Staff Picks
#BroaderBookshelf 2021: Read A Social Science Book (Feminism)
- Mona Verma
- Saturday, January 02, 2021
Collection
The Feminism Book
Published in 2019
Combines authoritative text with graphics and quotes from leading contributors in an introduction to more than eighty-five of the most important ideas, movements, and events that have defined feminism and feminist thought throughout history.
Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975
Published in 2006
Here We Are
Feminism for the Real World
Published in 2017
"A scrapbook-style teen guide to understanding what it really means to be a feminist packed with contributions from a diverse range of voices, including celebrities and public figures, and featuring more than forty-four pieces, including an eight-page insert of full-color illustrations"-- Provided by publisher.
Philosophy, Feminism, and Faith.
Published in 2003
How can the seemingly separate lives of philosopher, feminist, and follower of a religious tradition come together in one person's life? How does religious commitment affect philosophy or feminism? How does feminism play out in religious or philosophical commitment? Wrestling with answers to these questions, women who balance philosophy, feminism, and faith write about their lives. The voices gathered here from several different traditions-Catholic, Protestant, Quaker, Jewish, and Muslim-represent diverse ethnicities, races, and ages. The challenging and poignant reflections in Philosophy, Feminism, and Faith show how critical thought can successfully mesh with religious faith and social responsibility.
Words of Fire
An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought
Published in 1995
An anthology of African American Feminist thought.
We Should All Be Feminists
Published in 2015
In this essay -- adapted from her TEDx talk of the same name -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning author of Americanah, offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now -- and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.
White Feminism
From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind
Published in 2021
"A timely and impassioned exploration of how our society has commodified feminism and continues to systemically shut out women of color-perfect for fans of White Fragility and Good and Mad"-- Provided by publisher.
Enlightened Sexism
The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work is Done
Published in 2010
Women today are inundated with conflicting messages from the mass media: they must either be strong leaders in complete command or sex kittens obsessed with finding and pleasing a man. Here, cultural critic Susan J. Douglas takes readers on a spirited journey through the television programs, popular songs, movies, and news coverage of recent years, telling a story that is the cultural biography of a new generation of American women. Revisiting cultural touchstones from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Desperate Housewives, Douglas exposes these images of women as mere fantasies of female power, assuring women and girls that the battle for equality has been won, so there's nothing wrong with resurrecting sexist stereotypes--all in good fun, of course. She shows that these portrayals not only distract us from the real-world challenges facing women today but also drive a wedge between baby-boom women and their "millennial" daughters.--From publisher description.
Little Book of Feminism.
Published in 2015
From the corseted rabble-rousers of the suffragist movement to the sharp-fingered bloggers of today, this comprehensive little guide will teach you the history, theory and big issues and everything you need to know to become a card-carrying feminist.
Varieties of Feminism
German Gender Politics in Global Perspective
Published in 2012
Varieties of Feminism investigates the development of German feminism by contrasting it with women's movements that arise in countries, like the United States, committed to liberalism. With both conservative Christian and social democratic principles framing the feminist discourses and movement goals, which in turn shape public policy gains, Germany provides a tantalizing case study of gender politics done differently. The German feminist trajectory reflects new political opportunities created first by national reunification and later, by European Union integration, as well as by historically established assumptions about social justice, family values, and state responsibility for the common good. Tracing the opportunities, constraints, and conflicts generated by using class struggle as the framework for gender mobilization-juxtaposing this with the liberal tradition where gender and race are more typically framed as similar-Ferree reveals how German feminists developed strategies and movement priorities quite different from those in the United States.
Black Feminist Thought
Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment
Published in 2009
"In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, originally published in 1990, Patricia Hill Collins set out to explore the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals and writers, both within the academy and without. Here Collins provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent Black feminist thinkers as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Alice Walker, and Audre Lorde. Drawing from fiction, poetry, music and oral history, the result is a superbly crafted and revolutionary book that provided the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought and its canon."--Publisher's description.
Ain't I a Woman
Black Women and Feminism
Published in 2015
"A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must-read for all those interested in the nature of Black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on Black women during slavery, the devaluation of Back womanhood, Black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the Black woman's involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this book a critical place on every feminist scholar's bookshelf. "-- Provided by publisher.
Feminism is for Everybody
Passionate Politics
Published in 2018
In this engaging and provocative volume, Bell Hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed to equality, mutual respect, and justice. hooks applies her critical analysis to the most contentious and challenging issues facing feminists today, including reproductive rights, violence, race, class, and work. With her customary insight and unsparing honesty, Hooks calls for a feminism free from divisive barriers but rich with rigorous debate. In language both eye-opening and optimistic, Hooks encourages us to demand alternatives to patriarchal, racist, and homophobic culture, and to imagine a different future. hooks speaks to all those in search of true liberation, asking readers to take look at feminism in a new light, to see that it touches all lives. Issuing an invitation to participate fully in feminist movement and to benefit fully from it, hooks shows that feminism-far from being an outdated concept or one limited to an intellectual elite-is indeed for everybody.
The Feminists. How To Destroy a Country From Within
Published in 2012
"THE FEMINISTS" is the most explosive expose of the 21st century. It's all here! Over one hundred years of lies, deceit, murder, evil beyond measure, complicit politicians, sex, genocide and the complete corruption of American youth! The book will crush the feminist abortion rights organization and cast it into the dustbin of worthless, evil, historically malevolent causes! Learn about the lies blaming your Grandmothers for being cowards after World War II. It's the true story of how three feminists convinced American women to abort one million babies a year. It's about the historical brainwashing of million of Americans, Europeans and African Americans by liberals, socialists and Communists. If you fear the truth don't read this book!
Hood Feminism
Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot
Published in 2020
"A collection of essays taking aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women"-- Provided by publisher.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism
Published in 2006
We've been duped. We were raised to think we could have it all. In college we were told that men weren't necessary. Pop culture told us that career, not family, came first. The idea of being a stay-at-home mom was for losers. And yet are we happier? For many women, the answer is no. Carrie Lukas, a young career woman and new mother, sets the record straight, correcting the lies women have been told and slamming the door on those who have done so much to wreck women's lives.
The Anatomy of Freedom
Feminism in Four Dimensions.
Published in 2014
The classic of feminist vision by one of its greatest writers, with a new preface by the author With the advent of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, physics and our world changed forever. In The Anatomy of Freedom, Robin Morgan shows us how the empowerment of women-half of humanity-will have the same transformative power for society that e=mc2 had for the physical world. This is not simply another feminist treatise. Morgan looks beyond the women's movement as a crucial struggle for equal rights; she sees this process as the fundamental motor for freeing both women and men, and as a necessity for the survival of sentient life and of the planet itself. She explains and demystifies theoretical physics in accessible terms and, astonishingly, uses it as a prism through which to view the equation of relationships and gender, while going deep into the subconscious and plumbing the roots of passion. At the same time, she makes vital connections between these internal realities and global issues of the environment, economics, and family. There has perhaps never been a book more daring. The Anatomy of Freedom shows a master at her peak.
Men Explain Things to Me
Published in 2014
"Despite years of feminism and such activist groups as Women Strike for Peace, much of the female population in the world is often powerless, forced to remain voiceless and subjugated to acts of extreme violence in the home, on school campuses and anywhere men deem they should dominate. "Rape and other acts of violence, up to and including murder, as well as threats of violence, constitute the barrage some men lay down as they attempt to control some women," she writes, "and fear of that violence limits most women in ways they've gotten so used to they hardly notice--and we hardly address." The few women who do stand up and shout to the world are the exception, not the rule, and Solnit provides a platform and a voice for them and the thousands who are too overwhelmed by fear and guilt to speak up. Solnit's thought-provoking essays illuminate the discrepancies in modern society, a society in which female students are told to stay indoors after dark due to the fact that one man is a rapist, as opposed to an alternate world in which male students are told not to attack females in the first place. Same-sex marriage, Virginia Woolf, the patrilineal offspring of the Bible and los desaparecidos of Argentina are artfully woven into the author's underlying message that women have come a long way on the road to equality but have further to go. Sharp narratives that illuminate and challenge the status quo of women's roles in the world. Slim in scope, but yet another good book by Solnit." -- Kirkus reviews
Wonder Women
Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection
Published in 2013
One of the first women professors at Harvard Business School and the president of Barnard College examines how women's lives have--and have not--changed over the past forty years.
I Am Not a Slut
Slut-shaming in the Age of the Internet
Published in 2015
The author of the groundbreaking work Slut! explores the phenomenon of slut-shaming in the age of sexting, tweeting, and "liking." She shows that the sexual double standard is more dangerous than ever before and offers wisdom and strategies for alleviating its destructive effects on young women's lives. Young women are encouraged to express themselves sexually. Yet when they do, they are derided as "sluts." Caught in a double bind of mixed sexual messages, young women are confused. To fulfill the contradictory roles of being sexy but not slutty, they create an "experienced" identity on social media-even if they are not sexually active - while ironically referring to themselves and their friends as "sluts." But this strategy can become a weapon used against young women in the hands of peers who circulate rumors and innuendo - elevating age-old slut-shaming to deadly levels, with suicide among bullied teenage girls becoming increasingly common. Now, Leora Tanenbaum revisits her influential work on sexual stereotyping to offer fresh insight into the digital and face-to-face worlds contemporary young women inhabit. She shares her new research, involving interviews with a wide range of teenage girls and young women from a variety of backgrounds as well as parents, educators, and academics. Tanenbaum analyzes the coping mechanisms young women currently use and points them in a new direction to eradicate slut-shaming for good.
Good and Mad
The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger
Published in 2018
"From Rebecca Traister, the New York Times bestselling author of All the Single Ladies--whom Anne Lamott called "the most brilliant voice on feminism in this country"--comes a vital, incisive exploration into the transformative power of female anger and its ability to transcend into a political movement. In the year 2018, it seems as if women's anger has suddenly erupted into the public conversation. But long before Pantsuit Nation, before the Women's March, and before the #MeToo movement, women's anger was not only politically catalytic--but politically problematic. The story of female fury and its cultural significance demonstrates the long history of bitter resentment that has enshrouded women's slow rise to political power in America, as well as the ways that anger is received when it comes from women as opposed to when it comes from men. With eloquence and fervor, Rebecca tracks the history of female anger as political fuel--from suffragettes chaining themselves to the White House to office workers vacating their buildings after Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Here Traister explores women's anger at both men and other women; anger between ideological allies and foes; the varied ways anger is perceived based on its owner; as well as the history of caricaturing and delegitimizing female anger; and the way women's collective fury has become transformative political fuel--as is most certainly occurring today. She deconstructs society's (and the media's) condemnation of female emotion (notably, rage) and the impact of their resulting repercussions. Highlighting a double standard perpetuated against women by all sexes, and its disastrous, stultifying effect, Traister's latest is timely and crucial. It offers a glimpse into the galvanizing force of women's collective anger, which, when harnessed, can change history"-- Provided by publisher.