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Feminism for Women

On sale

2nd September 2021

Price: £19.99

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Selected: Audiobook Downloadable / ISBN-13: 9781405545082

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‘Timely, necessary and important’ J.K. Rowling

‘[This book is] guaranteed to remind us what we have still to fight for. I can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t benefit from reading it’ Observer

‘Bindel is a rock star of second-wave feminism . . . an important, courageous book’ The Times

‘Bindel delivers a robust call to arms in every chapter . . . this book could not be timelier . . . As a young feminist who has finally seen the light, I consider it essential reading’ The Critic

Feminism is a quest for the liberation of women from patriarchy. Feminism strives for a world in which women are not oppressed. Feminism prioritises exposing and ending male violence towards women and girls.

This is Julie Bindel’s feminism, a definition born of 40 years at the front line of the feminist movement. Why then, she asks, is feminism the only social justice movement in the world that is expected to prioritise every other issue before pursuing its own objective of women’s liberation? Why does the movement appear to be moving backwards, accommodating the rights and feelings of men and leaving women in the cold? Women make up half the global population yet why is feminism still treated as a minority movement?

In this searing and ground-breaking book, Bindel deconstructs the many pervasive myths about feminism – Do women really want what men have? Can men be feminists? Are women liberated by sexual violation? – assessing whether feminism has achieved its goals and debunking theories that second wave feminism is irrelevant and one-dimensional.

Bindel shines a light on the most important issues, including pornography, sexual violence and prostitution. Drawing on Bindel’s own experiences, as well as countless interviews with women and girls of all ages and backgrounds (as well as contributions from commentators such as Gloria Steinem and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie), Feminism for Women presents a clear-sighted view of why feminism is a proud social movement that every woman on the planet benefits from.

The invisible forces of misogyny affect us all.

This book is a call to arms to reclaim feminism for all women.

Only together can we resist and overcome.

Reviews

Kat Rosenfield, Unherd
Promises to breathe life back into the movement . . . a righteous expression of solidarity with women, by women, for women. Bindel writes with compelling fury about issues like intimate partner violence, corrupt police who make it fraught and difficult for women to report rape, the systems set up to privilege abusers over victims
Ian Martin
I disagree with Bindel on some issues but God, she's my kind of feminist . . . She is fearless. I love her
Samira Ahmed
Julie Bindel - one of the bravest, smartest journalists and campaigners out there - draws on a fearless lifetime on the front line of feminism and offers a refreshing, sometimes provocative, wake-up call for women of all ages
Olivia Hartley, The Critic
How are young women today meant to know what sort of feminist we need to be to achieve women's liberation? Julie Bindel is here to tell us how to do it properly . . . Bindel delivers a robust call to arms in every chapter . . . this book could not be timelier as the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on women's lives become more stark . . . Feminism for Women should deliver hope to those who feel lost . . . Feminism for Women is a considered deconstruction of some of the myths pervading the modern feminist movement, and how, by going back to the basics, it can be fixed. As a young feminist who has finally seen the light, I consider it essential reading
Cordelia Fine
Whoever gave away feminism, look out, because Julie Bindel wants it back
J.K. Rowling
Timely, necessary and important
Melanie Reid, The Times
Bindel is a rock star of second-wave feminism . . . an important, courageous book
Gita Sahgal
Feminism for Women needs to come with a very large trigger warning: 'this book may change your mind'. Written for young feminists, it should be read by everyone. Bindel has rescued the story of radical feminism from airless conference halls and impenetrable Gender Studies courses specialising in erasing feminists and our histories
Selina Todd
A sharply argued, deftly written examination of where feminism is at in 2021 - and where feminists should go next
Kathleen Stock, The Spectator
An impassioned manifesto
Martina Navratilova
Enlightening, infuriating and hopeful. Julie Bindel hits all the relevant points when it comes to feminism and what it means
David Challen
Bindel's campaigning to end male violence is the rallying call men need to join the fight
Guardian
Bindel makes a call to reset the feminist movement and resist the normalisation of sexual violence
Rachel Cooke, Observer
Bindel . . . has written a Ronseal book, one that functions as a kind of primer for all matters pertaining to the current state of feminism . . . bracing to read, and inspiriting . . . Bindel speaks - in a voice that is resolute, undaunted after all these years . . . and if her text doesn't come with easy solutions to our problems, it is nevertheless guaranteed to remind us what we have still to fight for. I can't think of a single person who wouldn't benefit from reading it