International Womenâs Day is upon us. That seems like as good a time as any to remind ourselves that our feminist thinking must be intersectional to be truly feminist.
With this in mind, we rounded up our favourite books that look at the womenâs experiences, and how they interact with other types of oppression.
1. âTo My Trans Sistersâ â Edited by Charlie Craggs, Amazon, ÂŁ11.34
Dedicated to all trans women, this collection of letters explores experiences of trans womanhood, as well as advice that women would have given their younger selves.
Not tailoring itself to the cisgender gaze, this book sheds light on the intersection of transness and living within the patriarchy, through 70 womenâs stories. Focusing on community, sisterhood and collective joy, add this to your collection immediately.
Buy it here.
2. âRevolting Prostitutesâ â Juno Mac and Molly Smith, Amazon, ÂŁ11.85
This oneâs a must-read. The new release by Verso books is perfect for anyone who doesnât know much about the the much-needed fight for sex workersâ rights.
In their in-depth, compelling case, Molly Smith and Juno Mac explain why borders, capitalism, race, class and gender all come into the conversation about sex work.
Buy it here.
3. âHungerâ â Roxane Gay, Amazon, ÂŁ8.99
Feminist thinker Roxane Gay can write about anything well, whether thatâs growing up Haitian American, being a Scrabble champion, or the fact that it doesnât necessarily make you a âBad Feministâ if you like the bassline of âBlurred Linesâ.
In âHungerâ, her compelling memoir about her body, she takes on her experiences of food and fatness as a black woman; as well as how her body is intertwined with trauma.
Buy it here.
4. âLean Outâ â Dawn Foster, Amazon, ÂŁ5.97
We all remember âLean Inâ, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandbergâs book on women in the workplace, where she argued that women just need to lean in to their jobs and careers to gain success. But in the aptly named âLean Outâ, journalist Dawn Foster explains why this argument only works for the 1%.
Foster also points out that working class women were particularly hit by the financial crash, and that this type of âtrickle-down feminismâ potentially benefits the corporations that caused the crisis in the first place. A great read for those who want to improve class-consciousness in their feminism.
Buy it here
5. âCare Work: Dreaming Disability Justiceâ â Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Amazon, ÂŁ9.72
Disabled people are consistently overlooked in mainstream conversations about feminism, despite the fact that they face sexism and misogyny differently.
In âCare Workâ, writer and disability activist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha lays out the self-love and community care done by disabled queer people and people of colour, ensuring no one is left behind.
Buy it here.
6. âWhy Iâm No Longer Talking To White People About Raceâ â Reni Eddo-Lodge, Amazon, ÂŁ5.53
There are many good things about Reni Eddo-Lodge, including her staunch, formidable tone, her political background, her historical knowledge, and her humour. But what her Sunday Times Bestseller âWhy Iâm No Longer Talking To White People About Raceâ perhaps best showcases is her refusal to whitewash her feminism.
Eddo-Lodge says that feminism canât exist without looking at race, walking us through black British history and the more recent blogosphere phenomenon while she explains why.
Buy it here.
7. âItâs Not About The Burqaâ â Edited by Mariam Khan, Amazon, ÂŁ10.40
So often in mainstream media, Muslim women are spoken for rather than given the platforms to speak themselves. But writer Mariam Khan is changing that â her collection âItâs Not About The Burqaâ brings together essays from 17 Muslim women on faith, the hijab, feminism, queer identity, sex and more. This hot-off-the-press release will give you a good grounding in the current climate of Islamophobia in Britain, as well as the varied and unique experiences that come with the intersection of Muslim identity and gender.
Buy it here.
8. âYour Silence Will Not Protect Youâ â Audre Lorde, Amazon, ÂŁ11.34
Audre Lorde died in 1992, but her words are as relevant today as ever. This posthumous collection of essays, poems and speeches by the black lesbian thinker, united in one collection for the first time.
One of the most powerful lines in this work reads: âBlack feminism is not white feminism in blackface.â This serves to perfectly articulate the praxis of intersectionality â a pertinent reminder that itâs more than tokenism, and must go beyond acting as a buzzword.
Buy it here.
9. âCan We All Be Feminists?â â June Eric-Udorie, Amazon, ÂŁ7.98
In 20-year-old activist June Eric-Udorieâs anthology, 17 women discuss feminism and the importance of intersectionality. This collection spans race, religion, disability and other domains of marginalisation. It also tackles the difficulty that some women have with identifying with feminism as a movement, utilising intersectionality as the tool to combat this.
Buy it here.
10. âFeminism Is For Everybodyâ â bell hooks, Amazon, ÂŁ18.99
To finish with a bang â this is what intersectionality is about. Pluto Press described this release as âthe antidote to every âwhenâs international menâs day?!â tweetâ, as it lays down all of the basics and more.
Designed to be read by all genders, bell hooks (she doesnât capitalise) explains in accessible terms exactly what feminism is, what lies at the heart of it, and why the movement must continue today. Whatâs more, she doesnât scrape over issues that should be the concern of all feminists, including sexual violence, racism and homophobia. If youâre wanting a comprehensive, in-depth whistlestop tour through intersectional feminism, this is a great place to start.
Buy it here.
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