Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Anyone fancy joining a Mumsnet feminist book club?

60 replies

Tartle · 30/04/2017 18:12

I know there is a book club section but i thought I'd post here for traffic and then maybe start a new thread over there for anyone interested.

Basically I feel like I've become increasingly radicalised since joining Mumsnet. Having moved away from lib fem communities over the past few years without really being able to articulate why I started reading some of the second wave arguments on here and it blew my mind. I've gone away and done a lot of thinking and completely changed my stance on a number of issues.

I've also realised that despite engaging somewhat with feminist theory at uni I am woefully under read and I want to go back to basics and engage with some of the key texts. I've just picked up a copy of The Female Eunuch that has been on my book case for at least 5 years so I am going to start there. I know there is an amazing community here and it would be great to be able to discuss things as they come up.

So what do you think? We could do a book a month and just chat and comment as we go along?

If you are up for joining in then sign up below by nominating a feminist book that either you have been meaning/wanting to read or that you felt had a big impact on your thinking.

Could be a novel/article/poem or a theoretical text then we can try and alternate different genres to keep things interesting!

OP posts:

QuentinSummers · 30/04/2017 18:22

I'm in!

Original poster

Tartle · 30/04/2017 18:24

Yay! Do you have a book nomination?

OP posts:

QuentinSummers · 30/04/2017 18:25

Maybe Nasty Women?

Badweekjustgotworse · 30/04/2017 18:27

Anything be Sheila Jeffreys! I'm in

ErrolTheDragon · 30/04/2017 18:31

I'd like to be in, if I can get back into the habit of reading - just don't seem to be able to engage with books at the moment.

The only feminist book I've read is 'Delusions of Gender', obviously very good stuff.

cattrain · 30/04/2017 18:32

I'm in.

The Women's Room by Marilyn French completely blew my mind, and helped me to understand how we got here, iyswim. I need to read more and would love to be a part of this!

GinevraFanshawe · 30/04/2017 18:33

I'm in! I nominate Vagina: A new biography by Naomi Wolf.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 30/04/2017 18:35

I would tentatively like to though I am unfortunately not very reliable at the moment due to ds1 issues.
We did this for a while a few years ago in the early days of the feminism topic on here and it worked really well.

Cakescakescakes · 30/04/2017 18:39

I am totally up for this!

I've a literary background and am becoming increasing vocal about feminism the older I get but I am completely at a loss with where to begin with feminist writing. Would love help in formulating arguments and expressing opinions in an articulate way.

I think the only feminist writing in my house is a copy of The Second Sex which has been lurking on my shelves for a long time...

Cakescakescakes · 30/04/2017 18:40

Could we start with a few of the key basic texts as suggested above? Would love a really good grounding in everything.

phoolani · 30/04/2017 18:41

I'm in. Currently reading Cordelia fine's Testosterone Rex and have too many feminist books collecting dust on my shelves.

StealthPolarBear · 30/04/2017 18:46

Countess I remember when the feminist topic was created I said I'd join, if dh would let me.
Anyway, I'mtentatively in too. Don't have a lot f time fr additional reading but would love a list of basics plus anything really light that I cam read in that half an hour before I fall asleep.

tiredwitless · 30/04/2017 18:48

Interested in reading more around feminism but not well read. Have read The Women's Room long long time ago, and Memoirs of a dutiful daughter - loved both - keen to start reading more in General.. so I'm in.

woman12345 · 30/04/2017 19:01

Yes please! The Golden Notebook, Mrs Dalloway, Beloved are some of my ones. But any would be great. The Women's Room and or The Female Eunuch would be great. And any biographies of notable/ forgotten women?

QuentinSummers · 30/04/2017 19:04

I've read the golden notebook, very hard going!

woman12345 · 30/04/2017 19:12

Yeah, there is a radio 4 version of the Golden Notebook.
It's just such an important picture of socialist feminism in 1950s, but a wee bit too long, you're right QuentinSummers. Zadie Smith talked about it influencing her for North West, which was on TV too, so I had another look at it, but yes a wee bit long.

dudsville · 30/04/2017 19:15

I clicked on this thread wondering about feminist-oriented fiction. I'd love a good holiday read - I stopped reading at the time of my doctorate and haven't been able to pick the habit back up.

Original poster

Tartle · 30/04/2017 19:21

Hooray! I was really worried no one would be interested. I'm going to start a reading list that we can copy paste and add to.

The Female Eunuch, Germaine Greer
Nasty Women, 404 Ink

3 Gender Hurts, Sheila Jeffreys

Delusions of gender, Cordelia Fine
The Women's Room, Marilyn French
Vagina: A new biography, Naomi Wolf
The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir
Beloved, Toni Morrison
The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing

I've tried to avoid repeating authors for the minute as there is just so much to read!

OP posts:

woman12345 · 30/04/2017 19:23

Germaine's on tour too!
www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/germaine-greer

GuardianLions · 30/04/2017 19:24

Ooh that sounds great :) Anything by Andrea Dworkin or Sheila Jeffries - I have a copy of the Whole Woman by Germaine Greer I haven't picked up yet....
Also Gail Dines... wrt feminist fiction - you can't beat a bit of Margaret Atwood - hasn't Fay Weldon got a new transsexual version of The Life and Loves of a She Devil coming out?

MerricatsHouse · 30/04/2017 20:01

I'm in, this sounds great! Started doing my own informal 'Year of Reading Feminism' this year to try and back up some of my knowledge / arguments with the source material. Have a good few books ready to go and already discovering new ones from the posts.

Same as you OP, I've learned so much from the Mumsnet Feminism pages and have had my eyes opened and changed my views on so many subjects. I always considered myself to be a radical feminist and second wave leaning, but realised how the lib fem stuff of the moment had really clouded this and found the threads brought so much into sharp relief. It fired me up to do some reading and expand on all of this.

JigglyTuff · 30/04/2017 20:09

I'd be up for this. Can we also add Susan Faludi's Backlash to the list please as I think it's a really important book to understand why we seemed to take 1 step forward and 2 back in feminism in the late 20th century and I think it's still hugely pertinent

MerricatsHouse · 30/04/2017 20:12

Can't decide what to nominate. I have The Golden Notebook on the shelf along with quite a few non fiction texts (The Second Sex, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, A Room of Ones Own). I read Mrs Dalloway last year and I think its meaning passed me by a bit because I rushed it. I'm looking at The Women's Room now as well and that sounds excellent. I also have Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy, has anyone read that? Apparently a feminist and sci fi classic, but I haven't picked it up yet as I don't usually read sci fi.

WhereYouLeftIt · 30/04/2017 20:45

I have nothing to nominate, but would be very interested in being guided to appropriate texts.

venusinscorpio · 30/04/2017 22:20

YY.

Flip

1 2 3

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.