Park’s a fun writer but she’s also so not a feminist in many ways, and that made it hard. her pretty tepid section on shaving pubic hair, a monstrous sexist practice that I think ought to be universally condemned, left a bad taste in my mouth. similarly, her claim that it’s not clear why novel STDs tend to be introduced from Asia to the U.S. through Hawaii (hint: U.S. military presence = sexual assault and exploitation of locals) is breath-takingly dumb.

she manages to pull it together to write about douching, and makes a pretty eloquent point about how sexism coopts the language of empowerment to enforce a “deficit mentality” concerning women’s bodies. generally her writing style is entertaining and smart. the sections addressing sexual networks are especially cool, for example her explanation for how mass incarceration disproportionately drives STIs in Black women was something I not only never considered but didn’t have the framework for before reading Strange Bedfellows. if you’re interested in pop-science/history and sexual health, this is a good read (as long as you don’t expect breathtaking levels of critical consciousness).