Favorite Feminist Literature
I know there is the "Not Oprah" section... But BEYOND that...
I've been looking for some essential feminist reads. Every time I go to the book store, the same old books seem to be there. What have you read that has left you feeling proud of feminism? What would be THE book you would recommend?
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These aren't necessarily "feminist" but they're good for thinking about it:
Telling the Truth About History by Joyce Oldham Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret Jacob
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know by Jessica Valenti
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Female Brain
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir
The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper
stuff by Gertrude Stein
I've been thinking about this a lot lately too, specifically in any genre of fiction. (It's easy to find feminist nonfiction, but sometimes you want a story!)
You should check out "The Women of Brewster Place" by Gloria Naylor. It's about the lives and difficulties of black women in a run-down community. Captivating, but heartbreaking.
I was going to make a community post asking for book recommendations too!
My birthday is coming up and I wanted to give my family a list of books I'd like. But instead of books about feminism as a whole (I've read tons of those while studying Women's Studies in college) I'm now more interested in specific studies. Lately I've read and really liked Bachelor Girl, Slut!, The Girls Who Went Away, and Lucky.
I'd love any suggestions from anyone!! :)
These works of fiction don't all have happy feminist endings, but:
"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall", Ann Bronte
"Alias Grace", Margaret Atwood
various works of Dorothy Parker
"Mysteries of Udolpho", Ann Radcliffe
"Foxfire", Joyce Carole Oates
"Slammerkin", Emma Donahue (misspelt probably)
Scholarly:
"Black Feminist Though", Patricia Hill-Collins (which usurped "La deuxieme sexe" as my favorite feminist tract)
"Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts", Anne Barstow
Anything by bell hooks. She's a great writer.
It's fine to comment that she has good biceps, but I think it's stupid to say she'll inspire women to do it too. Women are already "inspired" enough to work out, for bad reasons and good reasons. I will say that reducing her *fitness level* to having good biceps is bad. This is what is annoying- too many women work out to look a certain way rather than to be strong. I'm sorry but standing infront of the mirror lifting light weights bedroom furniture to get "Michelle Obama biceps" before your wedding doesn't make you fit. This is what bothers me about the comment.
I am adding this info as a followup to Tara's request for a "Pro-Choice book club" and in response to what would be a good "thinking about where I came from" list.
We have developed a blog for feedback from our readers ---
http://foragingforsanity.blogspot.com/
Here's the list we generated:
"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See
"The Girls Who Went Away" by Ann Fessler
"The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
"The Body Project" by Joan Jacobs
"The Birth House" by Ami Mckay
"The Spiral Staircase" by Karen Armstrong
"The Red Tent" by Anita Diament
"Choice: True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood and Abortion" by Karen E. Bender and Nina de Gramont
"In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvrez
"Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women" by Susan Faludi
"Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself" by Amy Richards
We have also been getting lots of good suggestions which we are keeping on the blog. Anything by bell hoooks is the number one recommendation.
Hope this helps.