemplet väskor på hjul, sedan bilen. En tredjedel av de allra första bilarna var eldrivna. Den existerade bredvid och parallellt med den bensindrivna bilen. Den var enklare att köra, mer bekväm, mer "kvinnlig". Bensinbilen, däremot, var manlig och farlig och äventyrlig och det var mannen som stod för inköp av familjebil. När man lyckades implementera delar av elbilen i bensinbilen och göra den säkrare att manövrera hade elbilen inte någon chans.

Marçal navigerar skickligt i vår historiska och nuvarande syn på genus och teknik och diskuterar alltifrån vad som anses vara teknik, vad en uppfinning faktiskt är, till AI och klimatförändringarna. Är fermentering av mat teknik? Är en vävd duk konst eller hantverk? Varför säger vi järn- och bronsådern och inte linne- och keramikåldern? Vad gör ett yrke manligt? Vad gör vår syn på kön med vår ekonomiska utveckling?

Marçal tar sig an stora frågor såväl som små och väver skickligt ihop till en teori om världen.

"Kanske kommer de ekonomiska problemen i framtiden inte handla om att flickor inte uppmuntrats till att koda, utan att pojkar inte uppmuntrats till att vårda?"

[Karolina Konduracka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dobra książka, ale jakoś oczekiwałam więcej treści o powiązaniach między wynalazkami, a uprzedzeniami.

[Marta Demianiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Z początku zabawna i uszczypliwa, z czasem zrobiła się bardzo gorzka i rozstrajająca czytelnika (mnie) przedstawianym obrazem. Pewnie gdybym wiedziała, w jakim kierunku autorka zmierza, nie sięgnęłabym po tę książkę dla swojego dobra psychicznego. Ale pomijając to - to naprawdę dobra książka.

[anna carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

köp den, läs den själv och ge den därefter till en man i din omgivning (eller valfri annan person som behöver en kalldusch i patriarkatsanalys och en påminnelse om hur världsekonomin och framtiden är en konsekvens av vårt sätt att strukturera dem)!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detta är en väldigt intressant bok som alla bör läsa. Jag har svårt att läsa dessa böcker och leva i världen vi har utan att bli irriterad och tom arg ibland. Visa delar i boken är bättre än andra, vissa saker är otroligt intressanta och andra inte alls. Men att vi lever i en värld anpassad för män kan vi nog alla hålla med om. Och att om alla människor fick samma möjligheter skulle saker som klimatkrisen, fattigdom och krig vara ett minne blott.

[Ebba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Om hur samhällets syn på kön, genus och könsroller påverkar (sätter käppar i hjulen för) innovation, marknadsekonomin, klimatet. Vissa kapitel riktigt riktigt bra och var som en frisk fläkt, andra kapitel lite mer svårsmält och nytt för mig, men ändå tankeväckande. Läsvärd!

[Kätlin Kaldmaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vajalik raamat sellest, kuidas naisi ja nende häid ideid on läbi ajaloo eiratud või ekspluateeritud. Näiteks et kohvri alla rattad pani esimesena yks inglise proua, aga et seda reklaamiti kui naistele mõeldud uuendust, ei läinud see liikvele, enne kui 1972. aastal yks mees selle heaks mõtteks tunnistas.
Või kuidas rulaatori leiutanud naine sai selle eest umbes 400 seki ja paketireisi Hispaaniasse ja raha kyhveldavad ikka kokku mingid mehed. Või et kuidas on omavahel seotud valaskalad, riskikapital ja naised. Seda viimast ma nt ei teadnud.


Natuke liiga pikalt jutustatud, a see on vbla lihtsalt sellest, et ma pikki jutustusi ei kannata. Igatahes hariv lugemine kyll.

[Prince Mendax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kul att läsa något av Katrine Kielos! Också nyttigt att elda lite under sin feministiska vrede med jämna mellanrum 🔥

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marçal's basic idea here, is that when you're not including different perspectives (the book's focus being on those of biological sex), you're going to miss out on some basic stuff. If you look at things from only one perspective, you're going to suffer some shortcomings. And, innovation benefits when everyone gets to partake in the innovative process.

It's a very good point, and it makes sense right!? So much so that I feel like a "duh" is called for. Which is probably why I'm not seeing the book as the epiphany some people clearly view it as. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, I just don't feel like I learned much - more than a few anecdotes I had never heard before (and some are seriously cool and bad-ass!). That said, for someone who hasn't yet looked at history or innovation with critical eyes or different-colored glasses before, this would be a good gateway into a whole new world.

Still, it seems to me like it's mostly a feel-good read for feminists. Which is fine, but I think the message could have been better expressed without the condescending tone (oh the irony...) - even if some of the snappiness is quite enjoyable. I also got a buzzfeed vibe, at times, where the ideology was more important than the science; Marçal oversimplifies to make a point and she's not always all that concerned with basing things on more than a hunch or someone's anecdotal interpretation.

These strategies can be executed both artfully and effectively when balanced with a wink and acknowledgment (explicit or not) of what one is doing, but I'm not sure she even tries to. If she does, it went unnoticed and fell flat.

Marçal does have a way with words though, and "Mother of Invention" is well-written - with the caveat that she does better in shorter form (i.e. her newspaper articles are better). Structurally, the book is great. Simple, clearly delineated and easy to follow points with a single theme woven (sometimes hammered) into the narrative. My one real complaint here was the source referencing. If you're going to reference a bunch of material and don't like footnotes, what's wrong with proper endnotes!? That way the reader can find the references a little easier, and the book gains some academic points.

As for whether or not I'd recommend the book? I'm not regretting having read it, so yeah, but in the sense that I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it if they asked. A few chapters I would recommend more enthusiastically too.

What it comes down to for me, what makes this a two-star and not a three-star book, is that Marçal commits the same faux-pas she - rightfully - criticizes the male-dominated field of innovation for committing. She has her one perspective, and doesn't bother looking for what else she might have missed (or she simply ignores it because it doesn't fit said perspective, it's not entirely clear).

[Erica Persson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Om varför vi i patriarkatet alldeles för länge bar våra resväskor pga maskulinitetskomplex, dvs hjul = svaghet = kvinnlighet = hell no. Och annat på temat kön, teknik och ekonomi. Very much enjoyed

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Åh wow! Lika intressant som den var frustrerande. Mycket som jag känner igen men som jag aldrig riktigt har reflekterat över tidigare. Hur något som är ”kvinnligt” har blivit förtryckt och raderat genom historien. Delen om framtiden och hur AI kommer påverka yrken var både lite tråkigt och ointressant eftersom vi lever i det nu. Jag önskar att jag hade läst denna bok för 4-5 år sedan, åh så bra!

Några delar jag tyckte om:

”När en man producerar ett abstrakt konstverk med oljefärg på duk kallas det för konst. När en kvinna producerar ett likadant konstverk i textil kallas det för hantverk” (Inte för att det textil har ansetts som mindre värt genom historien, tvärtom var det väldigt lyxigt att använda. Men på grund av att kvinnor inte hade tillgång till utbildningsmaterial och inte skulle ägna sig åt oljefärg fick de ta användning av ”traditionell kunskap” och textil blev mindre värt när kvinnor började använda det)

”Problemet är att en bransch oftast tappar status när fler kvinnor kommer in i den. Problemet är inte att männen har roffat åt sig de högbetalda jobben, problemet är att vissa jobb är högbetalda just för att männen sitter på dem.”

”Ekonomen Emily Oster har kopplat ihop den stora europeiska häxjakten just till klimatförändringarna. Uppemot en miljon människor, främst kvinnor, anklagades för häxkonst och avrättades i Europa. Främst var det änkor och fattiga kvinnor eftersom de inte hade en man som kunde försörja dem fick de tigga på gatorna. Där fick de nej och kom det sedan ett oväder (som förstörde skörden) anklagades dem för häxkonst och mördades”

”När män stickade strumpor var det ett välrespekterat tekniskt jobb, när kvinnor gjorde det var det handarbete. När kvinnor kärnade smör var det en simpel pigsyssla, när män gjorde det var det en teknisk verksamhet. När kvinnor programmerade datorer var det något som vemsomhelst ansågs klara av, när män gjorde det krävdes det plötsligt en alldeles specifik form av nördhjärna som i sin stora genialitet inte klarade av att varken duscha sin tillhörande kropp eller bete sig som folk i sociala sammanhang.”

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gimana kalau sebenarnya adalah "herstory" dan bukan "history"?

Perjumpaanku dengan Katrine Marcal bermula dari Siapa yang Memasak Makan Malam Adam Smith?--tulisannya yang menjabarkan mengapa perputaran ekonomi hanya & kerap berpihak pada laki-laki. Dalam Mother of Invention, Marcal merambah lebih luas lagi. Membahas perihal penemuan yang katanya "menggelegar" alias inovasi padahal sudah pernah "ditemukan" sebelumnya oleh perempuan. Lagi-lagi, Marcal menggugat, mengapa laki-laki yang terus-terusan mendapat pengakuan.

Dari permasalahan teknologi, feminitas, ketubuhan, & masa depan, semua dibahas oleh Marcal. Seakan ingin menunjukkan bahwa semua saling berkaitan, namun sayangnya, meminggirkan gender tertentu.

Bagi Marcal, kalau bukan karena perempuan, tidaklah ada koper beroda, troli belanja, walker (alat bantu berjalan), mobil yang desainnya mulai universal, dsb. Alih-alih membuat peralatan yang bisa digunakan banyak orang, rupanya manusia masih bertolak pada arketipe laki-laki semata (dalam hal ini, cishet).

Mother of Invention memberikanku pemahaman baru. Melengkapi wawasan yang kudapat dari Invisible Women (Caroline Criado-Perez), Cost of Sexism (Linda Scott), dan Feminist City (Leslie Kern). Malah, bab terakhir buku ini membuatku semakin paham mengapa mbak Saras Dewi mengangkat ekofeminisme sebagai topik karya ilmiahnya.

Membaca Katrine Marcal artinya siap-siap dengan energi "marah-marah"-nya. Such a vibe she brings into this book! 🤣 Tapi aku suka semangat itu. Semangat untuk terus berupaya menyadarkan bahwa lensa patriarki hanya akan berujung menyakiti.

Aku nggak menyesal ngebet beli karena terpikat dengan desain sampul edisi mass market paperback-nya. Ternyata aku suka buku ini ✨

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have admired the author's work as a journalist and had high hopes for this book. It reminds me of Bill Bryson's A Brief History of Almost Everything but without the sense of humour and instead muddled with some feminism and quasi science.
The last chapters ranting about witches, wizards and prophets were almost impossible to read. I exclude them from the rating, otherwise the two stars above would be gone.

[lesneczytanko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mocne 3,5
Bardzo dobra lektura. Bardziej podobał mi się początek, bo historie były konkretne i z nutką ironii. Potem autorka poszła w stronę refleksji na temat przyszłości, co interesowało mnie mniej. Stawiam (według niektórych) dosyć przeciętną ocenę, ale naprawdę warto zwrócić na tę książkę uwagę.

[Isha Garg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. Feels a little all over the place.

[Mihkel Kunnus · Rating 2 out of 5]

See on üks kummastav raamat.

Teadagi, kui ainus tööriist on haamer, siis hakkavad kõik probleemid naeltena näima. Igatahes Katerine M. esindab vaadet, mille järgi on kõik probleemid suhteprobleemid. Seega on seda ka tehnoloogilised raskused. Näiteks leiab ta, et elektriauto jäi sisepõlemismootoriga autole alla, sest elektriautot peeti naiselikuks (no vist olid ka mingid probleemid akudega, aga, noh, soosuhete kõrval on energiatihedus jms tühitähi, mis ei vääri tähelepanu).
Üldiselt: ta leiab, et tehnoloogiline progress areneks hoobilt lõppu, kui mehed naisi kuulaks. "Milline võiks olla maailm, kui me kuulaksime rohkem naisi?" on ka tagakaanel meelituslauseks.
Kõige kummastavam ongi selle autori juures, et ta peab end eriti progressiivseks feministiks, aga de facto jutlustab õige vana stereotüüpidele tuginevat lugu: harmooniline ühiskond on see, kus mehed ehk tehnikasuutelise tõu esindajad nokerdavad tehnika kallal, aga juhised nokerdamiseks annavad naised. Mees on pea ja naine kael. Olemuste komplementaarsus 'nd shit.

Suurimaks miinuseks on see, et autor ei jaga tehnoloogiast ööd ega mütsi, ammugi füüsika fundamentaalprintsiipidest, termodünaamikast vms, aga arvab, et kõik hädad siin maailmas tulenevad soosuhetest (täpsemalt siis sellest, et mees, va mühakas, ei aima piisavalt operatiivselt naise soove). Arhetüüpne Naine, pole midagi kosta.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and Goodreads for providing me with a copy of this book.

3 out of 5 Stars

This is a book with a lot of history I would imagine many people have not been aware of. For example, electric cars date back to early automotive history but had been branded as "feminine" so they did not take off like gasoline powered vehicles did.

The first part of the book really gets into the idea of how different materials became associated with "male" or "female," gender stereotypes shaping what gets invented (or not), and how women's inventions may not receive proper credit or recognition. I thought this was where the book was strongest.

As the book went on, though, the writing felt far less organized to me. The last chapter in particular felt more like a rambling opinion piece on the part of the author on climate change.

[Lisa]

What a great premise for a book! What a lot of interesting anecdotes! And random European history! And profound insights that are discussed for a sentence or paragraph and not fully explored!

I wanted to like this book, and I think I would have liked a different version - one that was more focused, or a little more dry (on the flip side, I found this book extremely readable). It was engaging to the point of distraction for me. As always, I got infinitely more out of it from excellent book club discussion, and I think I will pick up Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner? A Story About Women and Economics.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study on how inventions that benefited women were not picked up, until they become something that capitalism to make a profit from. The example on the cover, that of suitcases with wheels, was largely ignored as a product, even though many women had jerryrigged their suitcases, so they could roll.

The same thing with the walker, for the elderly, that came with a seat. It was invented by a woman who needed that feature in order to be able to get around. But this too was largely ignored, until there were people who needed it more.

Frustrating reading of all the inventions that got stolen from female inventors, or were made later, once the men could find a way to make a huge profit from them.





Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag hade höga förväntningar på boken för att den lät så intressant och kul från baksidetexten. Men den levde inte upp till mina förhoppningar. Tycker att boken var upprepande och spretig. Tycker att flera perspektiv inte uppmärksammas alls, vilket gör att jag har svårt för många av de teser författaren driver. Många teser känns framtvingade. Jag hade också lite svårt att greppa bokens ton. Ibland kändes det som att läsa fakta, ibland kändes det mer som kåseri. Boken hade en del roliga bitar och en del smarta avsnitt med intressanta funderingar. Men den var inte så bra som jag hade hoppats.

[➸ Gwen de Sade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about inventions that would have been (or are) actually good for our society and why they have received little limelight because they have been dismissed as "feminine".

It's very thought-provoking, because we as a society need to get rid of certain patterns - our fear of novelty - in order to give technological progress the space and the chance it needs.

A book that makes you angry, not easy to digest, but very important and unique. I can recommend it to everyone.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katrine Marçal skriver om uppfinningar genom tiderna, varför det tagit tid för vissa saker – till exempel elbilen och hjul under resväskor – att slå igenom och hur det hör ihop med vår syn på kön. Intressant och medryckande läsning som fick mig att se med nya ögon på ganska många saker.
Jag gillar Marçals sätt att skriva, hur hon tar upp flera olika trådar som hon sedan väver ihop, oftast elegant men ibland med lite klumpiga upprepningar.

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

En feministisk syn på historiska och framtida uppfinningar. Skäms lite över min ignorans och det faktum att jag blir så förfärad och förvånad. Jag känner hursom att jag har lärt mig mycket.

Var skeptisk till att det saknades källor men där fick jag svar på tal på de sista 20+ sidorna.