As far as feminist books go, I consider "Full Frontal Feminism" by Jessica Valenti to be the one that really cemented all this feminist thinking for me. I started reading a bunch of feminist blogs about 1.5 years ago, and shortly after I read her book (as the first of many many feminist books) and so it's very important to me.
If you want some heavy duty history books, there is a series of books by Marilyn French "From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in Three Volumes". It is super interesting and pretty much starts with our evolution from primates and the last book gets up towards modern day (I've currently read 2 out of 3 of the books).
For religion books, I haven't read it yet, but it is on my wishlist: "When God was a Woman" by Merlin Stone. I can't even remember where I saw it recommended, but hopefully it is good.
I have also read a bunch of books about the pro-choice movement, our rape culture, pornography etc. Let me know if you are interested in any other specific topics.

I wish I could give you a really long, and well thought out anwser. And I may later tonight, but currently I am at work at can't expand too much.

Three of my favorite books are:
1. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, by Inga Muscio.
2. Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
3. Transforming a Rape Culture by Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher and Martha Roth.

These books generally focus more on the topic of violence against women and girls in America and around the world, but they were a big part of what got me really passionate and active about feminism in high school and college. It also gave me a solid anwser for why feminism is still soooo important, when people questioned me.

There are so many different areas of focus within feminism, and I am sure the readers here at feministing will give you many more good ideas.

I would recommend anything by bell hooks, and No Turning Back by Estelle Freedman gives you a great background on feminism.

Check out the lovely and beautiful India.Arie for some inspiring feminist tunes...all of her albums are great.

As far as books go, "Full Frontal Feminism" by Jessica Valenti is fantastic and a nice across-the-board look at feminism, especially for those who are just getting into writings about it.

Hi Maria,

Personally, I've found blogs (like Feministing) a great way to explore feminist thinking and how that plays out in daily life (since you seem to be asking not just about ideas but also about activism). They're current, the discussions are lively, with diverse opinions, and you have a little more space to back up and reflect on new ideas than you do in face-to-face conversations (something I find really valuable with some topics).

Have you checked out Bitch magazine at all? I've had a subscription for a few years, and really enjoy their pieces, which are both fun reading and full of astute analysis. Their 10-year anthology, BitchFest is a great way to browse through some of their best writing in one fell swoop.

Likewise, I really enjoyed the anthology We Don't Need Another Wave, edited by Melody Berger

Since you mentioned being Catholic, I'm going to recommend Feminism & Christianity: An Essential Guide, which was written by a professor of mine from undergrad, Lynn Japinga. It's intro-level in the sense that it gives you an overview of a lot of the best feminist theologians and their re-visioning of Christianity from a feminist perspective -- it's an awesome place to start looking at the intersection of feminism and faith.

Sara Evans' Born for Liberty is a great history of American feminism, with suggested further reading in the back divided up by chapter/topic, so you have lots of further avenues to explore . . . I don't know Canadian feminisms as well as I probably should; I can't think of any Canadian-specific histories of feminist activism. I'm sure your fellow countrywomen can make better suggestions!

I have to recommend blogs, particularly finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com, which defines basic feminist concepts in depth with useful references to source material.
You should read Marx at some point. Marx isn't explicitly feminist, but his work and ideas that he inspired come up a lot in feminist discourse.
It might be a good idea to start a club or more informal group at school for people who are interested in feminism, so that you can share resources and hash out ideas together.

And you might want to search the web for syllabi for women's studies and feminist theory classes. Even better, MIT has several women's and gender studies courses available online, for free, to anyone who's interested.

I would read a lot and maybe more importantly THINK a lot. Being a feminist doesn't mean being like all the other feminists you know, or accepting every feminist veiw you read. Being a feminist means being absolutely comfortable in who you are, whether that means wearing heels, or not shaving your legs [or both as I do :)]; being a virgin, or a self-proclaimed (safe-sex!) slut. Do what you want (while staying aware and thoughtful of the social/feminist implications of your actions) and stay strong-willed and bad ass.

read stuff by bell hooks, peggy mcintosh, jessica valenti, vandhana shiva, ariel levy etc. also, see if you can read books written by authors (esp. female) of different culture or background than yours. two books i like are "unbowed" by wangari maathai, and "dreams of trespass," by fatima mernissi.

there's a website called mediaed.org, which has lots of informative documentaries on race/class/gender/health/politics. you can watch low resolution full length previews online. i've found a lot of them to be really informative.

like Barbara said, it's not just about reading everything, though the more you read, the more you know, but also think, think, think about what you're reading. if you agree with the author, why do you agree? if you don't, why don't you? don't forget to examine your own assumptions, privileges, and prejudices, as you discover other's.

i applaud you for taking interest!

Speaking from one young feminist to another (I just turned 15), I have to say blogs are the best source for me. Feministing is my favorite, of course, but I'm also fond of feministe, and NARAL Pro-Choice America's Blog for Choice. Have you looked at the free.will.power website? It is a campaign by NARAL to specifically get young people involved in the fight for choice.

I think it's so great that you're interested in feminism at such a young age! I'm still trying to convince my 16 year old sister that feminism is cool.

I'm also Canadian, but I know a lot more about past feminist politicians than current ones. I found a Wikipedia entry that lists all the female MPs in the federal government (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_39th_Canadian_Parliament). I'm pretty sure Carolyn Bennett is a feminist.

I do know Ken Epp,Steven Harper and most of the members of Conservative party don't really care about women's rights, even though Harper appointed several women to Cabinet positions. So, definitely keep an eye on their policies towards women.

As far as feminist literature is concerned, you should definitely read Full Frontal Feminism (as others have mentioned). Another good source is Antonio Zerbiasis's articles and blogs in the Toronto Star. Her blog is called Broadsides and can be found here: http://thestar.blogs.com/broadsides/.

I hope this helps!

It's so awesome to see young women wanting to learn more about feminism. If I had "found" feminism in high school, I would have spent FAR less time in my room crying over some boy and much more time having fun with my friends.

Blogs FTW. My feminist/progressive blogroll includes the following favorites:

Bitch Ph.D
Echidne of the Snakes
Feministe
Feministing (of course)
The Curvature (focus on sexual violence and feminism)
Womanist Musings (anti-racism/feminism)

But if you were to read just ONE blog to get a better feel for feminism, I would recommend without reservations checking out Shakesville. It's an amazing community.

For real paper books, I recommend Yes Means Yes, a collection of essays on sex, sexual power, patriarchy, and rape. Also Cunt, by Inga Muscio. Check out, as already recommended, Full Frontal Feminism, and He's a Stud, She's a Slut. For feminist fiction, anything by Robin McKinley - she rewrites fairy tales into real stories with real female characters that actually *do* things, not just sit around being pretty and getting rescued - and Anne Bishop. Honestly, if you can (if you have a college nearby and the transportation to get there) get thee to a college library, find the Women's Studies section, and just bury yourself for a few days.

As far as talking to people goes, be aware that you're going to encounter significant backlash and resistance, especially among people your own age. Most people have a LOT invested in upholding the way the system is set up already, and will be less than pleased with you trying to change it. Don't expect all women to be feminists. You'd be surprised how many women actively work against their own equality. Just remember that you're not alone, and keep coming back to communities like Feministing and Shakesville anytime you need to be reminded of why we do what we do.

Oh, and lastly - check your classism/elitism. Walmart is a terrible corporation and is having an awful effect on communities and businesses all over the place, but that's no reason to be insulting or dismissive about people who shop there, which is how your comment about "mediocre drabbles" came across. Economic necessity is what it is sometimes.

I'm starting to read about feminism right now too -- and, just like the others, the blogs helped me a lot. Besides feministing, I like:

- www.feministe.us/blog
-www.womanist-musings.com
- http://dirtyrottenfeminist.wordpress.com

And you just GOTTA read "the beauty myth" by Naomi Wolf. Seriously. It's the BEST.

"The second sex" by Simone de Bauvoir, was my very first feminist read and I loved it. It''s really great for beginners as it puts things on perspective.

I'm 18 and just graduated from high school; senior year is when I started to really explore what feminism means to me and started calling myself a feminist.

I think the biggest thing for me was just finding women who are...untraditional, I guess? Women who have never had children or never been married; women who are the primary breadwinners in their family, things like that. I had some really amazing teachers to talk to and look up to.

One of the principals at my school is in her early 50s and has never been married or had children, but has been in a relationship with a man for over 10 years. For me, just talking to someone who is successful, intelligent, and overall awesome who didn't have kids because she DIDN'T WANT TO and didn't get married because she DIDN'T WANT TO, not because she "couldn't find a man" but because she didn't see the point, that's what made me really examine the necessity of social norms regarding women and families and that sort of thing. That was a big deal for me.

Another teacher/role model is one of the toughest teachers in the school. She's really nice and student-oriented, but she doesn't take anyone's bullshit. She taught me a lot about feminism.

As far as reading, I would highly recommend Slut! Growing up Female with a Bad Reputation by Leora Tanenbaum. I don't know about your school, but at mine, the word slut was (still is I'm sure, I'm just not around to hear it) used SO OFTEN. I wish everyone at my school would have read that book. Slut is a word used to keep girls down and make them feel shameful about their bodies and sexuality. And so often it's use has NOTHING to do with "promiscuity", it has to do with calling out and labeling young women who are different.

Keep in mind also that in order to truly understand your own beliefs, you need to understand opposing beliefs as well. You won't be an effective feminist unless you understand why anti-feminists believe what they believe. So don't just confine yourself to reading "feminist" authors and authors that you can agree with. I'd recommend Unprotected by Anonymous, M.D., for starters. You might also check out the Independent Women's Forum website. A lot of this reading will probably be frustrating and depressing, but also enlightening. It'll be good for you, I promise. :)

You mentioned you are interested in art. The Guerilla girls have made some really interesting comments on the art world.

And then: I would second everyone who says it's about developing your own thinking. That should never stop.

Personally, I'm very interested in feminist science fiction and fantasy, so mail me if you'd like to know more about that.