Collection: Feminism

Kris Rose and her step-sister grew up watching horror movies together. The Exorcist, The Evil Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Carrie, Friday the 13th, Scream, Hellraiser, and so many more left their indelible mark on her young mind. "For a girl whose life was not perfect, horror was a reassurance that darkness was a normal part of life. It was possible to survive the absolute worst, if you learned a few valuable lessons from one of the most well-known archetypes of modern horror: The Final Girl." Rose takes us on a fun, smart, sassy tour through horror movies of the 1980s, analysing the character tropes and celebrating the bad-asses who may not have been believed but fought to stay alive until the bitter end.

An uplifting collection of speeches by African American women, curated by the civil and human rights activist, scholar, and author

When Mary Ann Shadd Cary--the first Black woman publisher in North America--declared, "break every yoke . . . let the oppressed go free" to congregants in Chatham, Canada, in 1858, she joined a tradition of African American women speaking for their own liberation. Drawing from a rich archive of political speeches, acclaimed activist and author Janet Dewart Bell, the author of Lighting the Fires of Freedom, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, explores this tradition in Blackbirds Singing.

Gathering an array of recognized names as well as new discoveries, Bell curates two centuries of stirring public addresses by Black women, from Harriet Tubman and Ella Baker to Barbara Lee and Barbara Jordan. These magnificent speakers explore ethics, morality, courage, authenticity, and leadership, highlighting Black women speaking truth to power in service of freedom and justice.

With an expansive historical lens, Blackbirds Singing celebrates the tradition of Black women's political speech and labor, allowing the voices and powerful visions of African American women to speak across generations building power for the world.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"In her book, Melinda tells the stories of the inspiring people she's met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention--from child marriage to gender inequity in the workplace." -- President Barack Obama

"The Moment of Lift is an urgent call to courage. It changed how I think about myself, my family, my work, and what's possible in the world. Melinda weaves together vulnerable, brave storytelling and compelling data to make this one of those rare books that you carry in your heart and mind long after the last page." -- Brené Brown, Ph.D., author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Dare to Lead

"Melinda Gates has spent many years working with women around the world. This book is an urgent manifesto for an equal society where women are valued and recognized in all spheres of life. Most of all, it is a call for unity, inclusion and connection. We need this message more than ever." -- Malala Yousafzai

"Melinda Gates's book is a lesson in listening. A powerful, poignant, and ultimately humble call to arms." -- Tara Westover, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Educated

A debut from Melinda French Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment.

"How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings - and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity."

For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.

In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she's learned from the inspiring people she's met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, "That is why I had to write this book--to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live."

Melinda's unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention--from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and finding her voice. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world--and ourselves.

Writing with emotion, candor, and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another.

When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.

Health and science journalist Chelsea Conaboy explodes the concept of "maternal instinct" and tells a new story about what it means to become a parent.

Conaboy expected things to change with the birth of her child. What she didn't expect was how different she would feel. But she would soon discover what was behind this: her changing brain. Though Conaboy was prepared for the endless dirty diapers, the sleepless nights, and the joy of holding her newborn, she did not anticipate this shift in self, as deep as it was disorienting. Mother Brain is a groundbreaking exploration of the parental brain that untangles insidious myths from complicated realities.

New parents undergo major structural and functional brain changes, driven by hormones and the deluge of stimuli a baby provides. These neurobiological changes help all parents--birthing or otherwise--adapt in those intense first days and prepare for a long period of learning how to meet their child's needs. Pregnancy produces such significant changes in brain anatomy that researchers can easily sort those who have had one from those who haven't. And all highly involved parents, no matter their path to parenthood, develop similar caregiving circuitry. Yet this emerging science, which provides key insights into the wide-ranging experience of parenthood, from its larger role in shaping human nature to the intensity of our individual emotions, is mostly absent from the public conversation about parenthood.

The story that exists in the science today is far more meaningful than the idea that mothers spring into being by instinct. Weaving the latest neuroscience and social psychology together with new reporting, Conaboy reveals unexpected upsides, generations of scientific neglect, and a powerful new narrative of parenthood.

A comprehensive collection of intergenerational voices on Liberatory Harm Reduction, mutual aid, and building community to save lives.

New York Times bestseller Eleanor Herman, author of Sex with Kings and Sex with Presidents, returns with another work of popular history, exploring the history of misogyny against women with power from Cleopatra to Kamala Harris.

Imagine Donald Trump as a woman, called Donna. Would Donna Trump have been viewed as blunt, honest, and refreshing? Would she have won the election?

Imagine Hillary Clinton as a man. Howard Clinton says and does the exact same things as Hillary. Would Howard Clinton have been portrayed in a thousand Pinterest images as a witch, stirring a cauldron or riding a broomstick? Would he have been called a bitch on countless T-shirts? Would his thoughtful, circumspect answers to media questions have been seen as inauthenticity, secretiveness, and untrustworthiness?

There is a particular kind of rage--let's call it unadulterated bloodlust--usually reserved for women, especially women in power or vying for it. From the ancient world, through the European Renaissance, up to the most recent U.S. elections, the Misogynist's Handbook, as Eleanor Herman calls it, has been wielded to put uppity women in their place.

In a story that is shocking, eye-opening, and a powerful force for change, Eleanor Herman's signature wit and humor explores the patterns that have been operating for more than three thousand years--and are still operating today--against powerful women across the globe, including Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and more.

Each chapter analyzes a tried-and-true misogynistic method to keep women down, including: Her Overweening Ambition, Why Doesn't She Do Something About Her Hair?, The Dangers of Female Hormones, The Alarming Shrillness of Her Voice, The Mysterious Unlikability of Female Candidates, She's a Bitch and Other Animals, She's a Witch and Other Monsters, and Her Sexual Depravity. Herman ends the book by looking forward, examining ways to rip up the Misogynist's Handbook once and for all.

By weaving practical insights and exercises through a rich tapestry of multicultural myths, ancient legends, and folktales, Anita Johnston helps the millions of women preoccupied with their weight discover and address the issues behind their negative attitudes toward food.

'A clarion voice from a new generation of British feminists' Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family

'A powerful, utterly engaging read and a vital call to action' Meg-John Barker, author of Rewriting the Rules

'Made me reconsider so many of the cultural scripts I've been fed my whole life. Unsparing, important and hopeful' Annie Lord, author of Notes on Heartbreak

In a world where money rules, what does it mean to have good relationships?

Radical Intimacy explores how the capitalist system shapes our intimate lives, and what we can do about it. Through the topics of self-care, romance and sex, family, home, death and friendship, the book looks at the histories and modern realities of these forms of intimacy, and considers what it might mean for things to be otherwise.

From political sex scandals to climate justice, from Britney Spears to communes, from Black Lives Matter to alternatives to the nuclear family, Sophie K. Rosa interrogates common sense ideas about 'the good life'. What might our desires look like in a better world? And how can care, connection and community support our struggles for liberation?

Sophie K. Rosa is a writer and journalist. She has written for many publications including Novara Media, the Independent, the Guardian, Buzzfeed, VICE, Al Jazeera, Aeon and CNN.

"Not only a historical rockument of the revolutionary 90s counterculture Riot Grrrl movement. . . but also a rousing inspiration for a new generation of empowered rebel girls to strap on guitars and stick it to The Man." -- Vanity Fair

Girls to the Front is the epic, definitive history of the Riot Grrrl movement--the radical feminist punk uprising that exploded into the public eye in the 1990s, altering America's gender landscape forever. Author Sara Marcus, a music and politics writer for Time Out New York, Slate.com, Pos, and Heeb magazine, interweaves research, interviews, and her own memories as a Riot Grrrl front-liner. Her passionate, sophisticated narrative brilliantly conveys the story of punk bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy--as well as successors like Sleater-Kinney, Partyline, and Kathleen Hanna's Le Tigre--and their effect on today's culture.

What is feminism? In this short, accessible primer, bell hooks explores the nature of feminism and its positive promise to eliminate sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. With her characteristic clarity and directness, hooks encourages readers to see how feminism can touch and change their lives--to see that feminism is for everybody.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - The award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Americanah gives us this powerful statement about feminism today--written as a letter to a friend.

A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received a letter from a childhood friend, a new mother who wanted to know how to raise her baby girl to be a feminist. Dear Ijeawele is Adichie's letter of response: fifteen invaluable suggestions--direct, wryly funny, and perceptive--for how to empower a daughter to become a strong, independent woman. Filled with compassionate guidance and advice, it gets right to the heart of sexual politics in the twenty-first century, and starts a new and urgently needed conversation about what it really means to be a woman today.

A Skimm Reads Pick ● An NPR Best Book of the Year

In this long-overdue celebration of Black women's resilience and unheralded strength, the revered, trailblazing White House correspondent reflects on "The Year That Changed Everything"--2020--and African-American women's unprecedented role in upholding democracy.

"I am keenly aware that everyone and everything has a story," April D. Ryan acknowledges. "Also, I have always marveled at Black women and how we work to move mountains and are never really thanked or recognized." In Black Women Will Save the World, she melds these two truths, creating an inspiring and heart-tugging portrait of one of the momentous years in America, 2020--when America elected its first Black woman Vice President--and celebrates the tenacity, power, and impact of Black women across America.

From the beginning of the nation to today, Black women have transformed their pain into progress and have been at the frontlines of the nation's political, social, and economic struggles. These "Sheroes" as Ryan calls them, include current political leaders such as Maxine Waters, Valerie Jarrett, and Kamala Harris; LaTosha Brown, and other activists. Combining profiles and in-depth interviews with these influential movers and shakers and many more, Ryan explores the challenges Black women endure, and how the lessons they've learned can help us shape our own stories. Ryan also chronicles her personal journey from working-class Baltimore to the elite echelons of journalism and speaks out about the hurdles she faced in becoming one of the most well-connected members of the Washington press corps--while raising two daughters as a single mother in the aftermath of a messy divorce.

It is time for everyone to acknowledge Black women's unrivaled contributions to America. Yet our democracy remains in peril, and their work is far from done. Black Women Will Save the World presents a vital kaleidoscopic look at women of different ages and from diverse backgrounds who devote their lives to making the world a better place--even if that means stepping out of their "place."

A striking portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her historic tenure on the United States Supreme Court, brought to life with incisive quotes and bold photographs of her iconic collars.

"RBG was unlike any other. So is this visual tribute to her."--Pete Souza, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Obama: An Intimate Portrait

A PARADE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

The collar is a powerful point of entry for exploring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life and her tireless work on America's highest court. The twenty-five neckpieces captured here--in over eighty stunning photographs by award-winning photographer Elinor Carucci--hoffer insight into RBG's legacy. Her sharp use of language, a linchpin of her notorious dissents, is celebrated throughout, with quotes to support each collar and its story. The bold, ornate, and subversive collars she chose to wear on the bench communicated so much more.

Shortly after RBG's passing in September, 2020, Carucci was commissioned by Time magazine for a commemorative piece on the late justice, focused on the stories behind her legendary collars. Here, Carucci and co-author Sara Bader use each collar to highlight a defining career moment, from RBG's earliest argument for gender equality to her support of immigration and marriage equality throughout her twenty-seven years on the bench. Some of her collars are well-known, like her dissent collar, or her favorite white beaded neckpiece that she wore for important portraits. Other collars are less familiar but tell poignant stories of artists, colleagues, friends, and fans whose gifts to Justice Ginsburg found meaning in her hands.

Small in stature but towering in influence, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was described as a titan, a civil rights hero, and most poetically, by her colleague Justice Stephen Breyer, "a rock of righteousness." The Collars of RBG is an artful collection of moments from this warrior's legacy, crystallizing the many ways RBG reshaped the cultural landscape for us all.

"An accessibly written distillation of two centuries worth of reproductive class struggle; a revived vision of revolutionary 'beloved community' for an age of climate catastrophe. Spread this book around, and start communizing care!"--Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family

"Stunningly urgent and timely...Through an exhilaratingly accessible narrative, O'Brien moves effortlessly between history, current specificities, and future possibilities to show that communized care is not a far-off fantasy"--Lara Sheehi, Assistant Professor, George Washington University

For some of us, the family is a source of love and support. But for many others, the family is a place of private horror, coercion, and personal domination. In a capitalist society, the private family carries the impossible demands of interpersonal care and social reproductive labor. Can we imagine a different future?

In Family Abolition, author M.E. O'Brien uncovers the history of struggles to create radical alternatives to the private family. O'Brien traces the changing family politics of racial capitalism in the industrial cities of Europe and in the slave plantations and settler frontier of North America, explaining the rise and fall of the housewife-based family form. From early Marxists to Black and queer insurrectionists to today's mass protest movements, O'Brien finds revolutionaries seeking better ways of loving, caring, and living. Family Abolition takes us through the past and present of family politics into a speculative future of the commune, imagining how care could be organized in a free society.

M.E. O'Brien writes on gender and communist theory. She co-edits two magazines, Pinko, on gay communism, and Parapraxis, on psychoanalytic theory and politics. She co-authors the novel Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052-2072, and tweets @genderhorizon.

Five well known plays by well known playwright and screenwriter Josefina Lopez presented with a detailed introduction from Dr. Jorge A. Huerta. Real Women Have Curves explores the politics of beauty and the power women have when working together. Simply Maria or the American Dream deals with the struggle of a young Mexican girl to find her identity and stay true to her self and her dreams. Confessions of Women from East L.A. shatters stereotypes of Latina women by providing complex explorations into to the Latina experience. Food for the Dead is a satirical look at machismo while celebrating Mexican cultural traditions and sexual liberation. Unconquered Spirits explores the legend of "La Llorona" from a Chicana feminist perspective retelling the spiritual conquest of Mexico and celebrating the unbeatable spirit of the indigenous and Chicanos. Josefina López is best known for authoring the play and co-authoring the film Real Women Have Curves, a coming-of-age story about Ana, a first-generation Chicana torn between pursuing her college ambitions, a personal goal, and securing employment which is a family expectation. Along the way, Ana confronts a host of cultural assumptions about beauty, marriage and a woman's role in society. Although Real Women Have Curves is Lopez' most recognized work, it is only one of many literary and artistic works she has created since her artistic career began at 17. Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico in 1969, Josefina Lopez was five years old when she and her family immigrated to the United States and settled in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. Josefina was undocumented for thirteen years before she received Amnesty in 1987 and eventually became a U.S. Citizen in 1995. Josefina has been an activist and has been doing public speaking for over 20 years and has lectured on various topics including Chicano Theater, Women's History Issues, Minority representation in Cinema at over 200 universities such as Yale, Darmouth, and USC. She also has a magazine column called "Ask A Wise Latina". She has been the subject of countless TV & Radio interviews in which she has passionately discussed immigration issues and other controversial subjects concerning women and minorities. Josefina is the recipient of a number of other awards and accolades, including a formal recognition from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer's 7th Annual "Women Making History" banquet in 1998; and a screenwriting fellowship from the California Arts Council in 2001. She and Real Women Have Curves co-author George LaVoo won the Humanitas Prize for Screenwriting in 2002, The Gabriel Garcia Marquez Award from L.A. Mayor in 2003, and the Artist-in-Residency grant from the NEA/TCG for 2007. Josefina is presently developing the musical version of Real Women Have Curves. Her first novel titled Hungry Woman in Paris came out last spring. She wrote a play to protest SB1070 titled Detained in the Desert, which she is currently making into a film. She is working on her next novel Summer of San Miguel and opening a cultural center in Boyle Heights where she plans to continue celebrating women and Latinos! For more information please go to josefinalopez.com & casa0101.org.

In 1968, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer called for Americans to "wake up" if they wanted to "make democracy a reality." Today, as Black communities continue to face challenges built on centuries of discrimination, her plea is increasingly urgent. In this exhilarating anthology of original essays, Keisha N. Blain brings together the voices of major progressive Black women politicians, grassroots activists, and intellectuals to offer critical insights on how we can create a more equitable political future.

These women draw on their diverse experiences and expertise to speak to three core themes: claiming civil and human rights, building political and economic power, and combating all forms of hate. We hear from Black Lives Matter cofounder Alicia Garza, who argues that Black communities must organize to wield increased political power; EMILYs List president Laphonza Butler, who spells out ways to fight for women's reproductive rights; and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who delineates practical, thorough steps toward tangible reparations. Additional incisive essays include those by former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner; prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba; disability rights activist Andraéa LaVant; Boston's first woman and first Black mayor, Kim Michelle Janey; and others at the forefront of the ongoing fight for social justice.

In addressing our most pressing issues and providing key takeaways, Wake Up America serves as a blueprint for the steps we can take right now and in the years to come.