Books & Flicks
Below are my picks for must lists for books and movies. If you’ve got suggestions, I encourage you to send ‘em or post ‘em.
BOOKS
This list is in no particular order. I think the best way to learn about awesome books is through word of mouth!
Books:
- The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
- The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
- Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis
- Fast Girls by Emily White
- Our Bodies Ourselves
- The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
- A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
- A Handmaid’s Tale By Margaret Atwood
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Valencia by Michelle Tea
- anything by bell hooks
- Wonder Woman: The Complete History by Les Daniels
- Girl Culture by Lauren Greenfield
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Dated, yes, but certainly one of the first modern quest stories with a girl as the hero.)
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (The Wicked Witch is certainly a radical feminist and an animal rights activist.)
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (added by Natalie)
- Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself by Amy Richards
On my bookshelf (waiting):
- Catfight by Leora Tanenbaum
- Bitch by Elizabeth Wurtzell
- Female Chauvanist Pigs by Ariel Levy
- Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti
- Pink Think by Lynn Peril
- Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent
- Pin-Up Grrrls by Maria Elena Buszek
- The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order
- Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
- Rent Girl by Michelle Tea
MOVIES
This is a list of movies that are either overtly or covertly feminist. This list is by no means comprehensive and it’s not in any kind of order. We need to spread the word about the movies we’ve seen because so many of the good ones are indies.Here goes:
- Thelma & Louise
- Citizen Ruth (brilliant! if you haven’t seen it, go watch it right now!)
- But I’m a Cheerleader
- Erin Brokavich
- Ever After — A Cinderella Story
- Mean Girls
- Whale Rider
- Bend it Like Beckham
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Long Kiss Goodnight
- La Femme Nikita (and it’s American remake Point of No Return)
- Run Lola Run
- Lara Croft – Tomb Raider
- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
- G.I. Jane
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Mona Lisa Smile (debatable, perhaps)
- His Girl Friday
- Woman of the Year
- Adam’s Rib
- Norma Rae
- Silence of the Lambs
- 9-5 (depressingly still relevent 27 years later)
- Tank Girl
- Contact
- V for Vendetta
- Frida
- Chocolat
- Juno
- Mulan
- Fargo (Way to go Coen Bros for giving us pregnant homicide detective Marge Gunderson. Hurray for working through a pregnancy! -added by Natalie)
- Shut Up & Sing
- Baby Mama
- North Country
- Elizabeth [added 12/15/10]
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age [added 12/15/10]
- Easy A [added 12/26/10]
This is a good list, and I like that these movies have little to do with what “chick flicks” generally do. I hate those movies, and I wish the term chick flick was abolished, as if women don’t like action or comedy, I personally love bloody violence, and not mushy gushy love crap.
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Thanks for the list, it’s very useful. I’d add Women’s room by Marilyn French to the book list
Hi, I just read the best book I have come across in a very long time. I think the author is from Las Vegas, his name is Michael Hartland. The book is a mystery thriller about a plot to bomb the nuclear repository at Nellis Air Force Base and is called “The Collapse of 2013″ I also read “A Second After” by William Forschen, the Collapse was much better, more exciting and plausable with more believable charactors. The women in it are strong and wonderful! I bought it at Border’s Books on Decatur but think you could get it elsewhere. Hope you are having a great New Year! Michelle
I just read a beautiful memoir of a woman whose mother died when she was five, her dad walked out and literally left her and her brother alone, they were left for days until a family member found them. Wealthy family, mean people. She grew up and married an abuser. She left him and recovered from alcoholism through the love of a magnificent horse. It’s a warrior’s story. A woman’s story.
I’m surprised you don’t include any of the Alien films; Aliens in particular.
Funniest book about Vegas ever! http://bit.ly/SGYTnN