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As I've said before, I find the name of this book problematic, even if I know it's tongue-in-cheek. I've been browsing the editions and I've noticed that it has different names in some other languages:

DE: How to be a woman: Wie ich lernte, eine Frau zu sein (How I learned to be a woman (not sure if the first part was added automatically)) - a very accurate title

DK/SV/FI: Kunsten at være en kvinde/Konsten att vara kvinna/Naisena olemisen taito (The art of being a woman) - still tries to be more universal, but art already implies there are more ways to be a woman or feminist

IT: Ci vogliono le palle per essere una donna (You need balls to be a woman) - cissexist and potentially transphobic, but deconstructs some patriarchal ideas

FR: Comment peut-on (encore) être une femme? (seems to mean "how can we (still) be women?", "how can one remain a woman?", further clarifications welcome) - seems better than the original title

RU: Быть женщиной. Откровения отъявленной феминистки (Being a woman. The insight of a notorious feminist) - I didn't look up the title in my native language until now and wow it's good! Even if she's notorious in a different way than intended.

Which of these do you like? Any other titles? And are you okay with the English title given that it's a joke?

How I learned to be a woman it's a very accurate title, actually!

I'm gonna another in spanish (ES) is Cómo ser mujer (literally How to be a woman, no changes there).

Being a Woman and How I Learned to be a Woman seem especially good to me.

I think How I Learned To Be a Women would be the most accurate title given the content.

The Art of Being a Woman seems to lose some of the joke for me... Maybe because "art" feels more serious than the suggestion of "how-to"?

The French title feels similarly serious.

I don't really have a problem with the title. I think if someone were to randomly pick up the book and start reading, they may expect something different (and apparently that was the case with the way the book was originally marketed?). But reading a blurb will quickly alert a potential reader to the fact that it is a memoir, not a self-help book or universal commentary. Plus, I think the joke of the title becomes obvious within a few pages given the overall tone of the writing.

hehe i guess with "art" it depends on your experience... makes me think of books like "the art of learning languages", of communication etc.

a bit offtopic but I generally avoid blurbs because they often contain early spoilers, and even in a non-fiction book they may contain some of the coolest facts or quotes in the book.

I totally wote for the german title!

Being danish though, I actually do think the danish title convejs some mockery. It could easily be seen as playing upon stereotypical headlines in womens magazines or self-help literature. So cultural context is really interesting in this discussion!

I like the german title because with this one we know what the book is talking about : her teenage years and how she "managed" to be a woman.

For the French version (my language) I think that the right translation is "how can we (still) be women?". I don't like this title because when I talked about this book, people seem not to hear "(still)/(encore)". So people react very negatively, they think that Caitlin Moran wants to teach how to be a woman.

I like the German one. But on the other hand I really hate the Italian (my language) translation. "You need balls to be a woman" it's completely misleading the original title which , by the way, has a literal translation that makes perfectly sense in Italian (come essere una donna). Moreover we use this expression "this woman has balls" in order to describe a very powerful and strong woman which I think is a super sexist thing. That's why I think is not the more appropriate title.

Martina wrote: "I like the German one. But on the other hand I really hate the Italian (my language) translation. "You need balls to be a woman" it's completely misleading the original title which , by the way, ha..."

Totally agree with you

"DE: How to be a woman: Wie ich lernte, eine Frau zu sein (How I learned to be a woman (not sure if the first part was added automatically)) - a very accurate title"

I agree!

The German one in my opinion is definitely the most true to the content of the book. The English 'How To Be A Woman' sounds quite harsh and presumptuous, a bit like all women are the same (obviously not the case!). The book is written in the style of an autobiography, and she is just sharing her experiences rather than giving a set of rules for us to follow. I think that we, as readers, should feel free to learn from her experiences as we please.

I hae great respect for Moran and I have learnt a lot fr her over the years. She has played quite a bg part in my journey as a feminist.

When I brought this book home from the library, my 8 year old read the title and said, "Mom. There is no RIGHT way to be a woman!" I smiled and told her I assumed that was kind of the point of the book (I hadn't read it or looked at any of the discussions at that point). :)

kudos to your daughter! <3

Wow, Erika, your daughter looks like a cool little girl. :)

erika wrote: "When I brought this book home from the library, my 8 year old read the title and said, "Mom. There is no RIGHT way to be a woman!" I smiled and told her I assumed that was kind of the point of the ..."

Smart daughter :D

I'm from Norway and, like the Danish/Swedish/Finish the translation is "Kunsten å være kvinne" - The art of being a woman.

It does imply that this is a book that is going to teach you something. At the same time you can tell from the cover and the text on the back that this is a different kind of book.

Marina wrote: "As I've said before, I find the name of this book problematic, even if I know it's tongue-in-cheek. I've been browsing the editions and I've noticed that it has different names in some other langua..."

Thanks for sharing these translations, Marina! After reading the book, I believe "How I Learned to be a Woman" is the most accurate choice. Though the English title is tongue-in-cheek, I really like that the German title explicitly indicates it's a memoir.

The Italian title does use a sexist expression, but imo it makes fun of it. Though it would be a better title for a book for men about women and feminism, and there's still the issue of cissexism :/