Feminist Summer Reading Lists

Published April 15, 2009 @ 07:36PM PT

With the summer season right around the corner, I thought it was about time to start thinking about a reading list.

Here is a list of feminist literature to grace the lining of your beach bag this summer. Some of the titles are traditional must reads for any women's rights activists, some are fictional portrayals and some are just for plain inspiration. Make sure to share your own suggestions in the comments:

Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards

Find Your Way Home: Words from the Street, Wisdom from the Heart by Becca Stevens

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers..and Shook Up Politics Along the Way by Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom

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Comments (6)

This looks like a great list... THANKS! =)

Posted by Mariam Auqeley on 04/15/2009 @ 09:44PM PT
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Mrs. Dalloway is a great read...but I really don't see the connection to feminism. inspirational? goodness, I hope not! if you like Mrs. Dalloway, you should also read "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham--it's excellent.

Posted by Michelle Bak on 04/16/2009 @ 05:55PM PT
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Mrs. Dalloway is a great book that reveals the sexual and economic repression that women faced at the time (in the role of Clarissa), but also offers the "free" independent female identity (Sally Seton), and carries many lesbian undertones throughout the book. It's provocative and revealing of the time period within it was written. Also, the beautiful stream of consciousness writing style is naturally feminist in the way that is confronts the more rigid male syntax of the time typically found in literature of say, Steinbeck.
The Hours is also a great read - the movie was really good as well.

Posted by Jen Nedeau on 04/17/2009 @ 08:16AM PT
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Infidel is a great read. Highly recommend it to anyone. Story of a woman from Somalia and her journey towards becoming a legislator in Holland (and the death threats etc that ensue).

Posted by Meredith Dyer on 04/17/2009 @ 12:53PM PT
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i would also add:

feminist theory by bell hooks

and her love trilogy, especially Salvation :-)

~L.

Posted by Loryn Wilson on 04/30/2009 @ 11:18AM PT
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I want to add The Lost Daughter by Daralyse Lyons to this list. It is the most poignant novel I've ever read, told exclusively by women. It is about redemption, strength, and womanhood. It is a must-read!

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Daughter-Daralyse-Lyons/dp/0595453953

Posted by Becky Wolf on 02/08/2010 @ 08:36AM PT
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Author

Jen Nedeau is a social media consultant, progressive activist, feminist speaker and writer. She currently lives in New York City, where she works full-time as the Director of Digital Strategy at Air America Media. Additionally, Nedeau volunteers as the Chief Technology Officer for New Leaders Council, a non-profit that offers exclusive training for young leaders. You can follow her on Twitter @HumanFolly or learn more here: www.jennedeau.com.