12 essential books every modern feminist should read

Image via Complex Original

Widely credited with igniting the start of second-wave feminism, Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique remains one of the most important books about what it means to be a woman. Friedan originally set out to interview old classmates from college, but with each interview, she encountered more and more deeply unhappy, alienated women stifled by suburban life and the responsibilities of marriage. This iconic book “pulled the trigger on history,” and encouraged women to think about carving out their own path.

In Ain’t I a Woman? African-American writer and feminist bell hooks questioned why second-wave feminism only seemed interested in the gains of white middle-class women, and didn't include women of color, queer women, and women with disabilities. Her landmark work looked at negative stereotypes waged against women of color, and argued for feminism to recognize diversity. Ain't I a Woman still remains relevant today, as the push for intersectionality in the feminist movement continues, and strives to recognize different experiences of womanhood.

For many women growing up in the early 1990s, Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women, was a harsh wake up call. In her watershed third wave-feminism book, Wolf argued that women's recent success in America was offset by an increasing number of eating disorders and painful cosmetic procedures, as well as the spread of misogynistic pornography. She described how the so-called “beauty myth”—an unattainable standard of physical beauty—exploited women and undermined feminist gains. 

Although some associate Sylvia Plath’s only novel The Bell Jar with angsty adolescent girls, much of its appeal is in the way it brilliantly captures the experience of being a disillusioned woman in 1950s America. With its terse language and unapologetic tone, The Bell Jar shows how women back then were expected to sacrifice their careers and artistic ambitions to pursue a life that left many trapped under a “bell jar.”

One of the most influential feminist books to come out in the past decade, Ariel Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture looks at how sex, raunch, and pornography all play into modern womanhood. Levy wrestles with tough questions: Why are so many women performing in wet T-shirt competitions, doing porn, and undergoing drastic cosmetic surgery? She explains how women are too often focused on maximizing sex appeal and “hotness” for the male gaze, rather than on accomplishing career goals or financial independence—and emphasizes how deeply problematic this mentality is. 

Fear of Flying is one of the first mainstream novels to portray a woman having non-marital sex and enjoying it. When it first debuted, the book shocked many readers because of its unapologetic representation of female sexuality: Fear of Flying depicted a woman seeking out sexual pleasure, and dictating the terms of her own sexuality. Many feminists were thrilled after reading about the infamous “zipless fuck,” a term Jong coined to describe women who seek out sex for its own sake.

Roxane Gay has quickly become one of the most important commentators on race, gender, and feminism today, and much of this is due to her bestselling book Bad Feminism: Essays. In it, Gay celebrates the pursuit of an “imperfect” feminism, sharing pop-cultural obsessions that might ordinarily call one's feminist ideology into question. Instead, she argues that it's unrealistic to aim for a “perfect” feminism, pointing out the irony of placing unfair expectations on feminist idols, and getting angry when they fall short of them.

Offering a fascinating glimpse into growing up as a Chinese-American girl in California, Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts explores how one's cultural upbringing uniquely defines one's womanhood, and how family traditions often have a lifelong impact on us. Kingston describes the many ghosts that haunt her life, as she wrestles with the complicated bond she has with her mother, as well as the effects of growing up in a culturally diverse environment. Ultimately, Kingston offers a story about overcoming the limits that society places on women of color.

Best known for popularizing the term “mansplaining,” Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me perfectly captures how women continue to be silenced by men because of how society privileges men’s voices over those of women. Her clever, cutting collection of essays explains how men continue to abuse their power, and discount female experiences by undermining the latter's experiences, particularly when it comes to domestic violence and rape.

In Sister Outsider, black lesbian feminist writer Audre Lorde argues how embracing differences is the only way feminists can create social change. Lorde looks at how the feminist movement pushed women of color and queer women to the fringes, explaining that the only way forward is to celebrate the diversity of womanhood, and not defining what a “woman” is. With rich and invigorating prose, Sister Outsider remains an iconic work of African-American feminist thought that emphasizes the importance pursuing equality in all political movements.

Kate Bornstein’s Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us explores the theatrics and “performance” of being a woman from the perspective of a trans woman. Bornstein chips away at the many cultural, social, and political layers of what defines a woman today, and challenges readers on their many preconceived notions about gender and sexuality. Part-manifesto and part-coming-of-age story, Bornstein’s book pushes for the celebration of gender diversity, encouraging readers to recognize the importance of “gender outlaws”—people who challenge the oppressive system of gender identity, which stigmatizes trans men and trans women alike.

In All The Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation, journalist Rebecca Traister celebrates the growing trend of “independent women” in America, many of whom no longer subscribe to cultural and social narratives expected of them. All The Single Ladies is a both an exhaustive study and social critique about the rise of women who are rejecting marriage, and realizing their identity through economic and sexual independence.