We’ve put together a list of feminist and intersectional books — you’re sure to find something here to inspire you. Check out the list and start your own book club, or explore a bookstore or library with it. Happy reading!
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini — A story of friendship between two women in Afghanistan and the tragedies, gender-based violence, and discrimination they face
Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel — “Many of us are living out the unlived lives of our mothers. Bechdel has written a graphic novel about this; sort of like a comic book by Virginia Woolf.” –Gloria Steinem
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay — Essays on modern feminism and what we need to do better
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath — Deals with society’s expectation for women and the search for fulfillment
Corazon by Yesika Salgado — Poetry about fatness, brownness, womanness, love
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley — Frankenstein itself isn’t a feminist book but MARY SHELLEY INVENTED SCIENCE FICTION WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD!
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen — “Mental illness through the feminist lens.”
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood — Essential to every feminist library
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros — A classic coming-of-age story from the perspective of Esperanza Cordero, a teenage Latina growing up in Chicago.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson — Not actually about housekeeping, but: a “haunting, poetic story, drowned in water and light, about three generations of women”
Hunger by Roxane Gay — “A searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself.”
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai — Malala’s story of her fight for education for girls in Pakistan, the attempt at her assassination, and her recovery
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot — Deals with ethics relating to race and class in medical research
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan — A novel about 4 Chinese immigrants and their American-born daughters; focuses on the deep mother-daughter connection and also the great divide between the Chinese-born mothers and the first-generation daughters
Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro — An earthy, elegant short story cycle about growing up feminist in Canada, by one of the masters of the craft
Loving Someone Gay by Don Clark — An LGBTQ classic about loving and accepting yourself in an often hostile world; helps families and friends confront their prejudices and build more meaningful relationships
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson — “Magical touches dance like highlights over the brilliance of this fairy tale about passion, gambling, madness, and androgynous ecstasy.”
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi — A graphic novel/memoir of the author’s life growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution
The Power by Naomi Alderman — Teenage girls have the power to electrocute people; story about how the world would change if women had the power
The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti — Analysis of the United States’ obsession with female virginity
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore — A story about female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting products with radioactive paint during the early 19th century; touches on workers’ rights and justice
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi — A memoir by an Iranian professor who read forbidden Western books with her students in her living room after universities were closed by Islamic fundamentalists
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock — A memoir of the trans activist’s life so far
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid — About a queer movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood, forced to hide the real her and her relationship from the public
Shrill by Lindy West — Essays about fatness, sexism in the comedy world, and sexism online; so funny and so good
Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Petersen — Writer at Buzzfeed, essays on unruly women
Tranny by Laura Jane Grace — A memoir of the lead singer of Against Me! (a punk rock band) who came out as trans in 2012; reflections on her turbulent life and the band’s turbulent life
The Vegetarian by Han Kang — A short novel translated from Korean about a women who chooses to stop eating red meat in a culture where that means a lot, and how her act of subversion affects her life
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman — A very short story written during the Victorian Era that deals with mental health and sexism; lots of symbolism!
You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson — One of the “2 Dope Queens” podcasters, essays about race, gender, and pop culture
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