Recommended Material

For the new feminist, or even the old rad fem, it never hurts to check to see what the favorites of others are. Feminist-Reprise, has a really fabulous, mostly online, selection of reading.  I also recommend subscribing to Rain and Thunder. When purchasing books, it should go without saying that it’s best to buy from one of the few remaining feminist bookstores, or at least a local independent one. If price really does get in the way for you, then, well, Amazon is always a back up plan. I admit I use it more than I would like.

Here are some titles I recommend. They are linked to on Amazon, which means I do get a commission, if I ever make it to $10, which isn’t likely to happen.   But seriously, I’d rather you buy locally or better yet, go to your local library and see what material they have. Librarians are good people to get to know.

Music I love

Tracy Chapman

Nellie McKay–Get Away From Me

Nellie McKay–Obligatory Villagers

ani difranco

alix olson

Alanis Morissette

and now for some singer-songwriters you may not be familiar with…
Ferron
–My absolute favorite singer of “Women’s Music.” Ferron’s words are absolute poetry, but she has a voice to melt hearts, too. Start with Driver
and then move on to Turning into beautiful . If Ferron doesn’t melt your heart, no one will.

Meg Christian –Meg performed at the heart of the Womyn’s Movement, but for personal reasons, she no longer sings today. Still, I adore listening to her music, especially Best of Meg Christian and Meg and Chris at Carnegie Hall . Unlike Ferron, Meg has some funny, sing-along songs, with some serious ones, touching on race and recovery mixed in.

Alix Dobkin Alix may only have two albums out on CD/mp3, but her songs are CLASSICS in the womyn’s music. As with Meg Christian’s music, she’s very lesbian positive with her lyrics, which is nice if you’re feeling like a lonely lesbian looking for a lover (to steal a line from Alix Olson!)

Kate Reid There’s a new folk singer in town, and her name is Kate Reid. Her songs will get stuck in your head, but even better than that, THEIR POLITICAL AND FEMINIST!!! If you can’t tell, I absolutely adore her music. Please check her out.

Movie Suggestions

Note: I could go on and on with movie suggestions, but I’m trying to keep these as feminist as possible. That may change at some point.

Hard Candy A young woman gets revenge on a pedophile. Very unusually done.

The Brave One Starring Jody Foster. It’s a revenge movie Hollywood style, which means mostly black men are the predators.

Descent Very heavy movie. Again, explores the theme of revenge, but from a completely different angle than the previous movies.

Monster Based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, who was executed by the state of Florida. This movie is extremely intense and triggering; I found I could think of nothing else for days after watching.

North Country Based on the true story of women who brought a group lawsuit against a mining plant for sexual harassment. Not a revenge movie!!!

Itty Bitty Titty Committee This movie made me smile! It is about younger women (entering college), so just be away of that. Also, it is not 100% radical feminist. But I found it fun to watch the women’s actions against a patriarchal culture. Not the typical movie you see in the theaters!

A Question of Silence Perhaps the only movie on the list that’s A Real Feminist Film. Available only in VHS form and made in the ’80s.

Born in Flames

Iron Jawed Angels This is the Hollywood version of the story of how women gained the right to vote in the U.S. I thought it was well done, and it’s not as heavy as many of the other movies listed on this page.

Vera Drake A fictional accounting of a woman who helped perform abortions in the U.S. before they were legal. Even though it’s not true, it could be.

Four months, three weeks, and two days Another abortion movie, this time about the friendship between two women in the former Soviet Union. How far would you go for your friend? This film will make you think.

Very Young Girls A very powerful documentary about Rachel Lloyd’s groups, GEMS.

Check out Rainsinger’s list of revenge movies for more good titles, many of which are available on YouTube.  Women Make Movies also carries many excellent titles; if you have access to an academic library, the movies may be available there.

Reading Material

Note: I have not read all, but rather most, of these suggestions.  Just because a book those not (yet) have a blurb written by myself below it does not mean anything except that I have not had time to write one; I probably have still read the book!

Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader by Barbara Crow

This book contains a large swath of writings from 1967-1975.  This includes SCUM Manifesto, as well as lesser known writings by women against imperialism and racism.

Pornland by Gail Dines

Dines offers a 21st Century look at the porn industry. She discusses how technology has shaped it, never forgetting to bring a feminist, class, and race analysis to her work.

Skylar Gabriel by Lierre Keith

If you’re looking for a mystery that doesn’t stray from radical/lesbian feminism, this is one to pick up! The writing is absolutely superb, and the mystery really held my attention.

Conditions of War by Lierre Keith

Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd

Lloyd is a survivor of prostitution; she tells her story in this book. She went on to found GEMS, a non-profit for young women in the sexploitation industries. For a further review of this book, click here.

Radical Feminism Today by Denise Thompson

Contains original writings from the second wave of feminism including the legendary SCUM manifesto. In my opinion, this is one of the best books a radical feminist can own.

The Politics of Reality by Marilyn Frye

This is a feminist classic. Frye’s writing is strong and bold. Highly recommended.

Stop Street Harassment by Holly Kearl

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color Edited by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua

Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress by Melissa Farley

Radically Speaking edited by Diane Bell and Renate Klein

Loving to Survive by Dee Graham

Not for Sale edited by Rebecca Whisnant and Christine Stark

The Price We Pay edited by Laura Lederer and Richard Delgado

anything/everything by Sheila Jeffreys

anything/everything by Andrea Dworkin

anything/everything by Adrienne Rich

anything/everything by Audre Lorde

anything by Diana Russell

anything by Patricia Hill Collins

anything/everything by Robin Morgan

anything/everything by Mary Daly

anything/everything by Catharine MacKinnon

Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada by Melissa Farley

Radical Feminist Therapy by Bonnie Burstow

Gay Male Pornography by Christopher Kendall

Pornified by Pamela Paul

Take Back The Night edited by Laura Lederer

Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy

Speaking Freely: Unlearning the Lies of our Fathers’ Tongues by Julia Penelope

Getting Off by Robert Jensen

The Second Wave: A Reader in Feminist Theory edited by Linda Nicholson

Tales of the Lavendar Menace: A Memoir of Liberation by Karla Jay

The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malareek

The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men who Buy It by Victor Malareek

Fight Back: Feminist Resistance to Male Violence edited by Frederique Delacoste (Author)

This is a collection of ways in which women have fought back. The writings are from several decades ago and tend to be quite radical. (Yay!).

Making Sex Work: A Failed Experiment in Legalised Prostitution by Mary Sullivan

Details the process and outcomes of legalization of prostitution in part of Australia.

The Gender Knot by Allan G. Johnson

Introduced folks to male supremacy in a non-threatening manner. Johnson’s analysis is well-crafted and is an excellent source for Intro to Women’s Studies classes or sociology of gender classes (Johnson is a sociologist).

Why does he do that? : Inside the minds of controlling and angry men by Lundy Bancroft

This book is a classic to understanding the psychology of batterers.

Beyond Power: Women, men and moralsby Marilyn French

Selling Sex Short: The Pornographic and Sexological Construction of Women’s Sexuality in the West by Meagan Tyler

Big Porn Inc: Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry Edited by Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray

Guilt by Association by Susan Sloan  A fictional book about a woman raped by a man at a party during her college years. Sloan goes on to recount her life over the next decades with a focus on how she is affected by the rape.

Behind Closed Doors by Susan Sloan

Nickels: A tale of dissociation by Christine Stark

Read an interview with Stark about her unique novel.

Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine

Fine goes through studies that proclaim an inborn difference between boys and girls and shows where they are flawed. This book is very detailed, but Fine does insert wry humor to make the reading easier.

Three by Annemarie Monahan

Debut lesbian feminist fiction novel from a long-time radical lesbian feminist. Can also be ordered from Monahan’s site here.