11 Books To Read For International Women’s Day
BEST ENTRY POINT
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given
Influencer and activist Florence Given has been making noise online for a while, using her platform to confront oppressive attitudes towards women and their bodies. Her first book is an accessible entry point to feminism today. From whether to date or dump them, to unpacking the male gaze, it will help you form your own ideas about the patriarchy and what it means to be a feminist.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST FOR HARD FACTS
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias In A World Designed For Men by Caroline Criado Perez
There are obvious ways that the world favours men – just take a look at our parliament – but what about the more surreptitious ways in which women are marginalised? From healthcare inequality to design faults (women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a car crash), the case studies, stories and research in this book expose the gender data gap and the invisibility of women in society.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST LIGHT-HEARTED READ
Scarlett Curtis is a journalist and activist who has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, Vogue and many more. Reading like a riotously funny chat with your best girlfriends, this collection she’s curated includes essays from some of the most accomplished women of our time –Emma Watson, Keira Knightley, Gemma Arterton, Jameela Jamil – and Bridget Jones (by Helen Fielding). The 52 contributions vary from hysterical to infuriating, but all are brilliant and enlightening. Plus, the book was published in partnership with Girl Up, a UN Women initiative that benefits from sales.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST FOR A POLITICAL POV
Fix The System, Not The Women by Laura Bates
You shouldn’t be walking home late at night. You shouldn’t be wearing a skirt that short. Laura Bates deploys stories with iron-clad evidence to expose systemic injustices across our key institutions – from media to police and the criminal justice system itself. This is a call to action that will definitely leave you feeling hacked off.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST FOR THE MEN IN YOUR LIFE
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
You may know Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for her bestsellers Americanah, The Thing Around Your Neck and Half of a Yellow Sun. Or perhaps you know her from her rousing TED Talk, ‘We Should All Be Feminists’. Her book-length essay of the same name explores what it means to be a modern feminist, underpinned by her own experiences. She believes it is up to all of us to craft a better future. Read this, then pass it on to the men in your life.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST CELEB PERSPECTIVE
My Body by Emily Ratajkowski
Emily Ratajkowski is a supermodel and feminist. In this profoundly personal collection of essays, she proves the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Exploring what it means to be a commodity and a woman, as well as our society's obsessive disdain of female sexuality, Emily dives into the dynamics of the media industry and looks at the grey area between consent and abuse. In doing so, she takes back control of the narrative surrounding her image in a way she hasn’t been able to before.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST FOR SELF-REFLECTION
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Using pinnacle cultural moments of the 21st century – references include Girls, The Help and Ying Yang Twins rap lyrics – Roxane Gay offers a wry and funny commentary on her own journey and what it means to be a modern woman. From how to be friends with women to Chris Brown and abortion, nothing is off limits.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST CLASSIC PERSPECTIVE
My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem
Even if you know nothing about feminism, you’ve probably heard of Gloria Steinem. Famous for her two-part series A Bunny’s Tale, chronicling the 11 days she spent undercover as a bunny in Hugh Hefner’s New York Playboy Club in 1963, Gloria has spent her life trying to break through the glass ceiling. If you want a play by play of second-wave feminism, through the lens of one its key figures, then My Life On The Road is essential reading.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST ON INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot by Mikki Kendall
In Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall breaks down intersectional feminism: for many women of colour, anyone from indigenous communities and trans people, feminism is not about ‘girl-bossing’ and body hair, it’s about access to education, freedom from violence, and health inequality. Through analysis of the political landscape and personal stories, she explains how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender, and how white feminists often fail to see this.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST HISTORY LESSON
In Defence Of Witches: Why Women Are Still On Trial by Mona Chollet
From Salem to Pendle Hill, you may be familiar with the witch trials that swept across Europe and colonial America in previous centuries. But, as Mona Chollet shows, women are still being held up in the court of public opinion for the same things: being independent, not wanting children, and embracing the natural ageing process. Here, she discusses what it would take to reclaim the word ‘witch’ and what it means for the ‘witches’ of today.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
BEST FOR DIVERSE OPINIONS
Brown Girls Like Me: The Essential Guidebook & Manifesto for South Asian Girls & Women by Jaspreet Kaur
In Brown Girls Like Me, Jaspreet interviews South Asian women from different backgrounds to create a realistic picture of what life is really like for brown women in the world. She handles weighty and complex issues with finesse, like how to manage being a brown feminist without rejecting your own culture, beauty standards within a patriarchal society, and why Asian girls – the second highest-performing group of students in the country – aren’t more prominently represented in corporate leadership roles. Expect a witty, nuanced and insightful reflection that will spark multiple conversations.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
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