Showing posts with label Waterstones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waterstones. Show all posts

It was International Women's Day yesterday and I wanted to dedicate this post to all the amazing women out there. Today's post features a book that I really connected with over Christmas break and celebrates everything female and everything gender equality too. It's written by an amazing spread of women but read the post and I'll tell you more. Aoife x

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Feminism; a word, that sadly, has the power to start wars but also, to unite people. What does feminism mean to you? To me, it’s about having equal rights. For someone to look at both a male and a female and acknowledge they have the capability to achieve the same things; for them to actually look at us and see value; to be treated the same way.

Feminists Don’t Wear Pink And Other Lies (curated by Scarlett Curtis) is a book made up of essays written by a variety of influential women from film stars to influencers to activists and many more. Each essay shares the writers' relationship they have with the F word. Some of them are quite funny and others are more on the emotional side. One thing that’s clear is everyone has a different relationship with the word. And fundamentally the same principle -of achieving equal rights- forms the basis of all their meanings. That’s my most favourite thing about the book; it accepts that everyone is going to see things differently and celebrates that fact.

And in reality, feminists can wear pink. I call myself a feminist and half my wardrobe is a dusty shade of pink. Feminists can also wear pads and tampons. They can wear baggy clothes, tight clothes, loads of clothes or hardly any clothes at all; and still, be a feminist.


One of my favourite essays in the book is Evanna Lynch's Cat Women. She wrote a piece on how she thought period pants made you more of a feminist. The idea buying tampons and pads were a patriarchal communist strategy, and a real feminist wouldn’t give in to that. In the end, she realised that period pants weren’t for her, and she’d be a tampon wearing feminist. It was written in a comical way but also expressed underlying self-doubt. The idea that I’m less of a feminist than her because I don’t do this. And the truth is, you’re a feminist regardless.

Instead of me talking about the book, here are three reasons why you should open this book and give it a read:
  1. Our versions of what a 'feminist' is are all different. This book features a wide range of women’s opinions, and collectively, they’re all related in some way. You’ll find yourself somewhere in the pages while reading it.
  2. It’s enlightening. Feminism is not just a black-and-white type of word; it’s a multi-faceted, multi-coloured word. Usually, when it comes to books on such topics, it’s written by one person who shares a one-sided view. More often than not, they’re white. This book contains more than one view and from more than one race. It’s not written by one white feminist but rather by women of all cultures, representing a larger group of feminists.
  3. It’s not just a bunch of essays. 'Essay' is such a boring word *yawn*. Although they use the word, it’s not your typical boring introduction, argument, argument, argument, conclusion. They’re creative writing pieces. Some people have gone for the simple mini stories while others have gone for poetry or actual essays. Each piece is someone’s account of something they feel contributes to our understanding of feminism.

I understand that a book on feminism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it's not really mine. And I get that there’s a stigma around openly showcasing that you’re a feminist. At uni, I told my Flatmate’s I’d joined the feminist society, and got eye rolls thrown at me. “Oh, she’s one of them.” The truth is, you have to own that identity. If you admit to yourself that you’re a feminist, and other people have a problem with that, are you really the one at fault? No, hun.

Read the book, give it a try. There’s nothing to lose from it. I loved this book. It’s not really an educational book (although, there’s a bit at the end which is) it’s a book about understanding and sharing each other's stories. I’m going to write a blog post soon on what my relationship with feminism is, so keep your eyes out for that.

Have you read it yet or will you be giving it a go?

Love, Aoife xo