famous essays on feminism

5 Essays About Feminism

On the surface, the definition of feminism is simple. It’s the belief that women should be politically, socially, and economically equal to men. Over the years, the movement expanded from a focus on voting rights to worker rights, reproductive rights, gender roles, and beyond. Modern feminism is moving to a more inclusive and intersectional place. Here are five essays about feminism that tackle topics like trans activism, progress, and privilege:

“Trickle-Down Feminism” – Sarah Jaffe

Feminists celebrate successful women who have seemingly smashed through the glass ceiling, but the reality is that most women are still under it. Even in fast-growing fields where women dominate (retail sales, food service, etc), women make less money than men. In this essay from Dissent Magazine, author Sarah Jaffe argues that when the fastest-growing fields are low-wage, it isn’t a victory for women. At the same time, it does present an opportunity to change the way we value service work. It isn’t enough to focus only on “equal pay for equal work” as that argument mostly focuses on jobs where someone can negotiate their salary. This essay explores how feminism can’t succeed if only the concerns of the wealthiest, most privileged women are prioritized.

Sarah Jaffe writes about organizing, social movements, and the economy with publications like Dissent, the Nation, Jacobin, and others. She is the former labor editor at Alternet.

“What No One Else Will Tell You About Feminism” – Lindy West

Written in Lindy West’s distinct voice, this essay provides a clear, condensed history of feminism’s different “waves.” The first wave focused on the right to vote, which established women as equal citizens. In the second wave, after WWII, women began taking on issues that couldn’t be legally-challenged, like gender roles. As the third wave began, the scope of feminism began to encompass others besides middle-class white women. Women should be allowed to define their womanhood for themselves. West also points out that “waves” may not even exist since history is a continuum. She concludes the essay by declaring if you believe all people are equal, you are a feminist.

Jezebel reprinted this essay with permission from How To Be A Person, The Stranger’s Guide to College by Lindy West, Dan Savage, Christopher Frizelle, and Bethany Jean Clement. Lindy West is an activist, comedian, and writer who focuses on topics like feminism, pop culture, and fat acceptance.

“Toward a Trans* Feminism” – Jack Halberstam

The history of transactivsm and feminism is messy. This essay begins with the author’s personal experience with gender and terms like trans*, which Halberstam prefers. The asterisk serves to “open the meaning,” allowing people to choose their categorization as they see fit. The main body of the essay focuses on the less-known history of feminists and trans* folks. He references essays from the 1970s and other literature that help paint a more complete picture. In current times, the tension between radical feminism and trans* feminism remains, but changes that are good for trans* women are good for everyone.

This essay was adapted from Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability by Jack Halberstam. Halberstam is the Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, Gender Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California. He is also the author of several books.

“Rebecca Solnit: How Change Happens” – Rebecca Solnit

The world is changing. Rebecca Solnit describes this transformation as an assembly of ideas, visions, values, essays, books, protests, and more. It has many layers involving race, class, gender, power, climate, justice, etc, as well as many voices. This has led to more clarity about injustice. Solnit describes watching the transformation and how progress and “ wokeness ” are part of a historical process. Progress is hard work. Not exclusively about feminism, this essay takes a more intersectional look at how progress as a whole occurs.

“How Change Happens” was adapted from the introduction to Whose Story Is it? Rebecca Solnit is a writer, activist, and historian. She’s the author of over 20 books on art, politics, feminism, and more.

“Bad Feminist” extract – Roxane Gay

People are complicated and imperfect. In this excerpt from her book Bad Feminist: Essays , Roxane Gay explores her contradictions. The opening sentence is, “I am failing as a woman.” She goes on to describe how she wants to be independent, but also to be taken care of. She wants to be strong and in charge, but she also wants to surrender sometimes. For a long time, she denied that she was human and flawed. However, the work it took to deny her humanness is harder than accepting who she is. While Gay might be a “bad feminist,” she is also deeply committed to issues that are important to feminism. This is a must-read essay for any feminists who worry that they aren’t perfect.

Roxane Gay is a professor, speaker, editor, writer, and social commentator. She is the author of Bad Feminist , a New York Times bestseller, Hunger (a memoir), and works of fiction.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

40 Essential Feminist Books to Read for Women's History Month

This is one of the 343 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

Notes from the women that a movement forgot.

This book provides a critical examination of mainstream feminism, highlighting how it often overlooks the needs and issues of marginalized women, particularly women of color and those from low-income communities. The author argues that feminism must address a wide range of basic survival issues such as food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, and healthcare that disproportionately affect marginalized populations. By sharing personal experiences and examining the intersection of race, class, and gender, the book calls for a more inclusive and intersectional feminist movement that advocates for the rights and needs of all women, not just a privileged few.

Whipping Girl by Julia Serano

A transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity.

The book is a seminal work in transgender studies and feminist theory, providing a powerful critique of societal norms and cultural perceptions surrounding femininity and transgender issues. The author, a transgender woman herself, combines personal narrative with insightful analysis to challenge the ways in which gender is constructed and policed in society. She particularly focuses on the concept of "transmisogyny," a term she coined to describe the unique intersection of transphobia and misogyny faced by transgender women. The work calls for a more inclusive understanding of gender and a dismantling of the stigma attached to femininity, advocating for the empowerment of all women, cis and trans, in the face of pervasive gender inequality.

Freedom Is A Constant Struggle by Angela Davis

Ferguson, palestine, and the foundations of a movement.

This book is a collection of essays, speeches, and interviews that delve into the interconnectedness of struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world. The author, a prominent activist and scholar, draws parallels between various movements for social justice, including the civil rights movement in the United States, the fight against apartheid in South Africa, and the Palestinian liberation struggle. She emphasizes the importance of collective action and the need for solidarity across different causes, arguing that the fight for freedom is an ongoing and universal endeavor that requires persistence and an understanding of the historical and global contexts of resistance.

Essential Labor by Angela Garbes

Mothering as social change.

This book delves into the often overlooked but critical work of caregiving, examining its historical undervaluation and the way it underpins society. The author, drawing from personal experience and extensive research, argues for a reevaluation of labor hierarchies, spotlighting the emotional, physical, and economic challenges caregivers face. Advocating for systemic change, the narrative weaves together feminist theory, socio-economic analysis, and cultural commentary, offering a powerful case for recognizing caregiving as fundamental to our collective well-being and pushing for policies that honor and support this indispensable work.

Revolting Prostitutes by Molly Smith , Juno Mac

The fight for sex workers' rights.

This book offers a comprehensive examination of the sex work industry from the perspective of those within it, advocating for the decriminalization of sex work as a means to improve the safety and autonomy of sex workers. It explores the complexities of the trade, challenging common misconceptions and moralistic views, and delves into how laws and policies around the world impact the lives of sex workers. The authors argue for a nuanced understanding of sex work, emphasizing the need for labor rights and social justice to address the systemic issues that sex workers face, including violence, stigma, and discrimination.

A Kick In The Belly by Stella Dadzie

Women, slavery and resistance.

The book explores the often-overlooked role of women in the resistance and rebellion against the transatlantic slave trade. It highlights the resilience and agency of enslaved African women in the face of brutal oppression, documenting their various forms of resistance, from everyday acts of defiance to outright revolts. Drawing on a wealth of historical sources, the narrative reveals how these women were not just passive victims but active participants in the fight for freedom, shaping the course of history with their courage and determination. The book also examines the impact of gender and power on the experiences of these women, offering a nuanced perspective on a dark chapter in history.

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

The book is a candid memoir and essay collection where the author reflects on feminism, sexuality, and the commodification of the female body within the entertainment industry and society at large. Through personal anecdotes and critical analysis, the author explores her experiences as a model and actress, dissecting the power dynamics and exploitation that often underlie the surface glamour. The narrative delves into themes of consent, body image, and the complex relationship between self-empowerment and the objectification inherent in her line of work. The book serves as both an intimate autobiography and a thought-provoking critique of contemporary culture's obsession with female beauty and the cost it exacts on women's lives.

Feminism For The 99% by Cinzia Arruzza , Tithi Bhattacharya , Nancy Fraser

A manifesto.

This book is a passionate call to action for a new wave of feminism that is inclusive and intersectional, aiming to address the needs and struggles of the vast majority of women rather than a privileged few. It critiques mainstream feminism for its focus on individual success and empowerment within a capitalist framework, arguing instead for a movement that fights against economic inequality, environmental destruction, and neoliberal policies. The authors advocate for a feminism that is anti-racist, anti-capitalist, and aligned with labor and social movements worldwide, seeking to transform society to achieve justice for the 99% of women whose lives are impacted by systemic oppressions.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

With strictures on political and moral subjects.

This influential work from the late 18th century argues passionately for the education and societal recognition of women. The author asserts that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason. The book is considered one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

This book is an extended essay that explores the topic of women in fiction, and the societal and economic hindrances that prevent them from achieving their full potential. The author uses a fictional narrator and narrative to explore the many difficulties that women writers faced throughout history, including the lack of education available to them and the societal expectations that limited their opportunities. The central argument is that a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.

Feminism Is For Everybody by bell hooks

Passionate politics.

This book serves as an accessible introduction to feminist theory, aiming to dispel the misconception that feminism is only for a select group of women. It argues that feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression, advocating for a collective understanding and embrace of feminist thought. The text examines various aspects of society, including race, class, work, and relationships, through a feminist lens, encouraging readers to consider how these interconnected issues affect everyone, regardless of gender. The author emphasizes the importance of love and acceptance in promoting feminist principles and envisions a world where equality and justice are paramount for all.

Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein

On men, women, and the rest of us.

This book is a groundbreaking work that challenges traditional notions of gender and identity. Through a combination of personal narrative, theory, and performance, the author deconstructs the binary understanding of gender, presenting a radical and inclusive framework for thinking about gender identity and sexuality. The work is both a candid memoir and a thought-provoking treatise that invites readers to question the societal norms that dictate how individuals should conform to predetermined roles based on their gender. The book is a call to embrace a more fluid and individualistic approach to gender expression, advocating for the freedom to define oneself beyond the constraints of traditional labels.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

In "Bad Feminist," the author presents a collection of essays that explore the complexities of modern feminism and the challenges of being a woman in today's society. With wit and candor, the book delves into topics such as politics, culture, race, and gender, scrutinizing the often contradictory expectations and ideals imposed on women. Through personal anecdotes and critical analysis, the author confronts the idea of a "perfect" feminist, advocating instead for the acceptance of feminism as a fluid and inclusive movement that acknowledges the diverse experiences and imperfections of those who participate in it. The book is a reflective and thought-provoking commentary on the role of feminism in contemporary discourse, making a case for embracing our flaws while still striving for equality and justice.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Or, meg, jo, beth, and amy.

This classic novel follows the lives of the four March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - as they navigate the challenges and joys of adolescence and adulthood in 19th century New England. As they grow, they grapple with issues of poverty, gender roles, love, and personal identity, each in her own unique way. The story is a testament to the power of family, sisterhood, and female resilience in a time of societal constraints.

Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

This book is a collection of essays that delve into the issues of feminism, gender inequality, and the pervasive problem of men dismissing and undermining women's voices. It opens with a now-iconic essay that recounts a personal experience where the author was patronizingly lectured to about her own book by a man who failed to recognize her as its author. The essays explore the cultural phenomenon where women's knowledge and expertise are often questioned or ignored, leading to broader discussions about power dynamics, violence against women, and the struggle for women's rights. Through incisive commentary and sharp wit, the book examines the silencing of women and calls for a more equitable social discourse.

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

My path to womanhood, identity, love & so much more.

This book is a powerful and candid memoir that charts the journey of a trans woman growing up in America. It delves into her experiences of developing self-awareness, grappling with her gender identity, and navigating the challenges of transitioning, all while confronting the multilayered difficulties posed by society's expectations and norms. The narrative provides an intimate look into the life of someone who has battled with the complexities of identity, love, and acceptance, ultimately emerging as a strong advocate for the trans community and offering an inspiring testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Essays and speeches.

"Sister Outsider" is a collection of essays and speeches that delve into the complexities of intersectional identity, exploring themes of racism, sexism, and homophobia. The author, a black lesbian poet and feminist writer, challenges the marginalization of minority groups and critiques the lack of inclusivity within feminist movements. Through personal narratives and powerful prose, the work confronts social injustices and calls for the recognition and celebration of differences as a means to drive political change and dismantle systemic oppression. The book is a seminal text in intersectional feminist thought, advocating for solidarity and the importance of communication across diverse communities.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The novel follows the story of a young woman who wins a guest editorship at a magazine in New York City and, after a series of personal and professional disappointments, suffers a mental breakdown and returns to her family, where she continues to struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. The protagonist's experiences in psychiatric institutions and her attempts to reclaim her life are depicted with brutal honesty, making it a poignant exploration of mental illness and the societal pressures faced by women in the mid-20th century.

The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories by Angela Carter

"The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories" is a collection of short stories that reimagines and deconstructs traditional fairy tales. The narratives are filled with strong female characters, sexual exploration, and violent and gothic themes. Each story presents a unique spin on classic tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and Bluebeard, challenging the typical gender roles and expectations found in the original stories.

This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga , Gloria Anzaldúa

Writings by radical women of color.

This seminal anthology is a groundbreaking collection of essays, personal reflections, poetry, and critical analysis from a diverse group of women of color. It explores the complexities of their intersectional identities, focusing on the challenges and experiences they face due to their race, gender, class, and sexuality. The work serves as a foundational text in feminist theory, providing a platform for voices that had been marginalized within the feminist movement. It delves into themes of social justice, cultural identity, and political activism, calling for solidarity and empowerment among women of color as they navigate the overlapping oppressions of a patriarchal and racist society.

The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer

This book is a seminal feminist text that explores the oppression of women in society. It critiques the traditional roles and expectations of women in the mid-20th century, arguing that societal norms and conventions force women into a secondary, submissive role, effectively castrating them. The book encourages women to reject these norms and to embrace their own sexual liberation, arguing for the need for a revolution in the way women perceive themselves and their place in society.

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

This groundbreaking work is a series of poignant, powerful, and at times humorous monologues based on interviews with a diverse group of women. The piece delves into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage, and excitement buried in women's experiences. Through its exploration of the female body, the work confronts issues of sexuality, violence, and the social stigma surrounding women's bodies and women's rights. It has become a dynamic movement to support women's empowerment and raise awareness about violence against women, transforming the monologues into a worldwide phenomenon.

In Search Of Our Mothers' Gardens by Alice Walker

Womanist prose.

This compilation of essays delves into the struggles and achievements of African American women throughout history, exploring themes of race, gender, and creativity. The author reflects on the lives of historical figures, personal experiences, and the broader cultural heritage that has often been overlooked or suppressed. She coins the term "womanist" to describe a form of feminist thought that specifically addresses the unique experiences of black women, advocating for their strength, resilience, and the recognition of their contributions to society. The work is a celebration of the artistic and spiritual legacies passed down from the author's ancestors, particularly the metaphorical gardens cultivated by generations of women who, despite facing numerous adversities, managed to express their creativity and preserve their cultural identity.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

This groundbreaking book is a sociological examination of the dissatisfaction felt by American housewives in the mid-20th century. The author argues that women are not naturally fulfilled by devoting their lives to homemaking and child-rearing, challenging the widely accepted belief of the era. It explores the idea of the "problem that has no name" - the widespread unhappiness of women in the 1950s and early 1960s. The book is considered one of the catalysts of the second-wave feminist movement.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in a dystopian future, this novel presents a society where women are stripped of their rights and are classified into various roles based on their fertility and societal status. The protagonist is a handmaid, a class of women used solely for their reproductive capabilities by the ruling class. The story is a chilling exploration of the extreme end of misogyny, where women are reduced to their biological functions, and a critique of religious fundamentalism.

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

This influential work explores the treatment and perception of women throughout history, arguing that women have been repressed and defined only in relation to men. The author presents a detailed analysis of women's roles in society, family, work, and in the creation of their own identities. She discusses the concept of 'the other' and how this has been used to suppress women, while also examining the biological, psychological, and societal impacts of this oppression. The book is a seminal text in feminist theory, challenging traditional notions of femininity and calling for equality and freedom for women.

Women, Culture & Politics by Angela Davis

In "Women, Culture & Politics," the author, a prominent activist and scholar, presents a collection of speeches and essays that delve into the intersections of gender, race, and class within the context of social justice movements. The book explores the role of women in cultural and political spheres, advocating for the empowerment of marginalized communities through solidarity and activism. It addresses issues such as reproductive rights, the prison-industrial complex, and the impact of racism and sexism on women of color, offering critical insights into the struggles and contributions of women in shaping a more equitable society.

The Golden Notebook by Doris May Lessing

The novel centers around a woman named Anna Wulf, a writer who keeps four notebooks, each representing a different aspect of her life: her experiences in Africa, her current life in London, a novel she is writing, and her personal experiences. As Anna's mental state deteriorates, she attempts to unify her fragmented self in a fifth notebook, the golden notebook. The novel explores themes of mental breakdown, communism, the changing role of women, and the fear of nuclear war.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

This novel follows the life of Janie Crawford, a young African-American woman, in the early 20th century. She embarks on a journey through three marriages and self-discovery while challenging the societal norms of her time. The narrative explores her struggle for personal freedom, fulfillment, and identity against the backdrop of racism and gender expectations, ultimately emphasizing the importance of independence and personal growth.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

This novel tells the story of Yeong-hye, a dutiful Korean wife who, after having a disturbing dream, becomes a vegetarian, a decision that disrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her rebellion manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, Yeong-hye spirals further and further into her fantasies of abandoning her fleshly prison and becoming - impossibly, ecstatically - a tree. The book is a darkly allegorical, Kafkaesque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

"The Argonauts" is a genre-bending memoir that chronicles the author's romantic relationship with her fluidly gendered partner, their journey to become parents, and their experiences with queer family-making. The narrative intertwines personal anecdotes with critical theories on gender, sexuality, and identity, challenging traditional notions of family, motherhood, and love. It offers a powerful exploration of desire, limitations, and the possibilities of language, pushing the boundaries of what memoirs can do and be.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

"The Awakening" is a novel set in the late 19th century New Orleans, which explores the life of a young woman trapped in societal and marital expectations. She embarks on a journey of self-discovery and independence, defying the norms of her time. The protagonist challenges the traditional roles of women as she seeks personal fulfillment, experiences sexual awakening, and struggles with her desires and responsibilities. The book is a critique of the repressive social norms, particularly regarding women and marriage, of the Victorian era.

Parable Of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler

In a dystopian future where society has collapsed due to environmental and economic crises, a young woman named Lauren Olamina possesses a unique ability to feel the pain and pleasure of others. As she witnesses her community being torn apart by violence and religious fanaticism, Lauren embarks on a perilous journey to find a new safe haven and establish her own religion based on empathy and survival. Through her thought-provoking narrative, the book explores themes of resilience, spirituality, and the power of human connection in the face of adversity.

Citizen by Claudia Rankine

An american lyric.

"Citizen: An American Lyric" is a compelling and thought-provoking exploration of racial prejudice in contemporary America. The book, written in a blend of poetry, prose, and visual images, delves into the everyday experiences and microaggressions that people of color face. It also addresses larger events from the news that have impacted the Black community. The book is a powerful commentary on race, identity, and belonging, challenging readers to confront their own biases and perceptions.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

This novel is a postcolonial prequel to "Jane Eyre," exploring the life of Mr. Rochester's mad wife, Bertha. Set in Jamaica during the 1830s, it follows the story of Antoinette Cosway, a white Creole heiress, from her youth in the Caribbean to her unhappy marriage and move to England. Caught in a society that both rejects and exoticizes her, Antoinette is ultimately driven into madness by her oppressive husband and the haunting legacy of colonialism.

Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Myths and stories of the wild woman archetype.

This book is a collection of myths, stories, and folklore from various cultures, aimed at exploring the instinctual nature of women. Through the interpretation of these tales, the work delves into the female psyche and emphasizes the importance of embracing one's wild and natural self. The author, a Jungian psychoanalyst, uses the concept of the "Wild Woman Archetype" as a metaphor for the innate force that women possess. She encourages readers to reclaim their power and creativity, which may have been stifled by societal expectations or personal challenges, and to reconnect with the transformative wisdom that these ancient stories carry.

Diving Into The Wreck by Adrienne Rich

Poems 1971-1972.

"Diving Into The Wreck" is a collection of poems that explores the complexities of identity, feminism, and the journey of self-discovery. Through vivid imagery and powerful language, the poet delves into the depths of the human experience, examining the wreckage of societal expectations and personal history. The titular poem serves as a metaphor for this exploration, with the speaker donning the gear of a deep-sea diver to investigate a sunken ship, symbolizing the search for truth and meaning amidst the ruins of tradition and past roles. The anthology is a profound reflection on transformation, the struggle for equality, and the courage required to navigate the treacherous waters of change.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

This memoir recounts the early years of an African-American girl's life, focusing on her experiences with racism and trauma in the South during the 1930s. Despite the hardships she faces, including sexual abuse, she learns to rise above her circumstances through strength of character and a love of literature. Her journey from victim to survivor and her transformation into a young woman who respects herself is a testament to the human capacity to overcome adversity.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

The book is a powerful and transformative memoir by a young woman who reclaimed her identity after being known to the world as "Emily Doe" in a highly publicized sexual assault case. With unflinching honesty and profound eloquence, she shares her harrowing experience of trauma and the grueling path through the criminal justice system. Her narrative goes beyond the assault and its aftermath, delving into the societal attitudes toward sexual assault and the personal journey of healing and empowerment. Her story is a testament to resilience, a call to change the culture that shames survivors, and an inspiration for others to assert their own identity and tell their truth.

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

"Herland" is a utopian novel that depicts an isolated society composed entirely of women who reproduce via parthenogenesis. The result is an ideal social order, free of war, conflict, and domination. The story is told from the perspective of a male sociologist who, along with two other men, stumbles upon the society. They are initially imprisoned, but as they learn about the society, they are gradually integrated. The novel explores themes of gender, motherhood, and how environment influences behavior and societal structure.

Harpers Bazaar , 40 Books

Harpers Bazaar list of the 40 essential feminist books. Here's the description from their website:

a list of thought-provoking books that cover everything from reproductive justice and economic equity to domestic labor and sex work. Whether you're looking to brush up on the early days of the movement, be inspired by modern-day feminist heroes, or witness how far we've come (and how far we still have to go), these are the perfect books to pick up for Women's History Month—and every other time of year.

This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site 6 months ago.

This list has a weight of 1% . To learn more about what this means please visit the Rankings page .

• List: only covers very niche books
• List: criteria is not just "best/favorite"
• Voters: 3-5 people voted
• Voters: restricted to a distinct criteria(race, gender, etc)
• Voters: are mostly from a single country/location

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• IN PRAISE OF DIFFICULT WOMEN

How Gloria Steinem became the 'world’s most famous feminist'

Book excerpt details a lifetime fighting for women’s rights.

On October 7, 2016, the New York Times published a profile of Gloria Steinem and her love of New York. The story began: “Gloria Steinem started her career as a CIA operative, got her break as a Playboy Bunny, married Christian Bale’s father, and now produces a show for the cable television channel Viceland...” At 82, the story continued, Steinem still kept a “rock star’s schedule,” organizing, lecturing, fundraising, stumping for political candidates, and promoting her new book, My Life on the Road . The piece was a little flip, but generally balanced and positive—and if I were Gloria, slogging from city to city on a book tour, my roller bag bumping along behind me, I would be fine with it. Yes, the lead was stupidly reductive, but nothing a little self-soothing at the minibar couldn’t fix. As I polished off a tiny bottle of Dewar’s, I would congratulate myself for letting go of my irritation. After all, what could it possibly matter?

Illustration of Gloria Steinem by Kimberly Glyder for the book In Praise of Difficult Women .

But that’s why Gloria Steinem is a difficult woman. Things do matter. Language matters. History matters. Truth matters. Within the week, she fired off a response to the Times piece with a letter to the editor, clarifying facts behind the racy lead. She was not a CIA operative, but had attended two Soviet-backed youth festivals in the 1960s, her travel financed by a foundation subsidized by the agency. She had never been a Playboy Bunny, but donned the outfit to go undercover for 10 days to write an exposé . And David Bale , her late husband, was not simply the father of a famous actor, but actually had an identity of his own, as an entrepreneur and animal rights activist.

The tone was classic Gloria Steinem: cool, calm, and witty. I was impressed that she’d taken the time—especially considering that the sentence in question was misleading, but the facts weren’t technically incorrect. Known informally as the World’s Most Famous Feminist, Gloria has been pushing the women’s lib rock uphill for 55 years. She shows no signs of putting her feet up and getting caught up on her binge-watching.

Gloria’s own childhood would make for an excellent show on premium cable. She was born in Toledo, Ohio, on March 25, 1934, during the height of the Depression. Her gregarious father, Leo, was “a traveling antique salesman,” which sounds like an actual profession. In truth he was a charming nomad, pathologically unable to stay in one place, who dragged his wife, Ruth, and two daughters around the country in a trailer, buying and selling antiques simply to get to the next place.

Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes stand at a podium in 1970, a year before they co-founded Ms. magazine.

It was a blast for little Gloria. She writes in My Life on the Road about the joy of stopping along the way for Nehi grape soda at middle-of-nowhere gas stations and checking into a hotel when the family needed a shower. Sometimes, at home in Toledo, her dad would get such an intense hankering to be on the road that they would leave the dirty dinner dishes sitting on the counter and just go . This was pretty much hell on her anxious mother, who worried about the things responsible women are always left to worry about, such as where the next meal might be coming from. Ruth was mentally fragile, and had suffered a breakdown or two before Gloria was born.

When Gloria was 10, Ruth and Leo divorced; her older sister was already off at Smith College. Leo took off for California, leaving Gloria alone to look after her mother. Her relationship with Ruth was challenging and poignant. Over and over again, she saw the doctors dismiss her mother’s obvious distress and mental illness—and long before she was a feminist, recognized an anti-woman bias when she saw it. ( Read why so many American women die during childbirth. )

Gloria enrolled at Smith, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1956. After college, she moved to New York to become a journalist. Her first meaty assignment was a story for Esquire on the state of contraception . It was 1962, and the Pill was big news—even though it would take 10 more years until it was available to all women, regardless of marital status. The notorious Playboy Bunny story, written for a magazine called Show, came a year later. Gloria zeroed in on the way in which the Bunnies were exploited and sexually harassed in Hugh Hefner’s New York Playboy Club. Her radical conclusion: Just because Bunnies served horny businessmen highballs and medium-rare steaks didn’t mean they were good with being felt up.

In 1969, Gloria reported on an abortion speak-out for New York magazine . Let us recall that freedom to choose would not come along until 1973, and that the women gathered in the church basement in Greenwich Village who stood up and told their stories were basically criminals who were probably lucky to be alive. Gloria had had her own secret abortion when she was 22, performed in London by the doctor to whom she dedicated My Life on the Road . She traces the speak-out and the story she wrote about it to her active embrace of feminism.

From left, Gloria Steinem, Freada Klein and Karen Savigne look over a magazine in the Ms. magazine office.

In 1971, Gloria co-founded Ms. magazine with African-American activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes . For the next two decades, she was on a plane every few days, traveling to get the word out about why the lives of women were every bit as important as the lives of men.

In The Feminine Mystique , Betty Friedan addressed the ennui felt by educated middle-class white women pressed to surrender their ambitions and identities to the rigors of the suburban home and hearth. But Gloria’s view was always global. She understood that race, class, and caste (she traveled for two years after college in India) tend to double and triple the degree of oppression to which women are subjected. She herself was dismissed as a “girl reporter” and had trouble renting an apartment because landlords believed that single women were too irresponsible to be financially reliable. (The feeling was that if by some miracle they were able to pay their rent every month on time, it was because they were prostitutes or some man’s mistress.) Although that attitude was infuriating, Gloria was already well aware that it was nothing compared with the injustices women of color and women of the developing world suffered.

From left, journalist Gloria Steinem, comedian Dick Gregory, writer Betty Friedan, and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Patricia Roberts Harris hold hands during the Equal Rights Amendment March in Washington D.C., 1978.

Sometimes you’re a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t sort of difficult woman. Gloria is an empathic, good-natured consensus builder, with a dry, self-deprecating wit. She is smart, and by all reports, kind. She listens . She allows people to crash at her cool Manhattan brownstone whenever they want. Really, what’s not to like?

Oh, so much.

Beginning in the early 1970s, after launching Ms., Gloria found herself to be the so-called face of feminism. Esquire dubbed her “the intellectual’s pin-up.”

She was (and still is) despised by conservatives (some of whom think that feminism is an evil capable of bringing down the nation). But many of her own feminist sisters were openly disgruntled with the media’s interest in Gloria. New thinking, radical ideas, bold analysis, and a collective of raised consciences were supposed to float the feminist boat— and not a woman who so thoroughly rocked a miniskirt. ( Read Nat Geo's interview with Gloria Steinem. )

A lot of the backlash went back to that damn 1963 Show story—and the accompanying picture of Gloria in full Bunny regalia (strapless satin one-piece, weird little collar with tiny black bow tie, matching satin cuffs, and large, frankly ridiculous satin ears attached to a headband). The fallout from the Bunny story lasted decades. Whatever it was Gloria aimed to do—investigative journalism, political activism, magazine founding, and editing—she was dismissed for being too attractive. Complete insanity, because for women—like it or not, then as now, possibly forever and ever, amen—being considered attractive is always one of the highest cards in our respective decks.

The common wrongheaded thinking about feminism (still!) is that only plain women want equal rights because they aren’t hot enough to attract a husband. In other words, they would play the patriarchal game if they could. You would think all the erudite people opining about second-wave feminism in the 1970s would have been smarter than that—or at least have been aware that life was complicated. ( Clay Felker , founder of New York magazine and Gloria’s one-time boss, once said that child care was the only real problem of women; if they just imported more nannies, everything would be fine.)

Gloria Steinem speaks during the Women's March on Washington in 2017.

But what if a beautiful wife’s husband died, divorced her, or turned out to be such an abusive jerk that she couldn’t stay married any longer? What if, beauty notwithstanding, a woman was smart enough to want a credit card in her own name? (Not possible until 1974.) What if her boss pressed himself on her at work? (Sexual harassment not actionable until 1977.) Or she got pregnant? ( Roe v. Wade, 1973.) That stuff happened, and happens every day. Why wouldn’t women want laws to protect themselves? ( Hear U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discuss the power of ‘difficult women.’ )

When I was in grade school, a friend’s mother was pregnant with twins and I remember being frightened by her size. She couldn’t sit down or stand up without the help of two people. Her feet were so splayed, they’d broken the sides of her shoes. I told my mother I never wanted to get pregnant. When she asked why, I said, “because what if someone chases me? I won’t be able to run!” She said, “That’s what your husband’s for.” I looked at her and said, “That doesn’t make any sense.” I was eight years old. Even at that age, I knew women could only rely on men for so much.

Gloria Steinem and Tarana Burke appear on stage at a women’s breakfast during the Cannes Festival of Creativity in France, 2018.

In any case, Gloria’s beauty wound up being good for the feminist cause. She wrote, “When a reporter raised the question of my looks as more important than anything I could possibly have to say... an older woman rose in the audience. ‘Don’t worry, honey,’ she said to me comfortingly. ‘It’s important for some who could play the game—and win— to say: The game isn’t worth shit.’”

Gloria became the face of feminism, and also, because this is how the world works, the voice. “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” was famously attributed to her, but in fact was coined by Australian activist Irina Dunn. Gloria also never said, “If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.” That was coined by an Irish woman cab driver.

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Being pretty didn’t make Gloria Steinem’s love life any easier. Women who play by the rules are excused for changing their minds—that’s just what we silly ladies do! Move the sofa over there. No, there. Let’s go to that Indian place for dinner—no wait, I want Mexican. I love you, but I’m not in love with you, or actually, maybe I do love you.

If you’re going to be difficult, people are much less forgiving. If you insist on planting your flag in the sand for your politics or other beliefs—even if it’s just a belief in yourself—be prepared to be called out the moment you evolve, rethink something, change your mind, contradict yourself, or just behave in an inexplicably human way. It’s as if by flouting expectations, we’ve also unwittingly agreed to be held to impossible standards.

In the early 1990s, Gloria and New York real estate developer Mort Zuckerman were an item. It was a difficult time: She was struggling with a book, had survived a bout of breast cancer, and would soon turn 60. People were appalled by her choice of Zuckerman. He was a rich capitalist who was known to send a limo to pick up Gloria when she returned from one of her speaking engagements. This was viewed as flagrant hypocrisy on Gloria’s part. It was as if, as a feminist, she was never allowed to be exhausted, depressed, or in need of cosseting by a beau with enough money to send a car to pick her up.

Cover art for In Praise of Difficult Women by Karen Karbo.

Rumors raced around Manhattan with such speed that it’s a wonder the city didn’t spontaneously combust. The completely inaccurate gist was: Mort Zuckerman said he would marry Gloria if she could give him a baby, and she was frantically, desperately dashing from one fertility specialist to the next. She was frantically, desperately dashing to specialists, but they were oncologists. The relationship didn’t last, but the disapproval did. In 2000, she married younger man David Bale (he was 59, she was 66). More uproar: We thought Gloria Steinem hated marriage!

“I didn’t change. Marriage changed,” she said. “We spent 30 years in the United States changing the marriage laws. If I had married when I was supposed to get married, I would have lost my name, my legal residence, my credit rating, many of my civil rights. That’s not true anymore. It’s possible to make an equal marriage.”

Now in her 80s, Gloria is my role model for aging. On March 25, 2014, she celebrated her 80th birthday by riding an elephant in Botswana. After that she was on her way to India, then California. She still dyes her hair, but has passed on plastic surgery. She still has terrific bone structure. One thing she loves about being older is her lack of libido. “The brain cells that used to be obsessed are now free for all kinds of great things,” she remarked. “I try to tell younger women that, but they don’t believe me.” ( Discover 12 historic LGBTQIA+ activists who changed the world. )

Some difficult women become more difficult with age, but Gloria doesn’t even have to do anything. She is one of those women who rankle people merely by still being aboveground. You would think the collective cultural impulse would be to treat Gloria Steinem as a cool old person, a grand dame of a time gone by when tinted aviator glasses were not worn ironically. This, sadly, is not the case. Controversial old guys tend to get a pass (see adopted daughter–marrying Woody Allen)—but not so crusading, outspoken women.

For half our divided nation, Gloria is a beloved icon. For the other half, her politics are problematic. In spring 2016, CEO Federica Marchionni, formerly of ultracool Dolce & Gabbana, was hired to bring a bit more style to the traditional American clothing company Lands’ End. The company launched a series called Legends, “our ode to individuals who have made a difference in both their respective industries and the world at large. We honor them and thank them for paving the way for the many who follow.”

Gloria Steinem was invited to be the inaugural Legend. She was photographed wearing a perfectly respectable blazer and scarf. Her interview with Marchionni was standard “You go, girl!” issue, covering such seemingly mainstream issues as equal rights and women in the workplace. Reproductive freedom was never mentioned. It didn’t matter.

“What are you thinking to glorify a pro-abortion feminist when you are trying to sell clothing to families?!” wrote one unhappy customer on the company’s Facebook page.

Without stopping to think that the damage had already been done, Lands’ End pulled the profile and issued an apology. In so doing, they effectively alienated everyone: the people who will never forgive them for having thought to celebrate Gloria in the first place as well as a lot of left-leaning pro-choice women. “You have lost my business by succumbing to pressure from the far right,” one woman wrote in an email. “I have been a Lands’ End customer for 40 years. Gloria Steinem is indeed someone to be honored.”

Federica Marchionni stepped down not long after.

At the time, Gloria wasn’t available for comment as she was on the road. But she said, through an assistant, that her “stance on all issues remains the same.”

I read this and laughed. Gloria Steinem is not going to change her tune at this late date to placate a clothing catalog. Or anyone else, for that matter. But appreciate the lightness of her words, the playfulness. If Gloria has taught us anything, it’s that we can stand our ground, speak our truth, and fight the good fight—all without sacrificing our wit or cool hair.

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10 best essay collections written by women to be inspired by

Covering perspectives on everything from sexual politics to race, these essays are provocative, enlightening and above all, truthful , article bookmarked.

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Essay collections are nothing new – writers have always wanted to write non-fiction pieces from their own point of view. But it is fair to say that essay collections among women seem to be enjoying something of a Golden Age.

Being heard as a woman has always been difficult and if the past couple of years post #MeToo has taught us anything, women are still being censored, ignored and erased.

Sexual politics crop up in almost any essay collection by a woman – how could they not? Unique perspectives on universal experiences – sex, work, identity, love – are what essayists do best. However, often it is the more niche topics that really allow an essayist to be at their best and most exposing – which is to say at their most vulnerable, from detailing how they take notes or how they make frittata or what they think of Shakespeare’s sisters, readers get to access a more personal side of what is so often political writing.

Many of these essays cover race today – how it intersects with feminism or what it feels like to repeatedly feel shame when viewing yourself through the lens of White America.

Plenty of these collections offer advice on writing itself – and on reading and narrative.

Almost all of these collections are contemporary – with one exception, Slouching Towards Bethlehem , a collection of Joan Didion’s writing from the 1960s, which is a masterclass in essay-writing. We were looking for essays which were provocative, comforting, enlightening and above all, truthful – authours needed to clearly present opinion without straying into self-indulgence. Crucially, all of the essay collections here are by authors with a unique and distinct voice and all feel like little gifts from the writers.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

‘Minor Feelings’ by Cathy Park Hong, published by Profile Books

In this volume Korean-American writer and poet Park Hong presents Asian stereotypes as she sees them with a directness that lands like a sucker punch to the gut: “Asians lack presence. Asians take up apologetic space. We don’t even have enough presence to be considered real minorities.”

As a reader you feel totally panicked by the words – how can she write this? – but this is Park Hong’s shame as she sees herself as white America sees her.

Park Hong believes a sense of obedience is at the heart of white manipulation and oppression of Asians. But Park Hong is not obedient. She is candid, opinionated and emotional – all qualities she believes are not part of the Asian stereotype.

Park Hong manages to be very funny when talking about something so personally heart-breaking and systemically appalling. She describes her voice as “a kazoo” and speaks of audiences rushing for the door when her poetry reading is over. She recalls how she begged a Korean therapist to take her on as a patient (“‘Eunice!’ I shouted into the phone.”) because she felt she would be better understood – and doesn’t scrimp on the details of the pain of that rejection.

But although Park Hong’s experiences are naturally at the heart of the essays, she details the racism served up to Chinese workers in America the 1900s – including the example of a 15-year-old girl who was raped until her “body was hollowed out with syphilis” and she was “dumped out on the streets to die alone”. She also explains how Asians were essentially used as pawns by white supremacists during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Park Hong also discusses how often Asians are lumped into one stereotype when the differences, prejudices and conflicts between the nations are complex and very real: “Most Americans… think Chinese is synecdoche for Asians the way Kleenex is for tissues. They don’t understand that we’re this tenuous alliance of many nationalities.”

A standout moment is where Park Hong explains that racism towards Asians is different than racism towards black people, especially as she does so without making any value judgements or suggestions about which is worse.

We learned so much from Minor Things , not least what a dazzling writer Cathy Park Hong is.

‘Coventry’ by Rachel Cusk, published by Faber

The first of Cusk's essays in this collection, Driving As Metaphor , focuses on the road – its users and their vehicles. It covers speeding, morality, road rage and even death. Only Cusk could make a piece about driving – not competitive or even risky driving, just bog standard quotidian driving – remotely interesting.

Later, On Rudeness beautifully examines manners, society and language while Making Home discusses women and nesting – what makes a home and how we live. Towards the end of the collection Cusk concentrates on specific writers and books. Notable is the essay on Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love which Cusk describes rather brilliantly as employing “best friend language”, where secrets, embarrassments and disappointments are relayed in a humourous, knowing tone.

Towards the end of the essay Cusk rejects the idea that this sort of self-discovery memoir is anything but “a competition, at whose heart is a need to win.” Cusk points out that Gilbert is a “relentless cataloguer” of personal successes and questions how that makes her audiences feel given that they are cast as the admirers and not the admired.

But it is in the essay from which the volume takes its name that is the standout. Coventry dissects what it means to be given the silent treatment – with Cusk revealing that her own parents have periodically subjected her to this wordless purgatory. The authour's interest in and visiting of Coventry Cathedral, once grand and proud, decimated to nothing but shattered ruins in 1940 before being rebuilt, serves as the perfect motif here – and is further proof of her cleverness.

‘See What Can Be Done’ by Lorrie Moore, published by Faber

We loved the introduction, which explains where the volume’s title comes from – Robert Silvers, former editor of The New York Review of Books used to write the phrase at the bottom of his commissions to Moore – but it also allows us to understand more about how Moore goes about her criticism. It is somehow comforting to know that she doesn’t have any training in it and that she subscribes to no formula. She does however have a few self-imposed rules – seemingly minor things – that are likely to make you nod along in recognition or think oops – that’s me , such as avoiding internetese (informal internet speak), or “any form of the word ‘enjoy’”.

And we also love how this doesn’t need to be read in linear fashion. Instead you can dip in and out depending on your wont. That said, the opening essay is a banger if you’re a fan of Nora Ephron’s novel Heartburn . Moore’s 1983 review sums up the enduringly popular novel perfectly by discussing it as both a piece of art and a symbol of revenge.

As well as critical pieces with TV, film and literature as the focal point, the authour tackles huge topics such as memoir and writing itself, giving insight into Moore herself and her trajectory as a writer – “I preferred hearing about parties to actually going to them. I liked to phone the next day and get the news from a friend. I wanted gossip, third-handedness, narrative.”

Moore’s writing is accessible, clever and soothingly unpretentious.

‘Slouching towards Bethlehem’ by Joan Didion, published by 4th Estate

This collection of essays include long form reportage, as in the case of Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream where Didion lays bare the case of Lucille Miller – a woman jailed for the murder of her own husband against a backdrop of marital disappointment, intense religion and upward mobility in small town California.

These pieces are gripping stories of specific people in extraordinary circumstances, brilliantly told.

In other essays Didion is more introspective, using herself as subject matter and writing in the first person. In an essay on note taking, her sense of narrative is acute as she points out that “how it felt to me: that is getting closer to the truth about keeping a notebook”. Being able to see how this literary titan took notes is, without wishing to sound too hammy, a total privilege.

Although all of this writing is from before 1968, Didion’s prose feels relevant, sharp and timeless. There is little to nothing that feels dated about it. In fact, some of her sentences are nothing short of a joy – made to be read and reread repeatedly with an effortlessness that speaks to Didion’s talent.

‘Whose Story is this?’ by Rebecca Solnit published by Granta

Solnit’s essays have won plenty of praise in the past for their insight and relatability – and how cleverly she crystallises complex, messy or multifaceted ideas. This latest collection is no different.

It’s essentially a polemic on narrative control – and will likely have you performing the both-hands-raised-in-celebration emoji as finally someone says it, and says it well.

For example, Solnit is brilliant and incising on the difference between wokeness and goodness: “If you’re woke it’s because someone woke you up… It’s easy now to assume that one’s perspectives on race, gender, orientation and the rest are signs of inherent virtue but a lot of ideas currently in circulation are gifts that arrived recently through the labours of others.”

She takes no prisoners in her commentary on Weinstein and #MeToo, setting out a context in which “all the world is not a stage: backstage and beyond are important territories too”. It is horrifying when she describes male witnesses as somebodies, while women are nobodies – but it is horrifying because it is true. Women’s opinions don’t count. Their narratives are meaningless. Or were.

She gets right to the heart of who matters. She takes narrative and picks it up, examining it from all angles to decipher who gets to be heard, and who gets muted, erased.

The entire volume is relentlessly quotable – but it is harsh and brutal and sad too, like how she describes a hotel chain which has panic buttons for the female domestic staff who are assaulted by the rich male guests: “Supply and demand”.

Solnit is hopeful and addresses those who are afraid of a new world where white men won’t be the default controllers: “Some people are being left behind, not because the future is intolerant of them but because they are intolerant of this future”.

The verdict: Essay collections written by women

Our best buy goes to Minor Feelings because there is simply nothing else like it. Funny, horrifying and clever, Park Hong shines a light on the horrors of the small, minor feelings she has about being overlooked and in between and all the other things she has been taught are her fate as an Asian American.

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Women's Studies: Essential Writings of Feminism

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Internet Sources of Core Writings and Rhetoric on Women's Rights

Here are some links to online archives of classic feminist writings not covered elsewhere in this LibGuide.  See below box for selected print collections of feminist writings.

• Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement "The materials in this on-line archival collection document various aspects of the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States, and focus specifically on the radical origins of this movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Items range from radical theoretical writings to humorous plays to the minutes of an actual grassroots group. The items in this on-line collection are scanned and transcribed from original documents held in Duke's Special Collections Library. We are making these documents available on-line in order to support current teaching and research interests related to this period in U.S. history."
• Classic Feminist Writings This nice page, from the The Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU) Herstory Website, provides a basic, browsable annotated list of a few primary documents. However, although the word "classic" appears in the title, all of these materials are from the 1960s and 1970s, so they are useful only in the study of the second wave. Note, too, that the group maintains files related to the "Jane" abortion activists. Click the Historical Archive link in the top frame to explore other web document options.
• Marxists Internet Archive Library of Feminist Writers Starting with Mary Wollstonecraft and Harriet Taylor, this webpage provides "Selected writings of feminists of each of the “three waves” of feminist political activity. Intellectual Property laws prevent the Marxists Internet Archive from reproducing the works of most of the major feminist writers of recent decades. However, key chapters and articles have been reproduced for educational purposes only."
• Fragen Project (Frames on Gender) Archive "For the first time, core feminist texts from the second wave of feminism in Europe have been made available to researchers in an easily accessible online database. The FRAGEN project brings together books, articles and pamphlets that were influential in the development of feminist ideas in 29 countries during the second half of the 20th century."
• Andrea Dworkin Web Site The late Andrea Dworkin was one of the most articulate, passionate and controversial voices from the second wave of American feminism. This webpage excerpts sections from a variety of her writings. Click on the large button for "Andrea Dworkin Online Library" to read selections from Intercourse, Right-Wing Women, Pornography: Men Possessing Women, Our Blood:Prophecies and Discourses on Sexual Politics, Woman Hating, and Life and Death. The site also includes many memorial statements by other feminist leaders posted after her Spring 2005 death.
• Jo Freeman.com: Articles by Jo Freeman o Freeman is another feminist activist and scholar whose work has spanned the earliest days of the "women's movement" til today. This good-looking, well-organized website presents many of Ms. Freeman's writings, including several written under the pseudonym Joreen. (These classic pieces include "The BITCH Manifesto" and "The Tyranny of Structurelessness.")
• No Turning Back: Feminist Resource Site Designed to support this book , which we have in both print and eBook, this webpage suggests other websites, recommends appropriate films, and even links to the full-text of few classic "Primary Source Documents from Feminist History."

Print and eBook Collections of Feminist Writings and Primary Documents

Here are just a few examples of the types of anthologies Sawyer Library owns that gather and reprint interesting journalism, essays and primary documents about women's lives and feminist activism.

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• 10 Essential Feminist Texts You...

10 Essential Feminist Texts You Should Read

It was only the late 19th century that saw feminist approaches attempted inside mainstream works. Today, there is a plethora of influential books with a sharp focus on the women’s movement available. From fully-fledged novels, collections of stories, and social studies, here is an essential list of groundbreaking feminist texts to familiarize yourself with.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Published in 1963, this influential text is praised with triggering the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States, as well as around the world. Focusing on the lives of American housewives in the 50s, The Feminine Mystique dissects the unhappiness that lies at the crux of their domestic lives. Beginning with an introduction to “the problem that has no name,” the text discusses the issues and frustrations that lie beneath the surface of middle-class suburbia. According to futurist Alvin Toffler, the work “pulled the trigger on history”. This is definitely worth your time.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath’s only published text was actually released under the pseudonym of Victoria Lucas a month prior to her suicide in 1963. A semi-autobiographical piece of writing, it highlights the narrators struggles with adhering to rigid societal structure in a male-dominated society. A prisoner of her own domesticity, Plath’s Esther introduces readers to the limiting female rites of passage, all the while continuing to break contemporary stereotypes of mental instability. In fact, The Bell Jar was one of the first novels to dive into the topic of female depression that was written by a woman.

The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth is a seminal work of non-fiction that discusses the pattern of social power within women; as it rises, it urges them into maintaining unrealistic and detrimental standards of beauty. An in-depth study of the effects of commercialism and mass media on the female psyche, the text sets out to redefine our relationship with beauty and thus, our own identity. For Wolf, the ultimate threat lies in our own obsession with the aesthetic ideals of ‘flawlessness’ and that is certainly something crucial to think about.

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

Written as an extended essay put together from a series of lectures that Virginia Woolf conducted at the University of Cambridge , A Room of One’s Own remains an essential work of feminist literature in the 20th century. As well as combating the status of women within fiction, exploring their access to education and touching on the then-taboo subject of homosexuality, the text is ultimately a powerful critique of the restrictive nature of patriarchal society in the late 1920s. For those looking for an essential introduction to feminine discourse in literature, this is the text to delve into.

Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott

Published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women follows the lives of four sisters, focusing on their progression into adulthood, their contemplations of womanhood, marriage, child-birth and perhaps above all, personal independence. Although intrinsically a period family drama set at the time of the American Civil War, many have argued that the novel represents the first vision of the “all-American girl.” Themes of female empowerment and self-determination lie at the crux of the text.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Written in 1985, Margaret Atwood ‘s The Handmaid’s Tale is many things. As well as being a pivotal dystopian novel, it also explores the politics of religion, power and gender. Inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, it casts a glimpse into how women make up mainstream society, and what it means to be valued as “illegitimate.” A bold satirical view of social trends in 1980s America, it also hints at, and warns against, the aggressive anti-feminist waves rippling through the country.

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The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing’s 1962 novel explores the psychological and social processes at the heart of society. With a focus on the story of Anna Wulf and the four notebooks in which she records the stand-out events of her life, The Golden Notebook raises questions of female consciousness and their sexuality in relation to men. Although the authoress has rejected the novel’s status as a feminist work of fiction, the literary masterpiece has gone on to influence many forward-thinking women throughout the 60s — something that has continued into our present day.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

For a short introduction to one of the essential gems of feminist literature, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s work is a must. Initially published in 1892, The Yellow Wallpaper is written as a secret diary of woman who is deemed too fragile by her husband and is thus confined to her bed in the countryside. Unable to do anything, work or engage with her personal interests, she begins a slow descent into psychosis as she becomes obsessed with the fading yellow wallpaper in her room. A troubling illustration of damaging attitudes towards women’s health in the 19th century, the text is considered to be one of the most important works of early American feminist literature.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple was published in 1982 and went on to win the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — these days, you can also stumble across film and musical adaptations of this essential text. Set in rural Georgia, the epistolary novel follows the lives of African-American women in the 1930s, providing an insight into a myriad of social issues restricting them at the time. Alongside this, the novel lends a sharp focus on the breaking of boundaries within conventional male and female gender roles. A must-read.

Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Despite perhaps better known for her internationally acclaimed novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? should not be underestimated as one of her most influential texts. A memoir about the quest to find happiness, the novel follows a young woman growing up in England’s industrial north, all the while being confronted with a difficult past and the search for her biological mother. A fierce contribution to the feminist genre for its dissection of female identity, Winterson’s part-autobiographical text throws the reader headlong into how our close relationships with others mould our very being.

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NYPL's Essential Reads on Feminism

Explore feminism and its history in this list of essential reads for adults, teens, and kids. Many titles are available as e-books, on SimplyE, and from the Library Shop. Learn more .

Essential Reads on Feminism for Adults

Filter results below, 127 books found, ain't gonna let nobody turn me around.

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

All Bound Up Together

America's Women

Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths

The Argonauts

The Art of Feminism

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women

Bad Feminist: Essays

Because of Sex

Betrayal and Other Acts of Subversion

Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China

Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism

The Birth of Chinese Feminism

Black Feminism Reimagined: After Intersectionality

Black Feminist Thought

Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity

The Black Woman: An Anthology

A Black Women's History of the United States

Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza

Born Both: An Intersex Life

But Some of Us Are Brave

Captive Genders

Century of Struggle

A Colored Woman in a White World

Compañeras: Zapatista Women's Stories

Critically Sovereign

The Crunk Feminist Collection

Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells

Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women's Liberation Movement

Decolonizing Feminism: Transnational Feminism and Globalization

Delusions of Gender

Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader

The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution

Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex and Politics

Ecofeminist Natures

Ecological Borderlands

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower

Everyday Sexism: The Project That Inspired a Worldwide Movement

Existential Eroticism

Exquisite Rebel

Fairest: A Memoir

The Feminine Mystique

Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto

Feminism Unfinished

The Feminist Promise: 1792 to the Present

Feminist Revolution

Funk the erotic: transaesthetics and black sexual cultures.

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity

Gender, Development, and Globalization

Gilded Suffragists

Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger

The Good Girls Revolt

Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism

Hard Choices: A Memoir

The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers

Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot

How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective

I'm Afraid of Men

Immigrant Women in the Land of Dollars

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose

The Industrial Vagina

Intercourse

Inuit Women: Their Powerful Spirit in a Century of Change

Jailed for Freedom: American Women Win the Vote

The Judy Grahn Reader

Law, Gender & Injustice: A Legal History of U.S. Women

Male Daughters, Female Husbands

Men Explain Things to Me

Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?

My Beloved World

My Life on the Road

The Myth of Seneca Falls

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers

Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution

Other Powers

Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era

Our Mothers' War

Out to Work: A History of Wage-Earning Women in the United States

Performing Sex: The Making and Unmaking of Women's Erotic Lives

A Politically Incorrect Feminist

Quiet Rumours: An Anarcha-Feminist Reader

Reclaiming Our Space

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood

Regulating the Lives of Women

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life

The Sacred Hoop

SCUM Manifesto

The Second Sex

Sex Object: A Memoir

Sexual Politics

She Had Some Horses: Poems

Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker

Sister Outsider: Essays & Speeches

Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage

Southern Women: Black and White in the Old South

Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity

Suffrage and the City: New York Women Battle for the Ballot

Suffrage: Women's Long Battle for the Vote

Thank You for Voting

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color

The Traffic in Women and Other Essays on Feminism

Transgressive: A Trans Woman on Gender, Feminism, and Politics

A Voice from the South

Want to Start a Revolution?

Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments

We Should All Be Feminists

When and Where I Enter

Whipping Girl

Why They Marched

Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive

The Woman Warrior; China Men

The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote

Women & Power: A Manifesto

Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement

Women Warriors of the Afro-Latina Diaspora

Women Will Vote: Winning Suffrage in New York State

The Women's Suffrage Movement

Women, Race & Class

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Blog – Posted on Monday, Oct 12

50 best feminist books to dismantle the patriarchy.

Throughout its turbulent history, feminist books have stood at the cutting-edge of feminism. Contemporary readers of landmark texts, such as The Feminine Mystique or Sister Outsider , found themselves swept up in a revolution, pioneered by radical female writers wielding a pen. Decades later, and joined by a legion of diverse new feminist voices, these fearless and passionate texts still feel like a call-to-arms — a rallying cry to all women trying to find their place or fight for liberation. 

Whether you’re a fan of fiction or nonfiction books , memoirs, poetry, essays, or novels, the feminist books on this list will guide you along the winding path of the feminism — as experienced by women from all walks of life, of all races, ages, and identities — and into the 21st century. 

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

A gold-standard of feminist fiction and now a critically acclaimed TV series, The Handmaid’s Tale follows Offred, a member of the fertile, female servant class that is treated as breeding stock by an oppressive, near-future society — all in the name of replenishing the diminished population. At a time when the reproductive rights of women are still politically contentious, this dystopian novel is a disturbing reminder of what society often considers a woman’s worth.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

When Alcott told the story of Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy in 1868, she may not have intended to write a feminist book; nevertheless, Little Women has danced its way into the hearts of feminists for generations. Certainly, in the 2019 film adaptation it’s given new feminist fire, as Greta Gerwig shows how Alcott’s bold, loving, unconventional sisters can teach us there are many ways to be a woman. Read the book. Watch the film. Do both — in any order. Just make sure you consume Little Women .

3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Plath’s seminal novel tells the story of Esther Greenwood’s descent into mental illness in astute and haunting prose. An aspiring writer whose dreams are stifled by her misogynistic society, Esther’s story encapsulates the desire and disillusionment of being a young woman — which is why it has become a quintessential novel for young feminists. The Guardian has called The Bell Jar a ‘tormented footnote to Plath’s tormented poetry’; but it is also a work of undoubted literary brilliance that stands alone as a classic feminist book.

4. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Morrison’s debut novel immerses us in the tragic, torn life of Pecola Breedlove — a poor, young black girl living in 1940s Ohio. Internalizing the ugliness put on her by society, Pecola longs for blue eyes; and it’s this impossible desire that drives her to the point of breakdown. The Bluest Eye forces us to confront how damaging racialized notions of beauty can be and makes race (and youth) central to the discussion of gender disparity. Of course, it’s couched in what became the signature poetic prose of this Nobel Prize-winning author.

5. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Restless, twentysomething Edna is summering at a resort on the steamy coast of Louisiana when she catches the eye of the resort owner’s son — it’s the perfect backdrop for a romantic comedy, except this story of personal discovery and sexual intrigue has a dangerous undercurrent. Edna is a Victorian mother and wife, who had resigned herself to a languid life before the summer of her awakening. Now, she vibrates with the desire to have a room of her own, to smash a vase, to break the rules. Although The Awakening was published on the turn of the 20th century, this feminist book still hits its mark. A desire to smash the patriarchy? Relatable.

6. Wayward Girls & Wicked Women by Angela Carter

This marvelous collection of short stories was edited by titan of feminist books Angela Carter, and reflects her deliciously anarchic taste. From authors including Jamaica Kincaid, Katherine Mansfield, and Ama Ata Aidoo, every one of these subversive tales extols the female virtues of discontent, disruptiveness, and general bad-manners, and restores wayward girls and wicked women to their rightful position as role models. Because who wants to be ‘nice’ when you can be clever, cunning, and interesting?

7. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Another early feminist classic with enduring appeal, Gilman’s 6,000 word masterpiece tells the story of a young woman whose husband confines her to a nursery as treatment for postnatal depression. With a strict ban on reading, painting, and, if it can be managed, thinking (her secret diary being her only outlet), the narrator’s ravenous imagination is at the mercy of unnamed terrors. 

Frighteningly, The Yellow Wallpaper was based on the author’s own experiences, and in 1890 its story caused feminist fireworks among women forced to be docile. But today, it takes on a new urgency, speaking to the current discussion of gaslighting and coercive control.

8. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Set in segregated Georgia, The Color Purple follows Celie, a young black woman born into poverty. As mother, sister, and wife, Celie suffers from unimaginable hardship, until she meets singer and magic-maker Shug Avery, who teaches her to harness the power of her own spirit and take control of her destiny. In this haunting and lyrical novel, Walker, who calls herself a ‘womanist’, portrays the oppression and triumphs of black women, the horrors of physical and sexual abuse, and the ongoing struggle to overcome the double jeopardy of racism and sexism.

9. Circe by Madeline Miller

An ancient Greek myth gets a fresh coat of feminist paint in this thoroughly modern retelling of Circe’s story. A player in the lives of both heroes and gods, Circe is a figure apart, a character steeped in magic and mystery, a source of fascination — and yet, one of the ancient world’s most deeply misunderstood deities. Until now. Madeline Miller, bestselling author of The Song of Achilles, returns to breathe new life into Circe, giving her the power to command her own story, and translating yet another male-centred myth into something startlingly feminine.

10. The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Keeping with the theme of the untraditional, Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play that gathers the stories of real women — from different ages, races, identities, and experiences — to explore female sexuality in all its complexity. Delving into topics as deeply essential as sexual consent, body image, sex work, and reproduction, Ensler’s work has become a major feminist touchpoint since its debut in 1996. Come for the incredible title, and stay to hear the eloquent and hilarious voice of womankind.

11. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

From ancient myths to fairytales, a feminist take on a ‘tale as old as time’ will always be welcome on our shelves; and Angela Carter’s 1979 collection of darkly erotic stories contains some of the most fiercely imaginative examples of the style. In The Bloody Chamber you’ll find all the bedtime stories of your childhood newly configured as gothic tales of sex and violence. Their heroines — a murderous Red Riding Hood, a beastly Belle, a vampiric Sleeping Beauty — struggle out of the straitjackets of history and ideology, and turn the tables on tradition.

12. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

Though Lessing insisted The Golden Notebook was never intended to be a “weapon in the sex war”, her epic of the female experience spoke to the women’s movement of the 1960s with a visionary fire, and has since been hailed as a landmark feminist book. 

Living in 1950s London, Anna Wulf is a divorced single mother, and a novelist struggling with writer’s block . Fearing chaos, formlessness, and mental collapse, she separates her life into four notebooks; but it is the fifth, the golden notebook, that will pull the wayward strands of her life together and open the door to freedom.

13. The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace

Amanda Lovelace calls all women to arms in her fiery poetry collection encouraging strength and resilience among women, and empowering them to reclaim their minds, their bodies, and their stories. In a world where women are still marginalized and oppressed, The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One provides a much needed rebellious spark. So give it a read; then tell all your friends to give it a read. This is the self-love potion we didn’t know we needed, but absolutely do.

14. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Though exciting new voices like Amanda Lovelace are exploding onto the poetry scene, the poems of Emily Dickinson are as refreshing and relevant today as they were in 1840. Still one of the most daring voices ever to craft a couplet, Dickinson used her poetry to rebel against the dreariness of everyday life, and to rupture the boundaries between male and female writing styles. In doing so, she inspired generations of young women and laid the groundwork for a host of contemporary women writers . If you don’t want to read all of Emily Dickinson’s poems (though we can think of worse ways to spend our time), we’d recommend My Life had stood- a Loaded Gun .

15. The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

Ask who was at the shops in the run up to Christmas and you might hear “Oh, the world and his wife”. But poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy challenges this patriarchal language picture with three simple words, the title of her 1999 collection, The World’s Wife . The cheeky, exuberant, subversive poems in this anthology hand over to the women behind the scenes, behind the throne, behind history. From the adoring Queen Kong to the lascivious Frau Freud, from the angry and ignored to the sure-footed and sexy, Duffy’s irresistible collection proves that behind every famous man there is in fact a great woman.

16. Dialectic of the Flesh by Roz Kaveney

Dialectic of the Flesh is a beautiful and intimate exploration of queer and trans existence through verse. Though Roz Gaveney’s collection is pocket-sized (31 poems in all), her poems run the gamut of emotions: elegies of abandonment and loss traverse pathways dark and guttural, while celebrations of love and sex are witty, exuberant, and wistful. Gaveney also showcases her versatility by dancing between carefully-constructed sonnet variations and villanelles, and free verse narratives. A collection not to be missed!

Young Adult Fiction

17. asking for it by louise o'neill.

Asking For It is the kind of book you devour, but not the kind you enjoy. Not because it isn’t well written — Louise O’Neill is fearless and moving — but because it tells a devastating story about rape culture and victim blaming that is uncomfortable and heart-breaking to read (while still incredibly important). Its discomfort is in part due to the fact that O’Neill doesn’t write about a sweet girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. Asking For It is about Emma O’ Donovan, a nasty, shallow girl, a bully, liar, and cheat, and even the reader can’t help but wonder, if only for a terrible, fleeting moment, whether she was at fault on the night she was assaulted.

18. Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls

Nicholls breathes new life into the story of the Suffragette and Suffragists movements in her historical YA novel, Things a Bright Girl Can Do . She sees the rallies and marches, the freezing prison cells, the East End slums, and the stifling drawing rooms of Edwardian Britain through the eyes of three courageous young women who join the fight for the vote. Though they come from different walks of life, they all dream of a world where women are considered equal. Nicholls imbues this exhilarating era of change with gripping drama that brings the past fiercely to life.

19. Furious Thing by Jenny Downham

If Before I Die did not cement Downham’s reputation as an influential voice in young adult fiction , then this explosive novel certainly will. Furious Thing follows Lexi, a girl who is angry for reasons she cannot understand. Though she tries to swallow her temper, it simmers below the surface just waiting to erupt. What will happen if Lexi decides to take up space and make herself heard? 

A sensitive and thought-provoking narrative about modern issues, including anger-management and gaslighting, Furious Thing roars with anger at an unfair world that is constantly letting girls down.

20. Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

In recent years, the call for intersectional feminism has been louder than ever, with an increasingly diverse range of voices contributing to the ongoing conversation. A lot of that is down to the work of writers like Audre Lorde, whose iconic collection of essays and speeches is considered a cornerstone of intersectional feminism. Sister Outsider reflects on sexism, racism, class, and homophobia; it also discusses the use of anger, the problems inherent in white feminism, and her own experience as a Black lesbian; but ultimately, Lorde’s message is one of hope.

21. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Millions of women have fallen in love with this story, whether because of Julia Roberts’ winning smile, or Gilbert’s writing, which propounds a kind of literary incarnation of a best friend. An intimate memoir of breakdown and recovery, Eat Pray Love follows Gilbert on a voyage to find her true self: from her bathroom floor and the end of a perfect marriage, to Italy, India, and Indonesia, three beautiful backdrops against which she explores aspects of herself that have been missing. Pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and balance in Indonesia — a powerful trinity for the 21st century woman.

22. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s transgressive and mischievous essay is now a landmark work of feminist literary critique, but it started life as a series of lectures given to Cambridge’s female colleges. Woolf takes on the established thought of the time — that women are inherently lesser writers — by asserting women’s creative originality and pointing to the systemic education and economic failures that stifled them. Her analysis is light, glancing, and even funny, despite its urgency and passion. At a juncture in her argument she offers the key to female creative liberation: A Room of One’s Own.

23. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

If you’ve ever used the term “mansplaining” to describe the condescending efforts of a man to explain something to a woman, then you’ve got Rebecca Solnit to thank. Her collection of hilarious, rage-inducing essays, Men Explain Things to Me , not only coined this iconic term, but has also come to be considered as one of the best feminist books. 

Solnit delves into some of the biggest themes of the modern feminist experience, including marriage equality, the erasure of women from history, and the titular topic of having your expertise explained to you, often in patronizing terms. According to Solnit, it’s due to a combination of “overconfidence and cluelessness”. I think we all know a guy.

24. The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir

Published in 1949, The Second Sex began as an autobiographical essay in which author and philosopher Simone De Beauvoir explored why she had always thought of herself as a woman before anything else. As she combined personal observation with critical theory, it grew into a groundbreaking study of the unequal treatment of women throughout history, and “the problem of woman,” which, as De Beauvoir put it, “has always been the problem of men.” The Second Sex is an essential feminist book.

25. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan confessed in 1973 that until she started writing The Feminine Mystique , she wasn’t even conscious of “the woman problem”: “I thought there was something wrong with me because I didn’t have an orgasm waxing the kitchen floor,” she said. In fact, many American women felt the same, and just as writing this book opened Friedan’s eyes, the women who read it were swept up in a new wave of feminism. The Feminine Mystique captured the frustration of middle-class American housewives afraid to ask themselves the question “Is this all?”, and exhorted them to make change happen for themselves.

26. Women, Culture, and Politics by Angela Y. Davis

A scholar and an activist, Angela Davis earned herself a place among the most important feminist voices of our era with her brilliant, biting prose, and Women, Culture and Politcs is perhaps her best feminist book. A collection of speeches and essays penned in 1989, it addresses the political and social shifts of the late 20th century, and the ways in which they changed conversations around the struggle for racial, sexual and economic equality.

27. This Bridge Called My Back

This Bridge Called My Back is a collection of personal essays, criticisms, poetry, and visual art from radical women of colour, including influential feminist writers such as Naomi Littlebear Morena, Audre Lorde, and Barbara Smith. Together they explore the intersections between gender, race, sexism, and class, and how these intersections influence the way they understand the world, as well as how the world understands them. This anthology is considered one of the landmark texts of Third Wave feminism, and continues to shape today’s feminist landscape.

28. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer

When Greer’s landmark feminist book, The Female Eunuch, hit the shelves in 1970, it immediately made waves with its shocking conclusion: that the traditional nuclear family is a tool of female oppression, and that the key to female liberation is sexual liberation. Erudite, outrageous, and sensible, Greer’s unflinching polemic transformed women’s lives. Sure, her call for women to taste their own menstrual blood might not have caught on, but if you’re asking whether The Female Eunuch still speaks to the modern feminist — the answer is yes.

29. Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

One of America’s most recognizable trans activists, Janet Mock relays her experiences growing up as a multiracial, poor, trans woman in her brave and moving autobiography, Redefining Realness. Though this is undoubtedly an account of one woman’s experience of womanhood, and her own quest to a sense of self, Mock manages to break ground for anyone and everyone who is marginalized and misunderstood, and is fighting to define themselves on their own terms.

30. Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein

In a society that insists we be either ‘man’ or ‘woman’, Kate Bornstein describes herself as a “nonbinary transfeminine diesel femme dyke”. On the surface, Gender Outlaw is the story of her transformation from being viewed as a heterosexual male to realizing she was a lesbian female; but below the surface, Bornstein never stops questioning our rigid expectations of a gender binary, and gently pushing us towards the furthest borders of the gender frontier. Though Gender Outlaw is a provocative and radical investigation into the notions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’, it is also funny, fearless, and wonderfully scenic.

31. The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert

Gilbert and Gubar’s The Madwoman in the Attic is a classic feminist book of literary criticism that looks at the portrayal of female characters by Victorian women writers. By applying a feminist lens to these 19th century novels, the authors not only change the way we think about the books themselves and their female characters, but also force us to look again at the grandes dames of English literature, whom, they suggest, have distinctly feminine imaginations. Originally published in 1979, The Madwoman in the Attic continues to tread the path for scholars some four decades later.

32. Colonize This!

It has been decades since women of color first turned feminism on its head, calling out the movement of the 70s for being white and exclusive. Colonize This! offers a much-needed refresh in its gripping and intimate portraits of American life, as seen through the eyes of young women of color. Daisy Hernandez and Bushra Rehman have gathered a brilliant and diverse  group of young feminist voices who speak to the concerns of a 21st century feminism — one that fosters freedom and agency for women of all races.

33. On Intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw

As well as looking forward to the feminism of the future, sometimes it is just as important to look back at key turning points in its history. In 1989, Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality — a hugely influential approach to understanding discrimination in a society whose members experience bias in any combination of ways, as a result of race, gender or sexuality. In this collection of Crenshaw’s writing, readers will find essays and articles that provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to a brilliant theorist and her critical work.

34. Headscarves and Hymens by Mona Eltahawy

Egyptian-American journalist and activist Mona Eltahawy is a fearless fighter for women’s rights. After making headlines in 2011 when she was arrested, beaten and sexually assaulted during the Egyptian revolution, she wrote a brave and impassioned article titled “Why Do They Hate Us?” — where “they” is Muslim men and “us” is women. Headscarves and Hymens is a book-length expansion of this article, in which she takes aim both at religious misogyny in the Middle East and at western liberals who mistake this misogyny for cultural difference. This fearless roar-to-arms sets her own experiences alongside those of dozens of other women, giving a laceratingly honest account of what it’s like to be a woman in the Muslim world.

35. Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne

What is misogyny? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny differ from sexism? Kate Manne explores all these questions in her forensic analysis of the logic of misogyny; but her guiding question, more straightforward and more troubling, is “Why is misogyny still a thing?” 

Manne argues that we should put individual men to one side, that we should stop treating hostility towards women as a psychological characteristic, and that we should put the focus on how women who challenge male dominance are policed by society. Down Girl is an essential feminist book for the #MeToo era.

36. Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

When it comes to modern feminist icons, few spring to mind more readily than Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Even those of us who were born long after her appointments to the Supreme Court have fallen in love in recent years with her tenacious spirit, drive for equality, and sharp humor. In Notorious RBG , Carmon and Knizhnik bring what was once a playful Tumblr blog into a fully realized portrait of this fiercely inspiring woman. Through a fascinating combination of narrative, photographs, interviews, and even Justice Ginsburg’s own dissents, this book shows you a beloved icon in a new light — one that paints her as, somehow, even more remarkable than we already knew she was.

37. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

These days, it’s hard to imagine that one person has the power to change the world, but reading I am Malala may just leave you feeling hopeful. This personal and deeply inspiring tale recounts Malala’s fight for a proper education — a fight she never should have had to enter into, but one that she braved with such fierce determination that her name is spoken with reverence in all corners of the globe. Through her own words, Malala recalls the now infamous shooting, her recovery, and the unparalleled journey of advocacy and feminist championing that followed.

38. Bossypants by Tina Fey

Endlessly talented and wickedly funny, Tina Fey has been entertaining and inspiring women for years. From her often-too-relatable portrayal of Liz Lemon to her years mixing it up on SNL, it seems there’s no comedy role that’s beyond her. Now, in Bossypants , we get a glimpse behind the many faces she’s worn over the years and discover, to our delight, that she’s every bit as amazing as we were always hoping she would be. Full of behind-the-scenes insight into all our favorite Fey moments, Bossypants will delight from first page to last.

39. Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things to explain about sexism is that it doesn’t always come in the overt, chauvinist-pig wrapper that society likes to wrap it in. In fact, it normally hits us in quiet, everyday sort of ways that are almost impossible to explain, but that every woman knows. Started as a website in 2012, Everyday Sexism is one woman’s attempt to gather what it really looks like, through shared anecdotes of women from all walks of life, who’ve been told in subtle and pervasive ways that they’re “less than.” Both eye-opening and all too familiar, this book is not to be ignored.

40. This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins

We all know that living with a marginalized identity is hard. But try combining those identities — in Jerkins’ case, being both Black and a woman — and suddenly the ante is raised even higher. With aggressions coming at you from all sides, the simple act of living your life becomes political. In this interconnected series of essays, Jerkins takes you through the raw reality of her life, exposing the double standards, hypocrisy, and demonization Black women face every day. This Will Be My Undoing is a vital piece of writing, and one that feminists, especially white feminists, should be sure to pick up and take to heart as they strive to build a better world for all women.

41. Gender Trouble by Judith Butler

Judith Butler is synonymous with the feminist movement: since the 1970s, the trailblazing philosopher has written over 20 influential books that challenge traditional gender conventions and defy gender performativity. Though each is a must-read, we recommend that you start with Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity . A foundational work in feminist and queer theory, Gender Trouble disrupts the gender binary, arguing that “gender” itself is a performative construct. Written in 1990, its groundbreaking arguments are as important — and relevant — to understand now as they were then.

42. The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

Called the “most important feminist publication since The Female Eunuch ” by Germaine Greer, The Beauty Myth tackles the perennial question of beauty, which was complicated further in the 1990s by the rise of mass media. Though it’s slightly dated by now, this is nevertheless a classic and masterful deconstruction of the myth of beauty in the context of the patriarchy: an important read for anyone who wants to understand the increasingly complex intersection between female identity, beauty, and society.

43. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

In an essay for The Guardian , Gay writes: “I am failing as a woman. I am failing as a feminist. To freely accept the feminist label would not be fair to good feminists. If I am, indeed, a feminist, I am a rather bad one.” In this modern day and age, what makes a “good enough” feminist? Bad Feminist is Gay’s critically acclaimed, witty, and powerful exploration of this very question. Covering a broad range of topics from politics to race and entertainment, this is a future classic that’s instrumental in the complicated and evolving conversation regarding what it means to be a feminist.

44. Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

As the modern feminist movement rose in profile in the 21st-century, it also gained its fair share of detractors, who decried its supposed “anti-male” stance. It is this crowd that hooks aims to address in Feminism Is For Everybody , published in 2000. With steady candor and precision, she dispels the myths most commonly associated with feminism and compellingly argues why feminism is for everyone — yes, for you, too.

45. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

For those who want to start at the very beginning of the movement, start with A Vindication of the Rights of Woman . Written by the brilliant author-activist Mary Wollstonecraft — now acknowledged as one of the founding feminist philosophers — A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is one of the earliest works of feminist theory. A commanding manifesto that birthed the tenets of modern feminist thought, it defied the prevailing notion at the time that women were naturally inferior to men, arguing instead that education for women (or the absence thereof) was a key inhibitor to equality. Today, it reminds us of the distance we’ve traveled since 1792 — and the work that is still to be done.

46. Fat Is A Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach

Originally published 40 years ago, Fat is a Feminist Issue is one of the first revolutionary anti-diet books to address body image and body variance. Less a critique and more a step-by-step guide on overcoming emotional eating, it was ahead of its time when it was published. And much of it is still relevant today, in a society that is only becoming more obsessed with the “ideal” body.

47. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In December 2012, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivered an explosive TEDx talk entitled “We Should All Be Feminists” that generated 6 million views and ignited a worldwide conversation. This personal essay, which covers similar ground, is as much a must-read as the TEDx talk is a must-watch. With characteristic poise and wit (Adidchie is also a bestselling novelist and the recipient of the 2008 MacArthur Genius Grant), she distills the definition of modern feminism in clear prose, and delivers perhaps one of the most convincing arguments for why it would do all people good to rally around the movement.

48. The Future is Feminist

The Future is Feminist presents a stunningly empowering collection of essays that tackle feminism from all angles (including an entire essay on resting bitch face). As provocative, smart, and funny as its star-studded cast of diverse authors, this book is easily one of the most accessible introductions to feminism out there. Perhaps most importantly, it will offer inspiration and fire moving forward, as its authors from the past and the present — including Salma Hayek, Mindy Kaling, Sojourner Truth, and Mary Wollstonecraft — give us a glimpse of a more equal future.

49. Marxism and the Oppression of Women by Lise Vogel

If you stand at the cross-section of Marxism and feminism, Marxism and the Oppression of Women is essential reading. Whether you’re a Marxist wanting to venture into feminist thought or a feminist wanting to venture into Marxist theory, Vogel offers a concise overview on the topic that breaks down key Marxist concepts in clear, digestible prose. But she remains focused on the main critique at the core of the book: an analysis of the material basis of women’s oppression within a Marxist framework, and why Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx failed in that regard to account for it in their foundational Marxist texts.

50. Moving Beyond Words by Gloria Steinem

One of America’s greatest feminist icons, Gloria Steinem delivers yet another defiant and powerful essay collection. Building on Steinem’s past experience spearheading the American feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s, these six essays move fluidly between the personal and the critique, all the while challenging societal notions of femininity and gender norms. If you’re short on time, you might want to skip to the “What if Freud were Phyllis?” essay: a brilliant take-down of sexist Freudian philosophies that re-imagines Freud as a woman.

Hungry for more? Check out this list of inspirational books for women .

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17 Essays by Female Writers That Everyone Should Read

As the VIDA count shows, the ratio of male to female writers published in literary journals, magazines, and book reviews remains largely disproportionate in favor of male writers. In the conversation around this imbalance, some have suggested (among other silly arguments) that women should simply write about more important subjects. The folks over at Creative Nonfiction , the literary magazine that this year celebrates its 20 th consecutive year of publication, scoff at this assessment of the situation. In fact, CNF ’s current issue, “ Female Form ,” includes only essays by female writers. While the theme of the issue was initially unintentional, CNF’ s editors think this only shows that there are indeed plenty of women writing serious nonfiction; they’re just not getting the serious attention they deserve. Just to hammer the point home, the magazine curated this list of 17 essays by female writers every woman (and man) should read. Check them out after the jump, and if we missed any of your favorites, add them to CNF ‘s list in the comments.

“ Split at the Root ,” Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich was one of the major feminist writers of the 20th century, and throughout her many volumes of poetry and essays, she has voiced the struggles to establish identity — especially female identity. In 1982’s “Split at the Root,” Rich recalls growing up in a Southern, Christian household, and frets over the significance of identifying — as an adult — as Jewish.

“Living Like Weasels,” Annie Dillard

This essay, excerpted from Dillard’s memoir, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek , begins with a moment at Hollins Pond where Dillard and a weasel lock eyes and swap brains. “If you and I looked at each other that way, our skulls would split and drop to our shoulders,” Dillard writes. The essay then explodes into an exploration, in Dillard’s unforgettably imaginative and passionate style, of what we might learn from the weasels about living in the present moment, “noticing everything, remembering nothing, choosing the given with a fierce and pointed will.” If this essay does not make you see the world like a weasel, it will at least make you want to see the world with Dillard’s inexhaustible sense of wonder.

“ Heroin/e ,” Cheryl Strayed (1999)

“I wanted my mother to love me, but more. I wanted her to prove it, to live, to be a heroine. To go to battle and win. And if she was going to die, I wanted her to tell me, in the end, how I should live without her.” Writing in her distinctive emotionally raw and straightforward style, Cheryl Strayed introduces us in this heart-wrenching essay to many of the themes and stories more fully explored in her New York Times bestselling memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail : the author’s mother’s early death, the crumbling of her first marriage, and her addiction to heroin in her early 20s. (Strayed fans will also want to check out her new interview with Elissa Bassist in the latest issue of Creative Nonfiction ; they discuss fame, writerly jealousy, and writing like a motherf*#ker.)

“The Solace of Open Spaces,” Gretel Ehrlich

Gretel Ehrlich has become one of today’s most influential environmental writers; she is well known for her work exploring the relationship between land and culture, often focusing on rapidly disappearing or isolated landscapes. She began her writing career with 1985’s The Solace of Open Spaces , a collection of personal essays about her time working as a rancher in Wyoming following the death of her partner. The eponymous and first essay from that collection, lyrically beautiful and haunting, specifically explores how the history of settlement in barren and remote Wyoming influences the culture of the scattered ranchers and farmers making their lives there.

“The Ugly Tourist,” Jamaica Kincaid

“You make a leap from being that nice blob just sitting like a boob in your amniotic sac of the modern experience to being a person visiting heaps of death and ruin and feeling alive and inspired at the sight of it.” A must-read for anyone who dreams of a tropical vacation, this ruthless essay, written in 1988, forces us to take a good look at what it means to be a tourist and what it is we think we’re escaping when we travel. Antiguan-born, Kincaid specifically talks about the conditions on islands, such as her home, where a certain brand of tourism continues to flourish, which ignores the hardships of islanders’ lives.

“Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” Joan Didion

It would be impossible to put together this list without including this powerhouse of literary journalism, a seminal figure in the New Journalism movement of the ’60s who has since become one of our most beloved and prolific writers. Famed for her clear-eyed and vivid descriptions of her home state, California, in “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” Didion explores Haight-Ashbury in 1968, at the height of counterculture.

“ The Fourth State of Matter ,” Jo Ann Beard

This moving essay captures the events in Jo Ann Beard’s life preceding and surrounding the 1991 shooting at the University of Iowa, which claimed the lives of four faculty members and one student in the physics department, where Beard worked part-time. The juxtaposition of Beard’s daily struggles — caring for her sick dog, navigating a separation, and getting rid of squirrels from her attic — with the shooting underscores the unpredictability, shock, and otherworldliness of tragedy.

Photo Credit: Star Black

“ Against Nature ,” Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates, one of the most prolific writers of our time, is also — to judge from this essay — one of our most prolific readers. Ruminating on her own body and relationship to nature, and surveying (many) other writers’ depictions of nature, Oates ultimately disagrees with the writers she cites that nature is “an experience.” “Against Nature” builds to a conclusion that is as unique as Oates’ own place within the literary landscape.

“ No Name Woman ,” Maxine Hong Kingston

Every family has at least one big secret. In this imaginative and brave essay, second-generation Chinese immigrant Maxine Hong Kingston tells us what she knows and what she imagines about her aunt, who became pregnant outside of her marriage, gave birth in a pigsty, and drowned herself and her baby in a well. Hong Kingston gives her relative a voice by imagining her story, and makes us consider what silence can do to a person’s memory within a family.

“ My Misspent Youth ,” Meghan Daum

The dream is not always what it seems. Ever since visiting the apartment of a music copyist with her father as a girl, Meghan Daum confesses, she had romanticized living in New York. She details her fantasies of a life accessorized with an apartment with oak floors, “faded Persian rugs… and NPR humming from the speakers.” The essay was published in 1999, but the struggle to “make it” in New York is, if anything, more challenging today (as any fan of Girls knows). Daum details her efforts, as a young woman working in publishing, to attain her dream of being a successful writer, and her painful decision ultimately to leave the city, dragging her debt behind her.

“ Shunned ,” Meredith Hall (2003)

Today, we have Sixteen and Pregnant and Teen Mom , but the world was not always thus. In “Shunned,” Meredith Hall recalls being a pregnant teenager in a small community in the 1960s, cut off by her family, church, and community. “The price I paid seems still to be extreme,” Hall reflects, in this moving exploration of the facades communities maintain, as well as the costs individuals pay for not belonging.

“ He and I ,” Natalia Ginzburg

“He loves museums and I will go if I am forced to but with an unpleasant sense of effort and duty. He loves libraries and I hate them.” Do opposites attract, and can they stay together? With a simple and matter-of-fact tone, acclaimed Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg chronicles the telling details of a 20-year relationship. This poignant essay sneaks up on you, and by the end leaves you breathless at the way one moment can influence who we become and how we see the people we love.

“ Notes on a Difficult Case ,” Ruthann Robson

At age 42, attorney Ruthann Robson was diagnosed with a tumor in her liver; doctors pronounced her “hopeless, incurable, and inoperable.” Robson suffered the effects of toxic chemotherapy and the condescension of her doctors for asking questions. Desperate and finally deciding to seek a second opinion, she discovered she had been misdiagnosed; her tumor was easily operable. “Notes on a Difficult Case” explores Robson’s search for justice amid the frustrating legal intricacies of medical malpractice.

“ The Fracking of Rachel Carson ,” Sandra Steingraber (2012)

The dangers and drama of hyrdrofracking are attracting increasing visibility ( Gasland ; 60 Minutes stories showing tap water that catches on fire; and even a new Matt Damon flick, Promised Land) . Focusing specifically on Rachel Carson’s homeland of Pennsylvania, the heart of the Marcellus Shale fracking boom, acclaimed ecologist Steingraber details Carson’s own battle throughout her lifetime to raise awareness about the effects of pollution. This essay is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the implications of fracking for our health, or who worries about Carson’s prophecy for future silent springs.

“ The Bitch is Back,” Sandra Tsing Loh (2011)

At the beginning of this rollicking tour through modern hormonal advice, Sandra Tsing Loh declares herself the reader’s “Virgil to the literature of menopause.” What follows is a hilarious analysis of the recommendations made to women coping with the effects of mid-life changes — and for the record, women between 44 and 65 is currently America’s largest demographic group. But no matter your age or gender, Tsing Loh’s Sedaris-like wit makes this essay a fun and thought-provoking piece that asks us to re-examine what we mean by a “normal” woman.

“Street Haunting,” Virginia Woolf

Can we ever really escape ourselves? Nope – -or at least, Virginia Woolf could not. In “Street Haunting,” she takes the reader along on a seemingly humdrum evening walk to pick up a lead pencil. But what we really get is a peek into Woolf’s wild consciousness; this essay is one reason why many point to her as one of the originators of the personal essay form. (It’s also worth reading strictly for Woolf’s vivid descriptions of 1920s London.)

“ Joy ,” Zadie Smith (2013)

Children — as many a parent has realized — are a joy, but not always a pleasure. In this essay that ranges through the many experiences of adulthood (you know: taking ecstasy in nightclubs; being so carelessly in love the thought of breaking an ankle seems a trifle; becoming a parent) the incomparable Zadie Smith puzzles over the differences between joy — which she describes as a “strange admixture of terror, pain, and delight” — and pleasure.

• American History

18 of the Most Powerful Feminists of All Time

These days, many leading feminists are household names: A-list musicians, Hollywood stars and literary heavyweights all throw themselves behind equality. But the earliest feminists were often unrecognised in their own lifetimes. Worse still, they were sometimes attacked for their progressive views, dismissed as mad or ‘unfeminine’. But though they must have felt like they were fighting an impossible battle, they carried on, and we have them to thank for the progress that has been made over the decades and centuries.

In some cases, the earlies feminists were driven by reason. In other cases, their religious faith and belief that God made all of us equal was the foundation for their feminist principles. And then there were the campaigners and activists for whom feminism was just one part of a larger fight for a fairer society. So, here we have 18 of the most notable feminists from history, all of them worthy of our recognition and thanks:

1. Laura Cereta left a convent to become a pioneering figure for female emancipation years before the Enlightenment

Italy during the Renaissance period was full of learned men. But the period stretching from the 14 th through to the 17 th century also produced some notable women. And none was arguably more notable than Laura Cereta, a true woman of letters. At a time when girls and women were actively discouraged from learning – indeed, many saw scholarly pursuits as being ‘unfeminine’ – Cereta broke the mould. What’s more, she was also highly outspoken and her writings have been credited with helping build the foundations of feminist movement that emerged with the Enlightenment.

Born into nobility in the city of Brescia in 1469, Cereta spent her early years in a convent. Here, she gained a rudimentary education, as well as being taught basic ‘womanly’ skills like embroidery. When she retuned home, however, she was not content to follow her mother’s example of feminism. Instead, she was determined to carry on in her learning. With her father’s help and blessing, she did just this, excelling in math, astrology and the physical sciences. Even marriage at the age of 15 didn’t stop Cereta in her scholarly pursuits – wisely she wed a Venetian merchant who supported her endeavors.

Tragically, the marriage lasted less than two years. Cereta was a widow before the age of 20. She consoled herself by throwing herself into intellectual life. She was a regular at salon debates in the cities of Brescia and Chiari. She also became a prolific writer. She wrote essays and letters focusing on women’s rights, including marriage and women in education. She was also a fierce critic of the scientists and historians of the day, working tirelessly to ensure women were given due credit. According to some accounts, Cereta even held a university chair in philosophy in Padua around the time she started publishing her essays in volume form.

Cereta died in 1499 at the age of just 30. Due to her social status and the reputation she had earned as a scholar, her funeral was well-attended. Her writings were also given a new lease of life and were widely discussed for years. Though they fell out of favor, Cereta once again became a respected voice during the Enlightenment, with several notable feminists, not least Mary Wollstencraft, citing her as a key influence. It was only in 1997, however, that Cereta’s essays on women’s rights and their place in history and society were finally translated into English.

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2. Jane Anger penned the first English-language defense of women’s rights all the way back in 1589

In 16 th century England, women didn’t really write books. And if they did, they were almost always about religion. Jane Anger was different, though. At a time when women were supposed to ‘know their place’, both in society and in the home, she hit back. In 1589, she penned and published the first full-length defense of women’s rights in English, a work that still fascinates, and indeed inspires, scholars and feminists to this day.

Unsurprisingly, since she wasn’t a man, the details of Anger’s life were never recorded for posterity. We therefore know very little about her, including where and when she was born and raised. It’s possible she had French ancestry, with her name a common anglicized version of a French surname. If this was the case then it’s likely that she was from a well-to-do family and, therefore, was well-educated, or at least better educated than most females of the time.

However, all that’s really known of her is that she was the author of the ground-breaking pamphlet Jane Anger: The Protection of Women . Notably, in the work, Anger moves away from religious language and instead uses secular reasoning to argue for equal rights for women. What’s more, she goes further than this, arguing that men were actively keeping women down and that, while society was happy to benefit from women’s work, it remained highly patriarchal. She famously concluded: “We are contrary to men, because they are contrary to that which is good.”

Today, just one original copy of Anger’s Protection of Women remains. Over recent decades, however, it has been republished widely. Though it remains the subject of much scholarly debate – including over whether it was actually written by a man posing as a female author – it is nevertheless regarded as being way ahead of its time. Jane Anger, whoever she really was, was a feminist before feminism really existed.

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3. Aphra Behn was a playwright, poet, a spy and a feminist who refused to marry and so compromise her principles

Almost nothing is known of Aphra Behn’s life, only her work. Nevertheless, at the start of the 20 th century, she was heralded as one of the most important early feminists in British history. Indeed, for the members of the famous Bloomsbury Group of bohemians, Behn was a true pioneer. Despite living in the male-dominated 17 th century, she enjoyed a successful career as a woman of letters. In fact, she’s regarded as the world’s first professional female writer.

Born in 1640, she somehow (historians can’t agree on the details) made it into the court of King Charles II. Incredibly, before embarking on her literary career, she served as a royal spy, undertaking espionage missions in Belgium and perhaps even Suriname. By the 1660s, she was back in London and making a name for herself as a writer. Despite not having a university education – women weren’t allowed in Oxford or Cambridge at this time – she was a successful poet and playwright. Most notably, she marketed herself as a professional, earning an honest living from her craft.

For a long time, Behn was condemned as a ‘scarlet woman’, of loose morals. To her critics, she aped the bad behaviour of men and was ‘unfeminine’. In the last century, however, her reputation was restored. Virginia Woolf and her contemporaries celebrated her as an early feminist. They cited Behn’s later years, when she lived in obscure poverty, as proof that she never compromised on her ideals or independence. Rather than taking a male sponsor, or even a lover to support herself, she chose to go it alone as a writer, even if it meant financial ruin.

4. Mary Astell asked why women were born as slaves and campaigned throughout England to earn equality for the sexes

“If all Men are born free, how is it that all Women are born slaves?” Mary Astell asked that question – the same question many feminists around the world are still asking to this day – back in the early 18 th century. Her brave, tireless campaigning for equal opportunities in education in particular have helped Astell gain a reputation for being one of the English-speaking world’s earliest, and most important, feminists.

Aside from the fact she was born in the city of Newcastle in 1666, hardly anything is known about Astell’s early life. It’s likely she received some basic education from male relatives or from the church, though she never went to school. Upon her father’s death, Astell, then aged just 12, moved to London. The family settled in the neighborhood of Chelsea. Here, she grew to know a number of female literary figures. She even got to know the Archbishop of Canterbury and when Astell started producing essays and books of her own, he lent her his financial backing.

From 1694 onwards, Astell wrote prolifically on the idea of women’s rights. As well as education, she also tackled the theme of equality in marriage. Her ideas, above all that all girls should be given the same education as boys and that marriage should be an equal union based on mutual respect and friendship, were considered ground-breaking, even controversial, at the time. In her most notable work, Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest , Astell proposed an all-female college. She eventually achieved this in 1709. Despite being ill and in her 50s, she designed the curriculum of the Chelsea school herself and she also used her contacts and influence to secure the necessary funding.

Astell died in 1731. Her works continued to be published, albeit anonymously, long after her death. Later feminists would build on her arguments on marriage and education for women, and her works continue to be the subject of much scholarly discussion today. Even though she was highly religious – indeed, her main argument was that women should be educated so that they could enjoy and appreciate Heaven as well as men could – she is equally admired by secular feminists.

5. Abigail Adams was more than just the First Lady of the United States, she was also known as “America’s First Feminist.”

The wife of John Adams, Abigail Adams was far more than just the ceremonial First Lady. She was also the President’s friend and closest adviser. What’s more, she was a prolific writer and formidable intellectual. She was also active in politics, even managing to stay active while being a mother to six children. Unsurprisingly given her many notable achievements, Adams is often referred to as ‘America’s First Feminist’.

Born Abigail Smith in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1744, the young Abigail did not benefit from a formal education. But still, with her grandmother’s help, and thanks to her own determination, she became a knowledgeable and well-read young woman. So, when she met John Adams at the age of 15, it was a match of intellectual, if not social, equals. She moved with her husband to Boston. They got a farm and started a family. Increasingly, however, John was forced away to fight for independence. It was then that Abigail Adams really came into her own, as the many letters between the pair testify.

Adams not only raised six children almost single-handedly, she also ran the farm. What’s more, she managed the family investments, even ignoring her husband’s advice and making a sizable profit. Then, when John was elected President, she brought this same spirit of independence to Washington. She played an active role in politics, and she served not only as the President’s closest adviser but also as his public relations department, too. In later years, she would provide the same level of support to her son, John’s, political career, helping him all the way to the White House.

Arguably Adam’s greatest legacy was her advocacy for women’s rights. In 1776, she penned a letter to the Continental Congress. In it, she argued that women should not be secondary members of society but are equal to men. Following her death in 1818, her feminist arguments would be taken up and developed by a new wave of campaigners. Today, she is largely remembered for being one of the most important First Ladies in American history.

6. Charles Fourier was the radical French philosopher who first coined the word ‘feminism’

In 1838, French philosopher Francois Marie Charles Fourier put forward his new idea. He called it ‘feminism’, a radical theory for the time. He argued that men and women are born equal and, as such, should have equal opportunities and rights. This was part of his larger world view, one that laid the foundations for the modern socialist movement. Moreover, it wasn’t just his views on gender equality which were way ahead of his time. He also held very progressive views on sexuality too, as his writings show.

Fourier was born in 1772 and worked as a traveling salesman as a young man. It was while on the road in France that he developed his ideas and became a writer. Despite not being a commercial success, by 1815, Fourier had found himself a patron, allowing him to write extensively and develop his philosophy, including his ideas on what he called ‘feminism’. Put simply, the Frenchman argued that women were just as capable as men. As such, no profession or job should be closed to them on account of their gender. He also called for every level of education to be opened up to girls and women so that they might enjoy the same opportunities in life as their male counterparts.

Fourier never married since he was against it on philosophical grounds. Indeed, he believed that marriage could prohibit a woman from asserting her individuality and realizing her potential. Though his ideas were relatively unknown when he died aged 65 in 1837, Fourier had a small but dedicated band of followers. They ensured that his arguments lived on. In fact, they did more than endure. Much of Fourier’s thinking was adopted by later socialist thinkers. Even today, his views on marriage and women’s rights – so controversial at the time – are central to modern feminist thought.

7. Anne Knight might have been a pacifist Quaker but she was a passionate campaigner against slavery and for women’s rights

In the one photo that we have of her, Anne Knight looks like a timid old lady. In reality, she was anything but. Sure, she might have been a devout Quaker, a Christian dedicated to non-violence. However, she was one of the most ardent campaigners against slavery in all of Europe. Knight was also a feminist trailblazer, advocating for women’s suffrage long before the more-famous Suffragettes.

Knight was born into a fiercely Quaker family in northern England in 1786. As a young lady, she joined her local Anti-Slavery Society and became increasingly involved in the cause. This was her main passion – until she tried to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. The event was men-only. Knight was furious. From then on, she became an ardent campaigner for women’s rights. Just a few years later, in 1847, she produced what is considered to be the world’s first leaflet on women’s suffrage. This small publication was to have a huge impact on future generations.

Throughout the 1840s, Knight traveled extensively through Europe. As a skilled linguist, she addressed audiences in France and Germany, arguing against slavery and in favour of gender equality. When she did return home, she rallied English women to her cause. Most notably, in 1851, she founded the Sheffield Female Reform Association, Britain’s first such group. She died in France in 1862, having been active in her struggles right up until the end.

8. Mary Shelly was the daughter of a famous feminist and a radical philosopher but made a name for herself as an independent woman of letters

The author of the iconic gothic novel Frankenstein had unbeatable feminist credentials: her father, William Galdwin, was a pioneering philosopher and leading advocate for women’s rights; her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the founders of modern feminism. How could their daughter not be a feminist? But she was more than just the daughter of an 18th century ‘power couple’. She was a fiercely independent woman in her own right. Plus, of course, she was one of the finest writers of her generation.

Born Mary Goodwin in 1797, her mother died when she was just an infant. As such, she was raised by Goodwin. He was wealthy enough to provide her with an education, and enlightened enough to ensure that she learned much more than the average girl of the time. Later she would marry eloped to Europe with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, an acquaintance of her father, even though he was a married man. They eventually married in 1816 and, despite near constant debt and social ostracism, they settled down to raise a family and concentrate on their literary careers.

After Percy’s accidental death by drowning, Shelley returned to England and, from 1822 onwards, devoted herself to her children and to her writing. She was fiercely independent and her writing often tackled the theme of gender equality – in every respect. Much of her poetry was passionate, sexual even, and it’s now recognized that, contrary to the gender norms of the time, it was she who seduced her late husband rather than the other way around. Later in life, she was one of the few women in the whole of Europe who managed to make a living from the arts.

At the same time, however, her status as an early feminist is not so clear-cut. Some argue that she wasn’t as radical as her mother. While Wollstonecraft advocated free love and relationship anarchy, her daughter couldn’t wait to get married to Percy. What’s more, some biographers have argued she had a troubling relationship with other women, including her own step-sister. Ultimately, however, she is remembered as one of the literary greats, outdoing almost all of her male contemporaries.

9. Thomas Thorild had very progressive views on the place of women in society, shocking his intellectual peers in 18 th century Sweden

Not all early feminists were English-language writers and campaigners. Outside of England and the United States, a number of pro-equality voices emerged over the course of the 18 th century, including that of the Swedish poet Thomas Thorild. Indeed, in cosmopolitan Stockholm, Thorlid was one of the brightest minds and his progressive – and, one might add, controversial – views on feminism and gender equality made him stand out from the intellectual crowd.

Thorild was a very clever man indeed. After graduating from Lund University’s, Sweden’s finest higher education establishment, he went to Germany to begin his academic career. While the exact dates are unknown, it is known that he returned to his native Sweden when King Gustav III was on the throne, from 1771 until 1792. It was then that his started to really make a name for himself in the salons and debating halls of Stockholm. Above all, his argument that women should enjoy the same freedoms and opportunities as men shocked many. They also made him many admirers, however, including among the ladies of high society (though, of course, his dashing good looks and charm certainly helped him in this regard).

Above all, Thorild maintained that a woman should be judged as an individual. He famously argued: “Just as foolish as it is to regard a woman only in the capacity of a SHE, it would be to regard a man only in the capacity of a HE.” Thorild died relatively young, but his ideas endured. Indeed, for many years, Stockholm was a haven of progressive thought, with the philosopher and poet having laid the foundations of the country’s feminist movement. His famous quote is still used by Scandinavian feminists to this day.

10. Susan B. Anthony gave her name to the Constitutional Amendment that finally gave women in America the right to vote

The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits both individual states and the federal government from barring citizens from voting on the basis of their sex. Notably, before the name was changed in 1920, this was known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. This fact alone is testament to the pivotal role that Antony, a committed Quaker and lifelong social rights activist, played in getting women the vote in America.

Born in Adams, Massachusetts in 1820, Anthony was politically active from an early age. Inspired by her religious upbringing, she was collecting signatures on anti-slavery petitions at the age of just 17. When she turned 30, however, she shifted her attention to women’s rights. After being refused entry to a male-only temperance conference in New York, she helped set up several female-led groups. These campaigned for temperance, for the abolition of slavery and for votes for women.

In 1870, Anthony moved to Rochester, New York. Two years later, she attempted to vote in the local election there. She was arrested – voting was restricted to men at the time – and put on trial. The courtroom drama attracted a huge amount of attention. The court declined to fine her and Anthony used the momentum to put their proposed constitutional amendment before Congress. With the help of Senator Aaron A. Sargent, the amendment was introduced in 1878 and then accepted – women had finally won the vote!

Anthony carried on campaigning on a range of social issues right up until her death. While she was initially mocked for her beliefs, in later life, she was hailed as a true American hero. President William McKinley invited her to the White House on the occasion of her 80 th birthday. These days, numerous schools and streets are named after her, and Anthony is widely celebrated as one of the most important feminists in American history.

11. Mary Wollstonecraft was a prolific author and writer who put her feminist principles into practice, much to the dismay of polite English society

Easily one of the most famous British feminists of all time, Mary Wollstonecraft was a true woman of letters. She was an accomplished novelist, poet and essayist. As well as writing fiction, she also wrote history – including one notable account of the French Revolution – and philosophy, plus she was one of the world’s first proper travel writers. However, it’s for her pioneering work in the field of women’s rights for which Wollstonecraft is best remembered, and for good reason.

A true Londoner, Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 and, thanks to the violent rage of her drunken father, endured an unhappy childhood. She found solace in books and as a teenager attended lectures and seminars across London. It was here where she developed her strong views. She started writing while working as a governess for a wealthy family in London. Most famously, she published her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. In it, she argued that men and women are naturally equal and so should enjoy equal respect and opportunities.

Wollstonecraft didn’t just write about feminism, she also lived a fiercely independent life. She married the anarchist philosopher William Godwin. Their happy union was an open one. Mary had a string of lovers on the side, though largely settled down when she had her first child. She gave birth to a second daughter, the future Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein , in 1797, but died just 11 days later. Her adoring husband subsequently penned a book of memoirs. While written with affection, its truthful account of their marital arrangements scandalized polite society and Wollstonecraft became better known for her love affairs and personal troubles than for her writing.

This only really changed recently. Towards the end of the 20 th century, Wollstonecraft was embraced by the modern feminist movements. Her writing is now heralded for its originality of thought and strength of argument. What’s more, her views on marriage, female education and more are seen as truly progressive for her time and an inspiration for the campaigners of today.

12. Sojourner Truth changed her named to reflect her mission of spreading the message of equality across the United States

When you remember that English was not her first language, and that she was denied a proper education as a child, Sojourner Truth’s achievements seem all the more remarkable. She was one of the most talented orators in American history. Huge crowds would come to hear her speak on a range of topics. But above all, she was known for telling her ‘truth’ on women’s rights and slavery. As well as being remembered as one of the country’s most significant feminist campaigners, she’s also been named as one of the ‘most significant Americans of all time’ – not bad for someone from such a lowly background.

Born into slavery with the name Isabella Baumfree in around 1797, she was passed around between owners as a girl and young woman. On one slave estate she met and married a fellow slave named Thomas. They had three children together. But, for legal reasons, Isabella took only the youngest, an infant daughter named Sophia, with her when she escaped to freedom in 1826. She managed to find work as a housekeeper in New York City. It was here where her Christian faith grew in strength. She became a Methodist. Though she had been raised in a Dutch-speaking community, she believed God had called her to spread His word. She took the name ‘Sojourner Truth’ in 1843, the year she left the city and headed out to preach.

As well as speaking out against the evils of slavery, Truth also advocated for women’s rights. In 1851, addressing a crowd in Akron, Ohio, she gave her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. This cemented her reputation as a passionate and persuasive speaker, and she put these skills to good use recruiting black soldiers for the Union Army. After the Civil War was over, she turned her attention to getting land for freed slaves to settle on and even met with President Ulysses S. Grant.

Truth carried on preaching into old age. She was notable for calling for equal rights for people of all colors and genders. She died in 1883, aged 86, and is remembered as a tireless and peerless campaigner for civil rights. Truth’s legacy lives on in America and many highways, schools and churches are named in her honor.

13. Jane Addams returned from a tour of Europe determined to make a difference to the lives of the poorest women in America

In late 18 th and early 19 th century America, many notable men dedicated themselves to the idea of social reform. Indeed, even Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson proclaimed themselves to be reformers keen to make a difference for all levels of society. But it’s wasn’t just a man’s game. Jane Addams was also one of the era’s most notable social reformers. Above all, she campaigned for women’s rights, arguing that mothers were best-placed to make America’s cities better – and fairer – places to live for everyone.

Addams, who was born in Illinois in 1860, enjoyed a privileged upbringing, though she did suffer from a range of childhood illnesses. When her father died, She inherited a tidy sum of money and decided to devote herself to public work. Addams toured Europe with her friends, and it was here she learned about ‘settlement houses’ in London, where university graduates lived alongside poorer members of society. In 1889, she had opened her own such place, Hull House in Chicago. The mansion house became a refuge for women, as well as a lively center of research and debate.

Not content with just running her settlement house, Addams was also an active political campaigner. She argued that mothers were best-placed to guide education and housing policies. As such, they should be given the vote. She founded the Women’s Peace Party, for which she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and she also helped set up the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Perhaps more importantly, she served as a role model to countless women like her, showing middle-class ladies how they could make a difference in their communities.

14. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson overcame a number of social obstacles to become Britain’s first female physician

In 19 th century England, women weren’t supposed to have careers. They certainly weren’t supposed to be doctors. And they couldn’t even if they wanted to, for medical schools were for male students only. Not that this stopped Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. The Londoner broke all the rules to become Britain’s first female physician, making waves and then making history in the process.

Despite being born into relative poverty, Anderson’s father worked hard and became successful enough to ensure each of his 12 children got a good education. After her schooling, it was expected that Anderson would marry and settle down. However, influenced by her feminist friends and by the example of Elizabeth Blackwell, America’s first female doctor, she decided to pursue a career in medicine instead. Since all the university courses were closed to her, she enrolled on a nursing course and then sneaked into classes for student doctors. Before long, she got kicked out of the school but still managed to qualify as a doctor since the Society of Apothecaries had never thought to prevent women from sitting its exams.

Anderson established a dispensary for women in London’s East End. She finally married and had a family of her own but was determined not to slow down professionally. She served as a visiting physician to the East London Hospital. However, she still had no proper medical degree. To fix this, she taught herself French, headed to Paris and graduated from university there. Upon her return to London, she established the pioneering New Hospital for Women in London. Her hero and inspiration, Elizabeth Blackwell, was appointed head of gynecology, joining an all-female staff.

Even when she retired and moved to the coast, Anderson kept on being a feminist pioneer. She became the Mayor of her small town, making her the first female to hold such a post in England. Along with her daughter, she joined the Suffragettes, campaigning for the vote for women. She died in December 1917, just months before the British Parliament agreed to give women the right to vote. Anderson did, however, live to see the laws changed to allow female doctors.

15. Concepción Arenal was the first woman to graduate from a Spanish university and remains an icon of the country’s modern feminist movement

Concepción Arenal Ponte’s father, a liberal military officer, died in prison in 1829. His daughter was just 8 at the time. She was forced to move to a small town in the northern province of Cantabria, where her mother struggled to provide her with a happy childhood. Nevertheless, Arenal received a good education and she grew into a determined young woman. So determined, in fact, that she took herself to Madrid and enrolled in the main university there. In doing so, she became the first female university student in the country’s history. More than this, she also became a role model for many more Spanish girls and women and established herself as the founder of the country’s feminist movement.

Being a female student in conservative Madrid was no easy life. Arenal was forced to hide her femininity, dressing as a young man to attend lectures. But she was never deterred. In fact, she even attended literary, philosophical and political seminars in the city, completely unheard of for a woman at the time. Upon graduation, she married and started a family. Alongside these duties, she wrote for a notable liberal newspaper, though when her husband died, she was forced to move back to the north of Spain for financial reasons.

Back in the north of the country, Arenal dedicated herself to writing and helping the poor. She set up a feminist group for disadvantaged women. And above all, she wrote prolifically. Most notably, in 1869 she published her main work, The Woman of the Future , in which she argued that women’s perceived inferiority was simply a societal construct and had no basis in biology. Thanks to her intellectual connections in Madrid, the book was widely-read, and she also contributed numerous essays and articles to leading liberal journals and newspapers of the time.

Arenal died in 1893. More than 30 years later, the short-lived Spanish Second Republic attempted to put her feminist ideas into action. These days, she is best remembered as Spain’s ‘first feminist’, and libraries and university buildings across the country are named after her.

16. Lydia Becker juggled campaigning for women’s votes in Britain with being a scientist and contributor to the work of Charles Darwin

When they were campaigning for women in Britain to be given the vote, the Suffragettes were often dismissed as bored, ‘silly’ housewives without the intellect or sophistication to understand politics. Such a change could never be leveled at Lydia Becker. For as well as being a leading figure in the votes-for-women movement, Becker also possessed a fine scientific mind. Indeed, had she been born in more enlightened times, she might be better remembered for being a biologist rather than for her accomplishments as a feminist.

Born into a family of German immigrants in Manchester in 1827, Becker was educated at home. However, this was not enough to satisfy her fierce intellectual curiosity. As a young lady, then, she taught herself botany and biology. She submitted articles to leading journals with some success. What’s more, she corresponded regularly with Charles Darwin and even contributed her own research and ideas to his work. Alongside this, she also became increasingly involved with the burgeoning feminist movement of the time.

After establishing the Ladies’ Literary Society of Manchester – and even convincing Darwin to share original work with the feminist group – she was an active participant in the first public meeting of the National Society for Women’s Suffrage, also held in Manchester. She toured the cities of northern Britain, lecturing on women’s rights and suffrage. She also established the Women’s Suffrage Journal and even went so far as to call for unmarried women to be given the vote – something even many ardent feminists of the time were against. Thanks to Becker’s work, some municipalities allowed women to vote in local elections from the 1870s onwards.

Notably, one of Becker’s many talks was attended by Emmeline Pankhust, who was inspired to take up the cause of votes-for-women herself. Pankhurst would, of course, go on to become a leading figure of the later Suffragette movement that succeeded in getting the vote for women in 1918. Becker died in 1890 while she was holidaying in the south of France. She was aged just 63.

17. Antoinette Brown Blackwell made history by becoming America’s first female minister but left the pulpit to fight for feminism

Before she was even a teenager, Antoinette Brown was preaching in her family’s Congregational Church in Rochester, New York. A bright, well-educated young lady, she wanted to become a preacher. To this end, she went to Oberlin College in Ohio and, after much trying, succeeded in getting a place on the theology degree course there. Then, in 1851, she obtained a licence to preach, becoming America’s first ordained religious minister. From the pulpit, she preached on a range of topics, above all promoting equality between the genders and races. Within a year, however, she stepped down and hit the road.

After leaving her ministry, Brown focused almost all her energy on campaigning for women’s rights. While some feminists concerned themselves with getting women the vote, she believed this was not a priority. Instead, she wanted to improve the social and economic conditions of America’s women first and foremost. Only then, she believed, should the fight turn to voting. She campaigned against slavery and for temperance and argued that women should take on traditionally ‘male professions’ while men should do more domestic work. Unlike many of her peers, however, she was largely against divorce.

In 1875, Brown published her main work, The Sexes Throughout Nature. Here she argued that men and women are equal but biologically different. The book was well-received and influential. Even Charles Darwin praised the work. To this day, it remains a key text in the history of feminist thought. Brown died in 1920 at the age of 96, living just long enough to see the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women in America the vote at last.

18. Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton gave up a life of luxury to fight for women’s votes and ended up paying the ultimate price

While in prison, serving time for affray, Constance Lytton took a piece of broken pottery and carved the letter ‘V’ into the flesh of one of her breasts. It was a V for ‘Vote’. As one of Britain’s leading campaigners for female suffrage, Lytton was prepared to go the extra mile for her cause. While some of her contemporaries believed in taking a soft, long-term approach to achieving her goal, she was far more radical, both in her aims and her methods. Indeed, Lytton paid a high price for her beliefs: she forsook a life of luxury for the cause, and she even died young as a result of her sacrifices.

Born in 1869 to an aristocratic family, Lytton turned her back on her inherited privilege almost as soon as she entered her teenage years. Not content with a quiet, lazy life, she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). The group were the most extreme of all the organizations campaigning for female suffrage in Britain. They would take direct action and their members were often arrested. For this reason, Lytton assumed an alias, Jane Wharton, so that she would not be given preferential treatment due to her aristocratic background.

In all, Lytton was jailed on four occasions. While serving time in a Liverpool jail in 1910, she went on hunger strike and ended up being force-fed. Then, when war broke out in 1914, the WSPU agreed to halt its direct actions. Instead, Lytton turned her attention to the issue of birth control. She aided Marie Stopes in her mission to establish family planning clinics across England, though alongside this, she never stopped giving lectures and writing pamphlets calling on the government to finally give women the right to vote.

Finally, in 1920, the suffragettes’ wishes were granted. Parliament passed a law giving women over the age of 30 the vote. Just three years later, Lytton died, aged just 54. According to most accounts, she never fully recovered from her time behind bars, and especially her time on hunger strike. She was buried in a casket draped in the colors of the suffragettes museum and interred in the family grounds. Today, she is remembered as a martyr for the cause and one of Britain’s most committed and passionate feminists.

Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

“Italian Women Writers: Laura Cereta (1469-1499).” Chicago University Library.

“Who is Aphra Behn?” Abigail Williams, The University of Oxford.

“Mary Astell.” Jacqueline Broad, Oxford Bibliographies. Oxford University Press.

“Abigail Adams – U.S. First Lady.” Biography.com.

“Charles Fourier: The Father of Feminism.” Accredited Times.

“Anne Knight, 1786-1862”. Quakers in the World.

“Thomas Thorlid, Swedish Poet.” Encyclopedia Britannica.

“Susan B. Anthony: Her Story.” Susan B. Anthony House.

“Sojourner Truth.” National Women’s History Museum.

“Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.” BBC History.

Trish Hopkinson

A selfish poet, 50 feminist literary magazines & journals (just updated).

In past years for National Women’s Equality Day , I spent some time compiling a list of feminist lit mags and journals and have recently updated the list! You can support these organizations by sharing, reading, submitting to, or donating. Submit your feminist writing and/or contribute in any way you can:

• share on social media
• read them regularly
• submit using the tip jar options when possible
• donate when appropriate if possible

Feminist Lit Mags and Journals What is a feminist lit mag? A feminist lit mag or journal publishes writing that supports equality across all gender identities and acknowledges the lack thereof. They try to support and encourage work from minorities, such as women, LGBTQ+, and people of color. Per my interview with The Fem in 2015 , I personally define feminism as “being fair and just. Feminism is not an ideology that should be used to condemn any one way of thinking, but rather to communicate, educate, and broaden the perspectives of those who are treating others unjustly.” Therefore, “feminist writing can be any writing that either celebrates diversity or undertakes the hard topics of social justice.” The listings below seem to fit the definitions above as feminist lit mags or journals. If you feel that any of these don’t belong on this list for whatever reason, please let me know and I’m happy to investigate. They are listed alphabetically; some are currently accepting submissions, some are temporarily closed. I’ve also included whether or not it is a paying market. These lit mags/journals also fit the following criteria:

• Generally do not charge fees to submit (although some may charge fees for some types of submissions and for contests).
• They accept poetry submissions.
• All accept electronic submissions.

If you have suggestions/updates for lit mags/journals I’ve missed, please contact me here or leave a comment below.

If you like this post, please share with your writerly friends and/or  follow me on  Facebook ,  Twitter , or  Instagram . You can see all the FREE resources my site offers poets/writers on my  Start Here  page. 

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Tagged as: binders , feminist journals , feminist lit mags , feminist poetry , inclusive lit mags , LGBTQ lit mags , nwhp.org

5 replies »

Trish, I appreciate this list so much! Thank you for being a constant beacon of great advice for fellow writers 🙂 Windy

My pleasure Windy! Nice to hear from you.

Thanks for including Mom Egg Review in your list, and for all you do for writers! Best, Marjorie

You’re welcome!

Thank you so much. This is very helpful. xoA

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The Best Feminist Poems Everyone Should Read

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Feminism was really a product of the late nineteenth century: the word is first recorded, according to the Oxford English Dictionary , in 1895 (although ‘feminist’ is found from 1852). However, there were obviously figures before the second half of the nineteenth century who argued for reforms in women’s rights and in how women should be treated in society.

So below we’ve picked ten of the best feminist statements in poetry; although they may not all be banging the drum for equality or making a clear political point, these are ‘feminist’ poems in encouraging us to think about the experience of women.

1. Christina Rossetti, ‘ In an Artist’s Studio ’.

One face looks out from all his canvases, One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans: We found her hidden just behind those screens, That mirror gave back all her loveliness …

Christina Rossetti (1830-94) was one of the Victorian era’s greatest and most influential poets. Goblin Market and Other Poems was the first collection of her poetry to be published, and it was the book that brought her to public attention. She went on to influence a range of later poets, including Gerard Manley Hopkins, Ford Madox Ford, and Elizabeth Jennings. Philip Larkin was an admirer, praising her ‘steely stoicism’.

This sonnet from Rossetti seems like a good place to begin our pick of feminist poems, since it can be read as both an endorsement of the male gaze and a subtle critique of it.

In the poem, Rossetti describes a male artist (almost certainly inspired by her brother, the Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti) painting a female sitter or model, who is transformed through the power of the canvas into a saint, an angel, a queen, a peasant girl, and much else. Is the male artist granting the woman power to ‘live’ all of these different lives through art, or is he objectifying her, offering unattainable ideals concerning how women should be?

2. Emily Dickinson, ‘ They Shut Me up in Prose ’.

If prose is male, poetry is female – at least, in the rather reductive and old-fashioned binary that Emily Dickinson certainly would have been aware of, growing up in a Calvinist family in New England in the mid-nineteenth century. The poem, which can be read in full by following the link above, begins:

They shut me up in Prose — As when a little Girl They put me in the Closet — Because they liked me ‘still’ —

3. Mina Loy, ‘ Songs to Joannes ’.

Loy (1882-1966) is a true original among Anglophone poets, but she still hasn’t had the readership or recognition she deserves. She drafted – though never published – her own ‘ Feminist Manifesto ’ in 1914, in which she argued that the only choices women faced in society were ‘parasitism’ (i.e. marriage and dependence on a man), ‘prostitution’ (remaining independent, but selling one’s body to live), and ‘negation’ (i.e. what used to be called ‘spinsterhood’).

Her remarkable 1917 poetic sequence ‘Songs to Joannes’, about her relationships with the Futurist writers F. T. Marinetti and Giovanni Papini (‘Giovanni’ becomes ‘Joannes’), puts into poetic practice a number of these ideas outlined in her manifesto, which was only published 16 years after her death. Do women risk losing their individuality and selfhood if they give themselves to a man? Loy seemed to think so.

4. H. D., ‘ Eurydice ’.

Although this is a dramatic monologue spoken by the wife of Orpheus – the musician from Greek mythology – like many of the poems of Hilda Doolittle or H. D. (1886-1961), the poem clearly had its origins in Doolittle’s own life.

Written during the First World War when H. D. lost her brother and her marriage to Richard Aldington began to fail (their first child was also stillborn in 1915), ‘Eurydice’ is about the myth involving a woman sent to the Underworld.

Orpheus travels to Hades to ask that Eurydice be returned to the land of the living, and Hades grants his wish, on condition that Orpheus doesn’t look back at his wife as they leave the Underworld. Orpheus can’t wait, and looks back at Eurydice before she’s clear of the Underworld, and as a result she is destined to remain in Hades forever.

H. D. saw the feminist potential for such a story, and here gives Eurydice a voice, as she accuses her husband of thwarting her chances at life.

5. Judith Wright, ‘ Eve to Her Daughters ’.

This dramatic monologue sees the Biblical Eve transported to a post-nuclear landscape where man has succeeded in destroying the Edenic paradise of the world as we know it. Watch out for the play on the word ‘fallout’: both the quarrel between husband and wife (Adam and Eve) and nuclear fallout from the war, as well as summoning the Fall of Man.

This is both an anti-war poem and a feminist poem: as Eve says at the beginning of this poem,  she  wasn’t the one who started it – despite the centuries of blame that Eve has endured for her part in the Fall.

6. Sylvia Plath, ‘ Ariel ’.

One of Sylvia Plath’s most widely discussed poems, ‘Ariel’ describes an early morning horse-ride towards the sun, using imagery that is loaded with significance, suggesting the desire to take control of one’s life and ride away.

Published in October 1962, just four months before Plath committed suicide, ‘Ariel’ became the title poem in Plath’s posthumous 1965 volume, publication of which was overseen by Plath’s widower, Ted Hughes.

7. Maya Angelou, ‘ Still I Rise ’.

This wonderfully self-assertive poem about picking yourself up and striving to achieve, even in the face of adversity, was used for an advertising campaign by the UNCF in the US, but the poem’s message is one that applies equally to issues of gender as well as issues of race.

8. Audre Lorde, ‘ A Woman Speaks ’.

This poem forms a nice companion-piece to Angelou’s poem, even though it is spoken by a very different voice. However, Lorde (1934-92) was also an African-American female poet, whose concluding words in this poem (‘I am woman and not white’) provides a clue to its dual status as a feminist poem and a poem about women of colour in the twentieth century.

Drawing on ideas concerning witchcraft (a common smear against women who refuse to toe the line, of course) and oceanic and moon-imagery, it’s a powerful and stirring rallying-cry for women the world over.

9. Margaret Atwood, ‘ Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing ’.

This 1995 poem from the author of the bestselling feminist novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) takes a figure from mythology, like H. D.’s ‘Eurydice’ above, and gives her a voice through the dramatic monologue form.

Here, though, Helen of Troy, the beautiful woman whose abduction caused the Trojan War, becomes a tabletop dancer in North America, whose decision to parade her body for money is greeted with derision by some women. As Helen says at the end of the poem, ‘You think I’m not a goddess?’ Think again…

10. Carol Ann Duffy, ‘ Mrs Midas ’.

Taken from Duffy’s themed collection The World’s Wife , in which the female partners of various famous male figures from literature, culture, and myth speak out, this poem sees the wife of the mythological King Midas call out her husband’s greedy and foolish actions.

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What is feminism?

At its core, feminism is the belief in full social, economic, and political equality for women. Feminism largely arose in response to Western traditions that restricted the rights of women, but feminist thought has global manifestations and variations.

In medieval France philosopher Christine de Pisan challenged the social restrictions on women and pushed for women’s education. In 18th-century England Mary Wollstonecraft ’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman became a seminal work of English-language feminist philosophy. Feminism in the United States had a number of prominent activists during the mid- to late-19th century. Notable mainstream activists included Lucretia Mott , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , and Susan B. Anthony . Less mainstream but similarly important views came from Sojourner Truth , a formerly enslaved Black woman, and Emma Goldman , the nation’s leading anarchist during the late 19th century.

Intersectionality is a term coined by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe how different social categories interact, sometimes resulting in compounding effects and tensions. Her paper on the subject argued that discrimination specifically against Black women is different from general anti-woman discrimination or anti-Black racism. Instead, it involves the unique compound experience of both sexism and racism. Initially used in the context of discrimination law, the concept saw a resurgence in the 21st century among left-wing activists who broadened intersectionality to include categories such as class and sexual orientation.

Feminism has provided Western women with increased educational opportunities, the right to vote, protections against workplace discrimination, and the right to make personal decisions about pregnancy. In some communities, feminism has also succeeded in challenging pervasive cultural norms about women. Outside of the Western world, activists such as Malala Yousafzai have highlighted issues such as unequal access to education for women.

feminism , the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. Although largely originating in the West, feminism is manifested worldwide and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.

Throughout most of Western history, women were confined to the domestic sphere, while public life was reserved for men. In medieval Europe, women were denied the right to own property , to study, or to participate in public life. At the end of the 19th century in France, they were still compelled to cover their heads in public, and, in parts of Germany, a husband still had the right to sell his wife. Even as late as the early 20th century, women could neither vote nor hold elective office in Europe and in most of the United States (where several territories and states granted women’s suffrage long before the federal government did so). Women were prevented from conducting business without a male representative, be it father, brother, husband, legal agent, or even son. Married women could not exercise control over their own children without the permission of their husbands. Moreover, women had little or no access to education and were barred from most professions. In some parts of the world, such restrictions on women continue today. See also egalitarianism .

History of feminism

There is scant evidence of early organized protest against such circumscribed status. In the 3rd century bce , Roman women filled the Capitoline Hill and blocked every entrance to the Forum when consul Marcus Porcius Cato resisted attempts to repeal laws limiting women’s use of expensive goods. “If they are victorious now, what will they not attempt?” Cato cried. “As soon as they begin to be your equals, they will have become your superiors.”

That rebellion proved exceptional, however. For most of recorded history, only isolated voices spoke out against the inferior status of women, presaging the arguments to come. In late 14th- and early 15th-century France, the first feminist philosopher, Christine de Pisan , challenged prevailing attitudes toward women with a bold call for female education. Her mantle was taken up later in the century by Laura Cereta, a 15th-century Venetian woman who published Epistolae familiares (1488; “Personal Letters”; Eng. trans. Collected Letters of a Renaissance Feminist ), a volume of letters dealing with a panoply of women’s complaints, from denial of education and marital oppression to the frivolity of women’s attire.

The defense of women had become a literary subgenre by the end of the 16th century, when Il merito delle donne (1600; The Worth of Women ), a feminist broadside by another Venetian author, Moderata Fonte, was published posthumously. Defenders of the status quo painted women as superficial and inherently immoral, while the emerging feminists produced long lists of women of courage and accomplishment and proclaimed that women would be the intellectual equals of men if they were given equal access to education.

The so-called “debate about women” did not reach England until the late 16th century, when pamphleteers and polemicists joined battle over the true nature of womanhood. After a series of satiric pieces mocking women was published, the first feminist pamphleteer in England, writing as Jane Anger, responded with Jane Anger, Her Protection for Women (1589). This volley of opinion continued for more than a century, until another English author, Mary Astell, issued a more reasoned rejoinder in A Serious Proposal to the Ladies (1694, 1697). The two-volume work suggested that women inclined neither toward marriage nor a religious vocation should set up secular convents where they might live, study, and teach.

The feminist voices of the Renaissance never coalesced into a coherent philosophy or movement. This happened only with the Enlightenment , when women began to demand that the new reformist rhetoric about liberty , equality, and natural rights be applied to both sexes.

Initially, Enlightenment philosophers focused on the inequities of social class and caste to the exclusion of gender . Swiss-born French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau , for example, portrayed women as silly and frivolous creatures, born to be subordinate to men. In addition, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , which defined French citizenship after the revolution of 1789, pointedly failed to address the legal status of women.

Female intellectuals of the Enlightenment were quick to point out this lack of inclusivity and the limited scope of reformist rhetoric. Olympe de Gouges , a noted playwright, published Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne (1791; “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the [Female] Citizen”), declaring women to be not only man’s equal but his partner. The following year Mary Wollstonecraft ’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), the seminal English-language feminist work, was published in England. Challenging the notion that women exist only to please men, she proposed that women and men be given equal opportunities in education, work, and politics. Women, she wrote, are as naturally rational as men. If they are silly, it is only because society trains them to be irrelevant.

The Age of Enlightenment turned into an era of political ferment marked by revolutions in France, Germany, and Italy and the rise of abolitionism . In the United States, feminist activism took root when female abolitionists sought to apply the concepts of freedom and equality to their own social and political situations. Their work brought them in contact with female abolitionists in England who were reaching the same conclusions. By the mid-19th century, issues surrounding feminism had added to the tumult of social change , with ideas being exchanged across Europe and North America .

In the first feminist article she dared sign with her own name, Louise Otto, a German, built on the work of Charles Fourier , a French social theorist, quoting his dictum that “by the position which women hold in a land, you can see whether the air of a state is thick with dirty fog or free and clear.” And after Parisian feminists began publishing a daily newspaper entitled La Voix des femmes (“The Voice of Women”) in 1848, Luise Dittmar, a German writer, followed suit one year later with her journal, Soziale Reform .

37 Inspiring Women Who Shaped Feminism

Celebrate these historic change-makers in honor of Women's History Month.

In honor of Women's History Month, we're celebrating the women who've had huge impacts on the feminist movement. For all its misconceptions, feminism at its core is about fighting for women's equality. And there are women who have been trailblazing the fight for decades now. From the brave Suffragettes who fought for women's right to vote, to Tarana Burke launching the #MeToo movement, to Winona LaDuke leading the fight against climate change, these are the women of the 20th and 21st century who are paving the way for gender equality, the real definition of feminism.

The Suffragettes

In the first major rallying cry for feminism, The Suffragettes fought vehemently for women's rights, most specifically, the right to vote. Their movements and protests, both peaceful and radical, allowed for the nationwide right for women to vote in 1920. Some of the most notable women in the movement? Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Stone Blackwell, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emmeline Pankhurst, Sojourner Truth.

Simone de Beauvoir

An outspoken political activist, writer and social theorist, in 1949 de Beauvoir wrote The Second Sex , an ahead-of-its-time book credited with paving the way for modern feminism. In the influential (and at the time, extremely controversial) book, de Beauvoir critiques the patriarchy and social constructs faced by women. The Second Sex was banned by The Vatican and even deemed "pornography" by some —a fearless start to the fight for feminism.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Roosevelt became the first First Lady to take on responsibilities beyond merely hosting and entertaining in the White House. Before her tenure as First Lady, she was already outspoken and involved with women's issues, working with the Women's Trade Union League and the International Congress of Working Women. From 1935 to 1962, Roosevelt wrote "My Day," a newspaper column that addressed women's work, equality and rights before there was even a word for "feminism"—the social issues at the time were considered "controversial," especially for that of a First Lady to speak about. After her time as First Lady, she became the first US delegate to the United Nations, served as first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights and also chaired JFK's President's Commission on the Status of Women to promote equality and advise on women's issues.

Marlene Dietrich

While her efforts didn't directly fight for women's rights, Dietrich made a contribution to feminism through fashion. The Hollywood actress wore trousers and men's suits during a time where it was considered extremely scandalous and taboo; both on screen and privately, once almost being arrested for wearing pants in public during the 1930s. She was famously quoted saying, "I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men." Dietrich's way of dressing went on to influence generations of women after her, lending many the confidence and power of wearing a suit.

Betty Friedan

The American writer and activist penned The Feminine Mystique in 1963, which is often credited for sparking the second wave of feminism that began in the '60s and '70s. Friedan spent her life working to establish women's equality, helping to establish the National Women's Political Caucus as well as organizing the Women's Strike For Equality in 1970 , which popularized the feminist movement throughout America.

Gloria Steinem

Aptly referred to as the "Mother of Feminism," Gloria Steinem led the women's liberation movements throughout the '60s and '70s—and continues to do so today. Co-founder of the feminist themed Ms. Magazine and several female groups that changed the face of feminism including Women's Action Alliance, National Women's Political Caucus , Women's Media Center and more. All of her efforts led to her induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993 and in 2013 she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Steinem continues to be a trailblazer for feminism today, most recently with her Viceland series, WOMAN , and post-election action for young girls and women.

Angela Davis

A trailblazing voice for black women, Davis played a crucial part in the Civil Rights movement. The political activist was a key leader in the Black Power movement, and though some of her more radical positions and role in political protests have been deemed controversial, she has relentlessly fought to champion the progress of women's rights for over six decades. She most recently served as an honorary co-chair for the Women's March on Washington in 2017.

The American author was known for her social activism that was often mirrored through her writing of oppression, women's rights and race. Some of bell hooks' most notable works include Ain't I A Woman? Black Women and Feminism and The Feminist Theory in which she declared, "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression."

Barbara Walters

Not only was Walters the first female co-host of a news show (although at the time she earned only half of her male co-workers), she also became the first female co-anchor of an evening news broadcast for ABC News. From the '70s until today, Walters paved the way for not only women in journalism but for women in the entire workforce.

Coretta Scott King

Although most known for her marriage to Martin Luther King Jr. and her work with Civil Rights, Coretta Scott King devoted much of her life to women's equality. She helped found NOW (National Organization for Women) in 1966 and played a key role in the organization's development. In her efforts for women's rights, King was also notably the first woman to deliver the class day address at Harvard.

Maya Angelou

Through her literature, public speaking and powerful writing, Maya Angelou inspired both women and African Americans to overcome gender and race discrimination. In 2011, Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her works that spanned over 50 years including 36 books, seven autobiographies and over 50 honorary degrees.

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde channeled her powerful voice through writing and poetry, exploring female identity and life as a Black lesbian and writing about issues that affected women across the country during the height Civil Rights movement. All of her work was based on her "theory of difference," which we refer to as "intersectionality" today. She famously said, "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Before her tenure as Supreme Court justice, Bader Ginsburg co-founded the Women's Rights Law Reporter in 1970, the first U.S. law journal to focus exclusively on women's rights. Two years later, she co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), once again making sure women's voices were heard in law. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Bader Ginsburg became the second female Supreme Court justice ever, a position she still holds today and uses to advocate for women's rights.

Most known for her peaceful protests with John Lennon, Ono has also been a voice for gender equality throughout the years. Her 1972 essay, "The Feminization of Society" helped mark the female revolution of the '70s.

Alice Walker

A critical voice for black women in the feminism movement, Walker has been instrumental in her efforts for women and even more specifically for women of color. The writer and activist was involved in the Civil Rights Movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King before joining Gloria Steinem as an editor at Ms. Magazine . Walker's most famous work, The Color Purple , became vital in telling the story of Black women and was later adapted into both a movie and a Broadway musical. Two years after its publication, Walker co-founded Wild Tree Press, a feminist publishing company. Walker's contribution to the feminist movement is vital for her efforts to make sure Black women's voices were included and heard. In 1983, she was the first to coin the term, " womanism ," which sought to include Black women in feminism.

Hillary Clinton

Clinton is the only First Lady to ever run for public office, serving as the first-ever female Senator from New York, Secretary of State under President Obama and of course, as the first-ever female candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Since the 1970s, Clinton has furthered the advancement of women through her various work from becoming the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978 to delivering her famous "Women's rights are human rights" speech in 1995 to running an inspiring presidential campaign for girls to look up to in 2016. Despite facing countless sexism throughout the presidential election, Clinton took the high road up until the very end, memorably saying, "To all the little girls watching...never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world," in her 2016 concession speech .

Oprah Winfrey

Motivated by the unequal pay she received in the start of her broadcasting career, Oprah set out to start her own television show and from there built an empire catering to helping women grow, develop and thrive. "I never did consider or call myself a feminist, but I don't think you can really be a woman in this world and not be." She has since developed the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls , the Oprah Winfrey Network and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

Diane Von Furstenberg

DVF has built her entire fashion career on the concept of female empowerment. "Feel like a woman, wear a dress" and "Proud to be woman!" are just two of the designer's mantras evoked through her brand. Not only does she use fashion to empower women, she has also since founded The DVF Awards , which recognize incredible women who have made positive impacts on the world through leadership, philanthropy and hard work.

The Queen of Pop has built her entire career on pushing the limits of women and sexuality through her songs and music videos—unapologetically breaking gender stereotypes along the way. With her public persona, Madonna encouraged women to take unabashedly ownership over their sexuality and lives. Most recently, she's become vocal in speaking out against the sexism and ageism women receive today, continuing to dress as sexy as she wants at 58 years old.

Sheryl Sandberg

The Facebook COO is responsible for pioneering the "Lean In" movement with her 2013 book encouraging women to excel in the workforce. Through her prominent position at Facebook, her work with the Lean In Foundation and Women for Women International Board, Sandberg is outspoken about the setbacks and inequality women face in the workforce. She also teamed up with Gloria Steinem to empower young girls following the 2016 presidential election .

Lauren Alexis Fisher is the Senior Editor at Cosmopolitan , overseeing digital content across fashion, lifestyle, beauty, sex, and culture. Previously, she was the Market Editor at Harper’s BAZAAR and has written for publications including WWD, Bustle, and W Magazine . When she’s not busy taste-testing her way through every dirty martini in New York, you can follow her on Instagram for bad jokes, good outfits, and annoying vacation pics. 

As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset. 

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