Men to Avoid in Art and Life

By Nicole Tersigni and Jen Kirkman

Men to Avoid in Art and Life pairs classical fine art with modern captions that epitomize the spirit of mansplaining.

This hilarious book perfectly captures those relatable moments when a man explains to a woman a subject about which he knows considerably less than she does.

Situations include men sharing keen insight on the female anatomy, an eloquent defense of catcalling, or offering sage advice about horseback riding to the woman who owns the horse.

• These less qualified men of antiquity dish out mediocrity as if it's pure genius
• For the women who have endured overbearing men over the centuries
• Written with hilariously painful accuracy

"Now, when you're riding a horse, you need to make sure to keep a good grip on the reins." "These are my horses."

Through cringe-induced empathy, this timeless gift book of shared experiences unites women across history in one of the most powerful forms of resistance: laughter.

• Started as a Twitter thread and quickly gained widespread popularity.
• Makes a perfect book for women and feminists with a wry sense of humor, millennials, anyone who loves memes and Internet humor, as well as history and art buffs.
• You'll love this book if you love books like Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, Milk and Vine: Inspirational Quotes from Classic Vines by Emily Beck, and Awards For Good Boys: Tales Of Dating, Double Standards, And Doom by Shelby Lorman.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Aug 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781797203287

Nicole Tersigni

Nicole Tersigni is a comedic writer experienced in improv comedy and women's advocacy. She lives in Metro Detroit with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.

Book preview

Reviews for Men to Avoid in Art and Life

[Ashley Marie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A quick and fun read that brilliantly communicates, via art, an excellent perspective on women’s experiences just living and existing under the unapologetic scrutiny of the male gaze. Recommend!

[melydia_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A collection of fine art with patriarchal captions. It's pretty funny, but the best part is now I will never not see the exasperated looks on those women's faces.

[Danny___Mac · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I'm at a loss as to how the people involved in making this book thought that it was of enough quality to deserve releasing to the public, ignorant of its clear misdirection or not. Very strange. I suppose radical feminist propaganda doesn't necessarily need to make sense. Read for a good chuckle.

[kresslya · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun little book. Fine art paintings that have been turned into meme's and captioned. This is an enjoyable book that puts words to the faces and the expressions from paintings. If you have ever imagined what what the subjects of a painting might be saying, this is the book for you.

[pomo58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni to be both spot on and also a bit disappointing. Sounds odd, I know, but such is life.I think one of the disconnects for me was the number of times when the comments simply didn't match the period of the painting. I don't expect something that might have actually been said in, say 1750, but some comments just seemed so out of context that the sarcasm, which needs to rely on some element of reality, is dulled. The same comments over more contemporary images, even ones from the early 1900s, would have hit home more readily. The comments themselves were absolutely accurate and are the things we used to discuss in Women's Studies classes I took and taught. These are not really exaggerated very much for comic effect. Men, we really do make these types of foolish comments based on amazingly selfish assumptions about how things work. Basically, I found the more effective ones, for me, were the ones where the comments could fit the situation portrayed. But what amounts to office-based misogyny presented in a clearly social setting just missed the mark for me. That said, on rereading and just looking at the comments and the facial expressions while bracketing the rest of the scene it was much better.I recommend this because I think my personal issues with it are more about what does and doesn't bother me with humor in general, while others will have different ideas about what works for them. Like I said, the comments and the situations, very broadly speaking, are far more accurate than I wish they were. This is definitely one where we are laughing at not with the men, justifiably so.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[davidwineberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nicole Tersigni has been attacking in all directions, for years. Men, life, her husband, her family, men, confinement, men … everything. Now she has collected her thoughts in a cartoonish little book called Men to Avoid in Art and Life. It’s a delightful small collection of scenes magnified out of classic European paintings, with Tersigni’s jaundiced captions over them.Maybe I shouldn’t say jaundiced. That would come from a neutral observer. What they are really are finely targeted and accurate attacks on men abusing women out of total ignorance. Very little exaggeration was necessary to make her captions funny; men already provide. Free.The book is divided into chapters of paintings, collecting men’s sins into neat buckets: The Mansplainer, The Concern Troll, The Comedian, The Sexpert, and The Patronizer.The scenes are centered around a woman in a painting, with a man hovering while overexplaining something at her. The really great thing about the paintings is that Tersigni has found women who are just done. Tired of hearing the prattle, fed up with playing the bimbo, or holding off from a slew of expletives for lack of an AR-15 or a Deathstar. They look on, often breaking the fourth wall, like Jack Benny dumbfounded by the noise passing for information.I leave you with a sampling:“We’ve been over this a million times. You can’t get pregnant if you’re on top. It’s called gravity.”“No one wants to see a woman with body hair. It’s unnatural.”“Let me tell you something about the female body…”“I know it’s hard for women to sit quietly. But close your eyes and listen. You might learn something.”“…and women don’t have to be funny, because men are already attracted to them. That’s why only ugly women can tell a joke worth a damn. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Bob.”David Wineberg