18 Feminist Reads to Keep You Fighting

Read when you feel alone:

Milk and Honey is a gorgeous poetry/prose collection about surviving abuse and violence, loss, love, and what it means to be a human and a woman. The book is divided into four sections, each of which deals with a different struggle. Kaur is a stunning writer, and her words will make you feel less isolated in your pain, however large or small it may be, and will teach you to find beauty in the world, even when it feels impossible.

Read when your friend keeps shrugging off the label of "feminist":

This smart, empowering essay should be required reading for every co-worker and neighbor who continues to blindly eschew the term. We Should All Be Feminists is based on Adichie's TEDx Talk of the same name, and it gets into sexual politics and her own journey and definition of the term as one of intersectionality and awareness.

Read when a guy at a bar mansplains your job to you:

This book will make every woman sigh with recognition. In Men Explain Things to Me, Solnit describes an encounter in which a pompous man at a party explains to her how a "very important" book is coming out; it happens to be her book, but she cannot get a word in edgewise. This essay is where the term "mansplaining" originated.

Read when you feel like a failure in every way:

You've probably heard of Bad Feminist, and there's a reason for that. Roxane Gay's spectacular collection of essays spans modern-day issues, from Girls to Chris Brown to her own personal evolution as a woman of color. It talks about how we're winning at feminism as a society, and how we're very much losing — and how we should go about fixing that.

Read when you're pretty much done with society not having space for 52 percent of the population:

A Room of One's Own illuminates the need for a space for both men and women writers in our society. By extension, it shows that women need a space of their own in a society that is traditionally male-run.

Read when you don't understand how in the world we haven't come further:

If you're wondering how the world got this way, it's important to know your history. Beauvoir's classic The Second Sex studies the treatment of women throughout history in our society and also examines the role of anatomy, femininity myths, and our culture in perpetuating that treatment.

Read when you're bored of traditional feminist lit:

The founder of Feministing.com details in Full Frontal Feminism why, actually, you are a feminist, even if you might think you're not. In this funny, relatable, important read, Valenti talks directly to young women about being a woman, pop culture, and reproductive rights. She hits all of the basics in a refreshing new way.

Read when someone implies that you can't do something:

This iconic short story chronicles a woman's decline into insanity because she is being trapped in a small nursery to recover from "slight hysteria." The Yellow Wallpaper is a powerful story, not least because Gilman uses it to criticize the patriarchy and the notion that women should be kept in the home. She also had some serious problems with women being depicted as "fragile."

Read when you're exasperated by how women are portrayed in media:

From the satire site Reductress comes How to Win at Feminism, which is basically The Onion for women's media. From "How to Get Catcalled For Your Personality" to "How to Do More With 33 Cents Less," you will laugh. And then sigh.

Read when you're so, so tired of white feminism:

Sister Outsider features Lorde's essays and speeches from 1976 to 1984, but they are just as relevant today. She talks about oppression, sexism, racism, homophobia, and other problems inherent in our society. She covers issues of today like police brutality and intersectionality, and her frustration and anger will resonate — and inspire.

Read when you're totally disgusted by LGBTQ+ discrimination:

The Argonauts is a beautiful memoir is about a relationship between the author and a fluidly gendered artist and their queer family. Nelson also analyzes what past queer theorists have said about gender and family, and writes in an intimate, moving way that will draw in any reader.

Read when someone tells you they're "color-blind":

This collection of essays and speeches is a must read for everyone, both those who face racism every day of their lives and those who have never had to think about it twice. In Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, Davis discusses everything from prison abolitionism to black feminism to Ferguson.

Read when the president's rhetoric on rating women's looks troubles you:

The Beauty Myth was first published in 1990, but unfortunately it seems to be proving timeless. Wolf examines with her smart, fierce, and critical voice how the more women have gained rights and made steps toward equality, the more pressure they feel to fit a certain image that is constantly being portrayed in the media.

Read when you hear a girl say she's "not like other girls":

There is nothing wrong with being like other girls, and Nugent knows it. In this hilarious book of essays, she chronicles her own journey on becoming a feminist, her eating disorder, and how she's still going to wear dark lipstick despite criticizing the beauty industry. You Don't Have to Like Me also highlights the importance of female friendship.

Read when you need a reminder that you're on the right side of history:

In Feminism Is For Everybody, bell hooks paints a vision of feminism and how the future could look without misogyny and racism and homophobia. She explains how feminism could change all of our lives for the better, and you will finish this book with more hope and more passion than you started it with.

Read if the rhetoric used to describe Hillary Clinton rubbed you in all of the wrong ways:

Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman is a phenomenal memoir. West claps back at everyone who says women aren't funny, perhaps unnecessarily because this book is so funny in itself. She talks about her life as an overweight, opinionated woman, and how she eventually stopped shrinking herself and started using her voice for the greater good.

Read when people keep telling you that men and women are "already equal":

The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction novel about a man who is sent to a foreign planet with no fixed gender. He cannot leave because he is so fascinated by this new society, and you won't be able to stop reading for the same reason.

Read when you're ready to hear more about women in history:

The Red Tent takes the bible story of Jacob and his 12 sons and reimagines it from a largely ignored voice — daughter Dinah, who is raised by her four moms.