Feminist Must Reads

Discover essential feminist must-reads with our curated list of empowering books. Explore groundbreaking works by influential authors that challenge norms and inspire change. Perfect for anyone passionate about gender equality and women's rights.

The Feminine Mystique Cover
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The Feminine Mystique

by Betty Friedan

The book that changed the consciousness of a country—and the world. Landmark, groundbreaking, classic—these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations, which still remain fresh, ever since. A national bestseller, with over 1 million copies sold.
Le Deuxième Sexe Cover
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Le Deuxième Sexe

by Simone de Beauvoir

The classic manifesto of the liberated woman, this book explores every facet of a woman's life.
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Herland Cover
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Herland

by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

On the eve of World War I, an all-female society is discovered somewhere in the distant reaches of the earth by three male explorers who are now forced to re-examine their assumptions about women's roles in society.
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The Vagina Monologues Cover
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The Vagina Monologues

 

No summary available.
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A Room of One's Own Cover
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A Room of One's Own

by Virginia Woolf

Woolf's celebrated essay based on the thesis that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
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Against Our Will Cover
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Against Our Will

by Susan Brownmiller

The bestselling feminist classic that revolutionized the way we think about rape, as a historical phenomenon and as an urgent crisis—essential reading in the era of #MeToo. “A major work of history.”—The Village Voice • One of the New York Public Library’s 100 Books of the Century As powerful and timely now as when it was first published, Against Our Will stands as a unique document of the history, politics, and sociology of rape and the inherent and ingrained inequality of men and women under the law. Fact by fact, Susan Brownmiller pulls back the centuries of damaging lies and misrepresentations to reveal how rape has been accepted in all societies and how it continues to profoundly affect women’s lives today. A keen and prescient analyst, a detailed historian, Susan Brownmiller discusses the consequences of rape in biblical times, rape as an accepted spoil of war, as well as child molestation, marital rape, and date rape (a term that she coined). In lucid, persuasive prose, Brownmiller uses her experience as a journalist to create a definitive, devastating work of lasting social importance. Praise for Against Our Will “The most comprehensive study of rape ever offered to the public . . . It forces readers to take a fresh look at their own attitudes toward this devastating crime.”—Newsweek “A classic . . . No one who reads it will come away untouched.”—The Village Voice “Chilling and monumental . . . Deserves a place next to those rare books which force us to change the way we feel about what we know.”—The New York Times Book Review “A landmark work, one of the most significant books to emerge in this decade.”—Houston Chronicle “A definitive text, startling, compelling, and a landmark.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “An overwhelming indictment. We need it, it is a hideous revelation and it should be required reading.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “Chilling, monumental, exhaustive, detailed, absorbing and original. . . . Brownmiller’s greatest contribution is establishing the continuity between rape and other facets of American culture.”—Commonweal
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Right-wing Women Cover
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Right-wing Women

by Andrea Dworkin

No summary available.
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Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral Cover
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Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral

by Kris Radish

The beloved author of Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn returns with the story of five women who had nothing in common but one extraordinary friend. . . . “Move over, Thelma, and make way, Louise! Annie Freeman's raucous and heart-tugging journey to eternity will put Kris Radish on the map—in a RED Cadillac!”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean For Katherine Givens and the four women about to become her best friends, the adventure begins with a UPS package. Inside is a pair of red sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change their lives. Katherine’s oldest and dearest friend, the irrepressible Annie Freeman, left one final request—a traveling funeral—and she wants the most important women in her life as “pallbearers.” From Sonoma to Manhattan, Katherine, Laura, Rebecca, Jill, and Marie will carry Annie’s ashes to the special places in her life. At every stop there’s a surprise encounter and a small miracle waiting, and as they whoop it up across the country, attracting interest wherever they go, they share their deepest secrets—tales of broken hearts and second chances, missed opportunities and new beginnings. And as they grieve over what they’ve lost, they discover how much is still possible if only they can unravel the secret Annie left them. . . . Praise for Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral “Radish’s characters help readers realize they are not alone in the world and their struggles have been or will be experienced by other women.”—Albuquerque Journal “Radish sings the praises of sisterhood by creating an enticing world of women helping women to become the empowered individuals they were meant to be.”—Booklist
Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn Cover
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Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn

by Kris Radish

From the bestselling author of The Elegant Gathering of White Snows comes a poignant, outrageous, refreshingly liberating story about one woman whose life takes an unexpected turn.... Meg Fratano has just witnessed the unthinkable: her husband of twenty—seven years making love to another woman. In her bed. And all Meg wanted to do was watch. Quietly, secretly, watch. Then she realized her life would never be the same. Meg isn’t sure what she wants, but she knows it’s not what she had. After almost three decades of marriage and two children, she has finally awakened to how unhappy she is. Now, with the help of friends old and new, and even her teenage daughter—a former brat who has blossomed into a startlingly wise young woman—Meg just might break through the chains of everyone’s expectations for her and find the strength to take the first step on her own path. To strip away a lifetime of inhibitions. To dance naked at the edge of dawn...
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The Sunday List of Dreams Cover
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The Sunday List of Dreams

by Kris Radish

In an effort to shake up her life, a woman impulsively hops on a plane to New York in order to track down her estranged daughter.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Cover
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Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

by Rebecca Wells

When Siddalee Walker, oldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker, Ya-Ya extraordinaire, is interviewed in the New York Times about a hit play she's directed, her mother gets described as a "tap-dancing child abuser." Enraged, Vivi disowns Sidda. Devastated, Sidda begs forgiveness, and postpones her upcoming wedding. All looks bleak until the Ya-Yas step in and convince Vivi to send Sidda a scrapbook of their girlhood mementos, called "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." As Sidda struggles to analyze her mother, she comes face to face with the tangled beauty of imperfect love, and the fact that forgiveness, more than understanding, is often what the heart longs for. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood may call to mind Prince of Tides in its unearthing of family darkness; in its unforgettable heroines and irrepressible humor and female loyalty, it echoes Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.