Hi! I hope all is well with you! I was wondering if you guys knew any non-fiction books where a strong woman tells her story. I recently ready “We Should all be Feminists” and it inspired me to read more.
*Gender Trouble* is the most important recent book on feminist theory imo but it’s pretty advanced and some people find it hard to read. If you want something easier, anything by bell hooks.
Mentalfloss1 on
“Recollections of My Nonexistence”, by Rebecca Solnit
Not as playful as Ngozi Adichie.
True-Pressure8131 on
Assata by Assata Shakur
Natasharoxy on
Living Dolls by Natasha Walter. Although it’s from 2010 so may not have aged that well.
More recent is Invisible Women.
port_okali on
If you are looking for a strong woman telling her story, Maya Angelou’s memoirs are as brilliant as it gets. *Mom & Me & Mom* and *Letter To My Daughter* are the most focused on feminist topics but all of them are stunning. I would start with her first one, *I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings*. It is no doubt among the best autobiographical writing you can find.
Rebecca Solnit has already been mentioned. *Men Explain Things to Me* is a an essay collection that draws from personal experience. It’s where the term “mansplaining” originated, even though it is not used in the book.
*Everyday Sexism* by Laura Bates is a compilation of micro- and not-so-micro-aggressions against women in everyday life, from subtle devaluation to seriously threatening behaviour (not unlike the anecdotes in Ngozi Adichie’s essay but with less personal commentary from the author). Find something nice and calming to read afterwards – every page of this book is infuriating.
I recently enjoyed reading *Everyday Utopia. In Praise of Radical Alternatives to the Traditional Family Home* by Kristen Ghodsee. There is less personal storytelling but it is an interesting and, above all, hopeful book.
Memmahere on
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
BossRaeg on
*Women, Art, and Society* by Whitney Chadwick
TrustfulComet40 on
*Pandora’s Jar* by Natalie Haynes gets right into the sexism and misogyny of word choices in translation and how that then impacts our understanding of a character.
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*Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men* by Caroline Criado Perez is actually slightly scary reading about all the ways our world isn’t designed for us.
mathlady89 on
I really enjoyed *Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption* by Rafia Zakaria and *Hood Feminism* by Mikki Kendall!
9 Comments
*Gender Trouble* is the most important recent book on feminist theory imo but it’s pretty advanced and some people find it hard to read. If you want something easier, anything by bell hooks.
“Recollections of My Nonexistence”, by Rebecca Solnit
Not as playful as Ngozi Adichie.
Assata by Assata Shakur
Living Dolls by Natasha Walter. Although it’s from 2010 so may not have aged that well.
More recent is Invisible Women.
If you are looking for a strong woman telling her story, Maya Angelou’s memoirs are as brilliant as it gets. *Mom & Me & Mom* and *Letter To My Daughter* are the most focused on feminist topics but all of them are stunning. I would start with her first one, *I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings*. It is no doubt among the best autobiographical writing you can find.
Rebecca Solnit has already been mentioned. *Men Explain Things to Me* is a an essay collection that draws from personal experience. It’s where the term “mansplaining” originated, even though it is not used in the book.
*Everyday Sexism* by Laura Bates is a compilation of micro- and not-so-micro-aggressions against women in everyday life, from subtle devaluation to seriously threatening behaviour (not unlike the anecdotes in Ngozi Adichie’s essay but with less personal commentary from the author). Find something nice and calming to read afterwards – every page of this book is infuriating.
I recently enjoyed reading *Everyday Utopia. In Praise of Radical Alternatives to the Traditional Family Home* by Kristen Ghodsee. There is less personal storytelling but it is an interesting and, above all, hopeful book.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
*Women, Art, and Society* by Whitney Chadwick
*Pandora’s Jar* by Natalie Haynes gets right into the sexism and misogyny of word choices in translation and how that then impacts our understanding of a character.
​
*Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men* by Caroline Criado Perez is actually slightly scary reading about all the ways our world isn’t designed for us.
I really enjoyed *Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption* by Rafia Zakaria and *Hood Feminism* by Mikki Kendall!