Written by: on October 17, 2018
Hi. My name is Millie, I’m 15, in Year 11 and I am a feminist and body positivity activist. I’m also a big reader! So today, I’m going to be sharing with you my top 5 feminist reads. All the following books are great for people of all ages, but especially great for teens. These are the books that taught me what I know today and introduced me to this incredible movement of equality.
This was probably the first book I ever read about feminism and it totally changed my thinking. Although I was aware of what feminism was, I didn’t necessarily call myself a feminist until I read this book. It opened my eyes to things I’d never really thought of before in a funny, empowering way. Suddenly, ways in which I had been viewed and things people had said to me seemed less personal and more to do with society’s prejudice against women and girls. The book covers a wide range of topics from social media, to mental health, to body image, to sex, to how women are treated in society. It’s brilliantly written and unlike many books about feminism is not hard to understand or a heavy read. It had a huge impact on me and made me want to really fight for women rights as well as encouraging me to believe that I DID have a voice worth listening to. This book is perfect for teens or anyone new to feminism.
Yup! Another Laura Bates book. This time a lot more serious and intense, but still just as good in a completely different way. If you don’t know who Laura Bates is, she is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project a website where people can post their experiences of sexism on a day to day basis. The project alone is an incredible one, and the book is even better. Everyday Sexism teaches us the sheer scale and size of discrimination towards women, through Bates’ own experiences and through the stories of the thousands of women who posted on the Everyday Sexism’s website and Twitter page. It truly blew my mind. Reading this book taught me all about sexism not just in general but about sexism in politics, schools, public spaces, media, workplaces, motherhood and much much more. Although the book can be a little overwhelming at times, it was of the most powerful and motivating books I have ever read.
Although this book is not strictly about feminism it is about a huge issue that affects women every day. Body positivity is something very close to my heart and this book seriously educated me on the topic. Reading this book reminded me that I AM worthy of love, that I AM allowed to take up space and that I AM human at any size. It has educated me on how our society has brainwashed us into hating our bodies, how overwhelmingly toxic the diet industry is, how damaging becoming obsessed with fitness can be, about eating disorders and how a lot of ‘medical research’ that has been done about how weight affects our health is untrue and biased. It has also advised me on small and big ways to love myself more. All things that I really want to write about myself in the future. It’s one of the main reasons I started my Instagram page and I recommend this to anyone, of any age.
We Should All Be Feminist is an adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TedTalk of the same name. It’s an interesting book that uses Adichie’s personal experiences to show what feminism means today. It talks about the important issue that in this day and age many believe the sexes are equal and quickly dismiss feminism, when in actual fact they are not. She talks not only about feminism but also about race and how the two often go hand in hand. It is not a long book (about 52 pages) and therefore is perfect for someone who isn’t huge on reading but is interested to learn more about feminism. In my opinion, it is a very unique, well-crafted and powerful way of telling people why they should be feminists.
Caitlin Moran’s How To Be A Woman is brilliant and funny but a book I would recommend to older readers, not because it’s too inappropriate, but because reading it at an older age is just more beneficial. How To Be A Women is a quirky, hilarious and brutally honest take on feminism told through Moran’s life experiences. What I love about this book is that it is not pretentious in any way and doesn’t beat around the bush on any issue. Moran is not afraid to speak her mind and talks about many issues that face women including things like periods, boobs and bras to more serious topics like body image, relationships and having children. It an excellent book that made me laugh out loud at times but also manages to be moving and heartwarming too.
So there are my top 5 feminist reads, ENJOY!
Follow Millie’s body positivity accounts on Twitter & Instagram.
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