Who is writing feminist novels these days? And does anyone buy them?

[nkf]

I could only really think of Sarah Hall (The Carhullan Army) among the younger novelists. And (at a very big stretch) Candance Bushnell. Yet when I thought back I could think of many older writers that I would describe as feminist.

What about Marge Piercy? She's a wonderful feminist writer, still producing books as far as I know.

but if you believe in equal rights for women you are a feminist, irrespective of feminist writers getting their books published?

Am I missing something here?

No you're not, it's me who's been missing something! I need to get back to basics, as you say I do believe in equal rights for women, and as policywonk puts it I make my own choices and expect others to respect them. So I am a feminist!

I guess what my recent doubts come down to are realising looking back at my own childhood that my mum's increased involvement with the women's movement coincided with her declining interest in being a mother. So I'm feeling a little bruised

DD1 tells me that Jacqueline Wilson is a feminist writer. Who am I to argue?

Hi everyone. Thanks for responding. And interesting to see the line up of names. Very glad to have Elasticwoman's daughter in on the thread too. Get them young I say.

Cusk is an interesting case and I agree with the poster who said to look to third world writers.

I've read very little about motherhood. I don't know why exactly as you'd think I'd be interested but, on the whole I prefer to read about other kinds of lives. The "mums lit" fiction genre depresses me.

I'm not sure Sarah Waters is a feminist though I love her books. I think she does explore the constraints of being female at a particular point of history so in that way she could be seen to be. However, her relationship, though fascinatingly portrayed, are mostly power struggles. Women are rarely emancipated through a relationship in her books.

Think Kate Atkinson is a feminist. Anne Roiphe sounds interesting. I think Jonathan Coe is a feminist too in some of his books.

I find it a shame that writers such as Lionel Shriver constantly deny they are feminists as if it were a dirty word.

rod - I've just had a look through the Naomi Stadlen book re. your comment about her not identifying herself as a feminist. I can't see any point in the book where she says she's not a feminist, either. Do you know that she rejects feminism (from another source), or is it just that she doesn't explicitly identify herself as one?

I tend to assume that any woman who votes, earns money, pays taxes etc. is a feminist (even though they don't always know it)

I think Sarah Waters probably would call heself a feminist but I think the energy in her books comes from her desire to give homosexuals and homosexuality a history.

Not sure that voting, earning money and paying taxes are the qualities that define feminists.

Well, they are in that the woman who is voting obviously believes that she has a right to vote; the woman who is working belives that she has a right to work. Admittedly, taxes are a bit of a red herring. How would you define feminism? I'd say it's the belief that a woman is entitled to as much power/agency/self-determination as a man. I don't think there are too many women in the 21st-century UK who would say that they don't believe that they should be entitled to those things. A lot of them won't call themselves feminist because they have swallowed a lot of bile about feminism meaning bra-burning and man-hating.

Maybe I have an unusually inclusive notion of feminism though.

Hiya Policy

I lent the book to a friend so will have to go from memory. I haven't read elsewhere that Naomi Stadlen isn't a feminist so could be wrong. But I think I remember that in the chapter I mentioned she cites several feminist writers inc Adrienne Rich, says explicitly that they are feminists and argues that their view of motherhood includes ambivalence or even hate of the child as something normal. Also I felt that the whole book was biased towards mothers who choose to stay at home - not that this is antifeminist in itself but working mothers seemed to me conspicuously absent, thereby the choice to work seemed somehow invalidated. Like I said before she was a bit over-polite so it's hard to say what she really thinks. I guess the purpose of the book wasn't to give Stadlen's view on feminism but to talk about, well, what mothers do.
As Hester said yesterday Stadlen's choice of feminist writers to cite may well be unfair and unrepresentative (Hester any luck with coming up with more feminists writing positively about motherhood?). Crikey looking back at what I've just written I can't remember why I liked the book!

I think I'd go along with self determination etc as being part of feminism.

Regarding feminist writers, I think that to fit into that category they need to have some element of exploring the social aspects of being female in their work. It's the rarely heard (these days) idea of the personal being political.

How interesting that Lionel Shriver doesn't call herself a feminist, I'd just assumed that she was one. Although We need to talk about Kevin definitely portrays motherhood in a fairly ambivalent light so on my quest for happymum feminists I'm quite glad she's off the list! (Having said that I loved wnttak, what a brilliant and frightening novel)

I've always assumed that simply believing in equality for women was enough to make you a feminist, but I rarely meet women who will call themselves feminists on these grounds. (As you said policy nearly all women in 21st century britain will say that they believe in equality if asked). The backlash has made it almost counterproductive to be loud and proud about feminism as it's usually taken as a shorthand for manhating - boring.

I don't think it's fair to just blame an antifeminist backlash of "bile" for feminism having fallen into disrepute though. I grew up in a feminist household and when I was 14 my mother told me not to shave my legs as I was "pandering to all men's latent paedophilia"! The feminist movement has to own that there have been a few moments of extreme silliness!

nkf - re exploring social aspects of being female I would def include Jennifer Weiner then. Have you read Little Earthquakes? It's a bit chicklit but has characters and issues every new mum can relate to.

I think the problem with the term feminism is its so misused by the media, I have always been proud to call myself a feminist, but so many people think that it is about thinking women are better than men. Anyway as for books not sure about fiction but did love Naomi Wolf's Misconceptions, been knocking about for a while I know, but she has a very feminist view on how society is failing mothers and really celebrates motherhood whilst acknowledging its limitations on ones life which she sees not as a problem of motherhood, but of society, if you haven't read it you must.

Some of my favourite writers on here - Jonathan Coe (think The House of Sleep is his finest novel personally), Sarah Waters, Helen Simpson, Marge Piercy. Anorak, I love her too, but I think a lot of the burning rage has left her since the days of The High Cost of Living, Vida and Woman on the Edge of Time.

I'm not sure whether they are officially 'feminists', but I like the novels of Sue Miller and Alison Lurie. They describe a women's point of view and are not 'chicklit'.

marina, she ought to be mellowing by this age, don't you think?

Vida was always my favourite, oh, how I loved that book! Have you ever read any of her poetry, it's fab and really challenging.

I love Marge Piercy and especially Vida too. Have you read her memoir, Sleeping with Cats?

No elkie but I will now you've told me it exists! Thank you.