Best Gender Studies Books | Summaries & Audio

Gender Studies Book Summaries

The Beauty Myth

by Naomi Wolf • 1990

Beauty standards are a weapon of social control, and they intensify every time women advance.

3.91

31k+

🏛️ Body Politics 🍽️ Diet Culture 🌊 Third Wave Feminism 👁️ Female Objectification 📺 Media Representation

The Beauty Myth

Beauty standards are a weapon of social control, and they intensify every time women advance.

by Naomi Wolf 1990 368 pages

3.91

31k+ ratings

🏛️ Body Politics 🍽️ Diet Culture 🌊 Third Wave Feminism 👁️ Female Objectification 📺 Media Representation

Sexing the Body

by Anne Fausto-Sterling • 2000

Nature gives us a spectrum of sexes. Medicine prunes it down to two.

4.16

2k+

🔬 Feminist Science Studies 🌈 Intersex Advocacy 🏛️ Social Constructionism 🧠 Biological Essentialism 💉 Medical Ethics

Sexing the Body

Nature gives us a spectrum of sexes. Medicine prunes it down to two.

by Anne Fausto-Sterling 2000 496 pages

4.16

2k+ ratings

🔬 Feminist Science Studies 🌈 Intersex Advocacy 🏛️ Social Constructionism 🧠 Biological Essentialism 💉 Medical Ethics

Against Our Will

by Susan Brownmiller • 1975

Rape as terror, not desire: the 1975 argument that made sexual violence a political question.

4.05

4k+

🛑 Sexual Violence 🏛️ Patriarchal Power ✊ Radical Feminism 🌊 Second Wave Feminism ⚖️ Feminist Legal Theory

Against Our Will

Rape as terror, not desire: the 1975 argument that made sexual violence a political question.

by Susan Brownmiller 1975 472 pages

4.05

4k+ ratings

🛑 Sexual Violence 🏛️ Patriarchal Power ✊ Radical Feminism 🌊 Second Wave Feminism ⚖️ Feminist Legal Theory

Bachelor Girl

by Betsy Israel • 2002

The hidden history of single women: from spinsters to the women who refused to settle.

3.72

1k+

💃 Single Women 📚 Cultural History 🏙️ Urban Life 🏭 Workplace History 💋 Sexual Revolution

Bachelor Girl

The hidden history of single women: from spinsters to the women who refused to settle.

by Betsy Israel 2002 324 pages

3.72

1k+ ratings

💃 Single Women 📚 Cultural History 🏙️ Urban Life 🏭 Workplace History 💋 Sexual Revolution

Gaga Feminism

by J. Jack Halberstam • 2012

Normal failed. A weirder, messier feminism built on performance, chaos, and political disruption.

3.56

500+

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Theory 📚 Feminist Theory 🎭 Gender Performance 🌊 Sexual Fluidity 🤰 Reproductive Politics

Gaga Feminism

Normal failed. A weirder, messier feminism built on performance, chaos, and political disruption.

by J. Jack Halberstam 2012 232 pages

3.56

500+ ratings

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Theory 📚 Feminist Theory 🎭 Gender Performance 🌊 Sexual Fluidity 🤰 Reproductive Politics

The Body Project

by Joan Jacobs Brumberg • 1997

How a century made American girls' bodies into a consumer project, from menarche to first diet.

3.82

3k+

👧 Adolescent Girlhood 💄 Beauty Standards 🥗 Dieting Culture 🎯 Marketing To Girls 🕰️ Body Image History

The Body Project

How a century made American girls' bodies into a consumer project, from menarche to first diet.

by Joan Jacobs Brumberg 1997 214 pages

3.82

3k+ ratings

👧 Adolescent Girlhood 💄 Beauty Standards 🥗 Dieting Culture 🎯 Marketing To Girls 🕰️ Body Image History

The Purity Myth

by Jessica Valenti • 2009

The virginity movement teaches shame as science, then codifies it. Real women bear the cost.

4.08

8k+

🏛️ Purity Culture ✊ Body Autonomy 💪 Toxic Masculinity 🎯 Victim Blaming ⚖️ Sexual Ethics

The Purity Myth

The virginity movement teaches shame as science, then codifies it. Real women bear the cost.

by Jessica Valenti 2009 263 pages

4.08

8k+ ratings

🏛️ Purity Culture ✊ Body Autonomy 💪 Toxic Masculinity 🎯 Victim Blaming ⚖️ Sexual Ethics

Yes Means Yes!

by Jaclyn Friedman • 2008

Rape culture silences women's desire. The real consent standard requires an enthusiastic yes.

4.20

5k+

✋ Consent Culture 🔥 Sex-Positive Feminism ⚠️ Rape Culture 🧘 Body Politics 📚 Feminist Anthologies

Yes Means Yes!

Rape culture silences women's desire. The real consent standard requires an enthusiastic yes.

by Jaclyn Friedman 2008 361 pages

4.20

5k+ ratings

✋ Consent Culture 🔥 Sex-Positive Feminism ⚠️ Rape Culture 🧘 Body Politics 📚 Feminist Anthologies

Asking for It

by Kate Harding • 2014

Ninety-eight percent of rape reports are true. Why does the two percent dominate every conversation?

4.37

4k+

⚠️ Rape Culture 👉 Victim Blaming 🗯️ Rape Myths 🎓 Campus Sexual Assault ⚖️ Legal System Failure

Asking for It

Ninety-eight percent of rape reports are true. Why does the two percent dominate every conversation?

by Kate Harding 2014 326 pages

4.37

4k+ ratings

⚠️ Rape Culture 👉 Victim Blaming 🗯️ Rape Myths 🎓 Campus Sexual Assault ⚖️ Legal System Failure

Delusions of Gender

by Cordelia Fine • 2010

The brain science of gender difference, examined closely, collapses. A psychologist explains why.

4.08

11k+

🧠 Gender And Brain 🎯 Implicit Bias 🔄 Neuroplasticity 👶 Gender Socialization 🔍 Pseudoscience

Delusions of Gender

The brain science of gender difference, examined closely, collapses. A psychologist explains why.

by Cordelia Fine 2010 338 pages

4.08

11k+ ratings

🧠 Gender And Brain 🎯 Implicit Bias 🔄 Neuroplasticity 👶 Gender Socialization 🔍 Pseudoscience

Manifesta

by Jennifer Baumgardner • 2000

The next wave is hot pink, unapologetic, and political: feminism didn't die, it changed its look.

3.73

3k+

🌊 Third Wave Feminism 💋 Reclaiming Femininity ✊ Everyday Activism 🔍 Consciousness Raising 🤝 Intersectional Feminism

Manifesta

The next wave is hot pink, unapologetic, and political: feminism didn't die, it changed its look.

by Jennifer Baumgardner 2000 416 pages

3.73

3k+ ratings

🌊 Third Wave Feminism 💋 Reclaiming Femininity ✊ Everyday Activism 🔍 Consciousness Raising 🤝 Intersectional Feminism

Full Frontal Feminism

by Jessica Valenti • 2007

Forty percent more likely to be poor: the numbers that prove feminism isn't done with you.

3.86

8k+

✊ Third-Wave Feminism 📚 Feminist 101 🛑 Rape Culture 🪞 Body Image ⚖️ Reproductive Justice

Full Frontal Feminism

Forty percent more likely to be poor: the numbers that prove feminism isn't done with you.

by Jessica Valenti 2007 289 pages

3.86

8k+ ratings

✊ Third-Wave Feminism 📚 Feminist 101 🛑 Rape Culture 🪞 Body Image ⚖️ Reproductive Justice

Modern Manhood

by Cleo Stiller • 2019

Men know the old playbook is broken. This is the conversation that replaces it.

3.68

106

💪 Modern Masculinity ✋ Consent Culture 🫂 Vulnerability In Men 🧘 Men's Mental Health 👨‍👦 Raising Sons

Modern Manhood

Men know the old playbook is broken. This is the conversation that replaces it.

by Cleo Stiller 2019 224 pages

3.68

106 ratings

💪 Modern Masculinity ✋ Consent Culture 🫂 Vulnerability In Men 🧘 Men's Mental Health 👨‍👦 Raising Sons

Gender Trouble

by Judith Butler • 1989

Gender is not who you are but what you do, repeated until it passes for nature.

4.04

19k+

✊ Feminist Theory 🌈 Queer Theory 🏗️ Social Construction 🎭 Gender As Performance 🧬 Heteronormativity

Gender Trouble

Gender is not who you are but what you do, repeated until it passes for nature.

by Judith Butler 1989 236 pages

4.04

19k+ ratings

✊ Feminist Theory 🌈 Queer Theory 🏗️ Social Construction 🎭 Gender As Performance 🧬 Heteronormativity

Brain Sex

by Anne Moir • 1989

Men and women have different brains, wired before birth by hormones, not culture.

3.73

500+

🧬 Sex Differences 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌿 Nature Vs Nurture 💊 Hormones And Behavior 💬 Gender Communication

Brain Sex

Men and women have different brains, wired before birth by hormones, not culture.

by Anne Moir 1989 256 pages

3.73

500+ ratings

🧬 Sex Differences 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌿 Nature Vs Nurture 💊 Hormones And Behavior 💬 Gender Communication

The Macho Paradox

by Jackson Katz • 2006

Men commit the violence, yet it's called a women's issue. A guide for men ready to flip the script.

4.17

1k+

⚖️ Gender Violence 🍇 Rape Culture 🫂 Male Peer Culture ✋ Bystander Intervention 📺 Media Sexism

The Macho Paradox

Men commit the violence, yet it's called a women's issue. A guide for men ready to flip the script.

by Jackson Katz 2006 304 pages

4.17

1k+ ratings

⚖️ Gender Violence 🍇 Rape Culture 🫂 Male Peer Culture ✋ Bystander Intervention 📺 Media Sexism

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