Books

“Honey Girl” Is about a Woman Coming Home to Herself

Morgan Rogers, a Black woman with shoulder-length hair, stands in front of a bookshelf wearing a purple sweater and glasses
by Evette Dionne
February 23, 2021 at 10:20am
Honey Girl is not a romance novel.
A mostly closed laptop with rainbow colors glowing from its screen.

Queer Pressure: #OwnVoices and What We Demand of Queer Authors

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 14, 2020 at 11:19am
Reading is about learning and reflecting, not reaching out and making demands. Read more »
A photo of Angela Chen, who has white-blond hair, glasses, and red lipstick and wears a dark green dress.

Dethroning Romance: Angela Chen Archives the Evolution of Asexuality

by Julie Kliegman
September 8, 2020 at 8:58am
“I write about how asexuality has become a sexual identity, but it can also be thought of as just a way of living that doesn’t center sex.” Read more »
A Black woman sits on a bench and reads a book. Her hair is in long braids, she’s wearing a dress, and she’s smiling.

BitchReads: 13 YA Books Feminists Should Read in September

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 2, 2020 at 10:25am
Welcome to our inaugural YA monthly BitchReads list! Read more »
collage image of young stylish women—one brown, white, and Black—hanging outside with varying expressions ranging from serious to playful

All Together Now: Novels Fight the Myth of the Mean Girl

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 2, 2020 at 9:00am
These new YA protagonists aren’t afraid of their power or the power that their confidence might instill in readers. Read more »
a stone statue depicts a couple not getting along

Unraveling the Tragedy of Heterosexuality

by Fiona Bell
September 1, 2020 at 9:03am
Mutual dislike and violence are not an unfortunate bug in the heteropatriarchal system; they’re fundamental to it. Read more »
a Black woman with a black afro looks at the camera, covered under a red, orange, and deep purple filter

To Be Young, Messy, and Black: “Luster” Depicts Millennial Black Girl Angst

by Vanessa Willoughby
August 27, 2020 at 10:00am
Edie refuses to practice tokenism to secure financial, personal, creative, and romantic stability. Read more »
a brown-skinned woman wearing a hijab leans over as she reads a book

BitchReads: 15 Books Feminists Should Read in August

by Evette Dionne
August 25, 2020 at 12:00pm
We’re late, we know. Read more »
A mom holds her child, both of their faces obscured. The sky is bright blue behind them.

“Impersonation” Explores a Power Struggle Between Two Feminist Moms

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
August 25, 2020 at 10:28am
What can a woman and a mother with no money afford to say no to? Read more »
black and white portrait of Iranian author Nazanine Hozar, a shorthaired woman looking at the camera

“Aria” Looks at Revolution through the Eyes of Children

by Hillary Gerber
August 25, 2020 at 9:00am
Children can act as a conduit for the reader who doesn’t understand something political. Read more »
A close-up of a woman in a lace top, her face obscured.

“The Hierarchies” Imagines a World Where Sex Robots Have Human Impulses

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
August 24, 2020 at 10:01am
It’s a shocking and eye-opening debut, one that has me looking at my coffee maker a little differently. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

Mock & Awe: Janet Mock on Truth-Telling, Community Building, and Writing the Story She Had Been Waiting for Her Whole Life

Janet Mock, a transgender Hawaiian woman with curly, brown hair, smiles
by Tina Vasquez
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
“Redefining Realness” is written with astounding honesty and heart. Read more »

Demanding the Impossible: Walidah Imarisha Talks About Science Fiction and Social Change

by Kristian Williams
April 13, 2015 at 2:23pm
Before she was a poet, journalist, documentary filmmaker, anti-prison activist, and college instructor, Walidah Imarisha was fascinated... Read more »

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

Elizabeth Gilbert, a white woman wearing a navy blue jumpsuit, leans forward and holds hand with and Oprah Winfrey, a Black woman wearing a gray cardigan and jeans
by Joshunda Sanders
Summer 2010 • Action
Even as reports on joblessness, economic recovery, and home foreclosures suggest that no one is immune to risk during this recession, the popularity of women’s wellness media has persisted and, indeed, grown stronger.  Read more »

Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »