Book · 2019 · Sex discrimination against women
Invisible Women
Why people recommend it
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez is an eye-opening exploration of how modern infrastructure, urban planning, and medical research systematically neglect female physiology by treating the male body as the default standard. The book received prominent discussion across multiple episodes of the Modern Wisdom podcast. In January 2024, Mary Harrington appeared on the show for the episode Why You Shouldn’t Share Your Private Life Online, during which she explicitly recommended Criado Perez's work. Harrington utilized the book to illustrate how everyday tools, built environments, and physical surroundings are constructed around a male standard, leaving women disadvantaged in various public and private spaces. Furthermore, Helen Lewis appeared on Modern Wisdom in December 2022 for the episode Investigating The World Of Modern Gurus. During her conversation with the host, Lewis brought up Invisible Women to address the persistent exclusion of women from medical studies. She pointed out that scientific research frequently fails to include female subjects due to the perceived complications of hormonal cycles, reinforcing systemic biases in healthcare. Both guests praised the book for exposing the hidden data gaps that perpetuate inequality across society, urging listeners to recognize how deeply entrenched the male-default perspective is within modern institutions, medical science, and technological design.
Who recommended it
- Mary Harrington Recommended
- Helen Lewis Discussed
Mary Harrington — 1 mention
“this is what Caroline CR Perez talks about when she in the great another great book invisible women where she writes about how um how so much of the built-in environment and the physical environment and tools”
Helen Lewis — 1 mention
“my friend Karen and creative Paris wrote about in her book invisible women that one of the things these studies won't do often they will often exclude women from them if you're looking at any kind of medical study”