The Guilty Feminist: You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Overthrow the Patriarchy

by Deborah Frances-White

Overview

A witty take on feminism for every woman who wants equality but sometimes wants a day off from fighting for it


Sometimes we feel a bit like "I'm a feminist, but..." As in, "I'm a feminist, but I skipped the Women's March to buy face cream." As in, "I'm a feminist, but I've never found time to read Sylvia Plath (but I have watched fifteen seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians)."


In The Guilty Feminist, Deborah Frances-White reassures us that we don't have to be perfect to be a force for meaningful change. Exploring big issues of identity, equality, intersectionality, and the current feminist agenda, she explodes the myth of the model activist and offers a realistic path toward changing the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580059541
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	12/31/2019
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	649,340
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Deborah Frances-White is a stand-up comedian and the host of the hit podcast The Guilty Feminist, which has had sixty million downloads in three years. She regularly appears on television in the UK and has her own BBC Radio 4 series, Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice, which won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy. An official ambassador for Amnesty International, she lives in London.

Table of Contents

Introduction: What Is a Guilty Feminist? ix

Part 1 How We Got Here

What's Feminism For? 3

Part 2 Now We're Here, What Do We Do About It?

Drink the Kooh-Aid-Just One Calorie 33

I Just Had a Thought-I Don't Know if It's Worth Mentioning 57

Finding Your Inner Obama (Michelle, of Course) 79

The Power of Yes 101

Hear Us Roar 143

Part 3 All Change!

The Power of No 177

Enemy Lines 205

There Is No "Try" 229

I'm a Feminist But… But… 255

The Last Word: I'm a Feminist and … 271

Editorial Reviews

08/19/2019

Comedian Frances-White shares lessons learned from creating and hosting The Guilty Feminist podcast in this bighearted effort to raise consciousness and incite activism among the timid. She writes, “It’s not enough to feel like a good person: we need motivation to put things right. Doing nothing and saying nothing is tacit support.” It starts, she suggests, with women embracing their own flawed selves, finding and using their voices, setting boundaries, and forming alliances. To succinct explanations of feminism’s history, goals, and pitfalls, she adds advice, personal confessions, punchy examples, and a hefty dose of humor. Frances-White is meticulous and incisive, and makes a point to interview queer, nonbinary, disabled, and nonwhite colleagues (Jessamyn Stanley, Susan Wokoma, and Becca Bunce among them) on their feminism; repeatedly notes that she speaks from a place of white middle-class privilege; and acknowledges that gender is an increasingly fluid concept. With a distinct, lively, and consistently hilarious delivery, Frances-White upends common misconceptions—feminists, she assures readers, can love lipstick and men—and encourages readers to do “what you can, when you can” to end oppressive power structures. Feminists of any stripe will be moved by this rousing, funny, highly appreciative exhortation to “smash the patriarchy like a strong, green, healthy plant breaking through the foundations of an old house.” (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"This really is the 'everything you have always wanted to know about feminism but were afraid to ask' manual. Essential reading for the planet."—Emma Thompson

"Hilarious, irreverent, eternally surprising, classy as hell, genius."—Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator and star of Fleabag

"Tackles issues from democracy to sexuality to porn with a lightness and hilarity that makes even the newly ordained feminist feel at home."—Scarlett Curtis, author of Feminists Don't Wear Pink and Other Lies

"Her 'Open Letter from the Gentlemen of Hollywood,' a riposte to the Weinstein saga, is worth the cover price alone."—Sunday Times

"A passionate, funny, fresh, thought-provoking read, as engaging as it's informative."—Guardian

"This high-energy book reminds readers about the origins of feminism and how important it is for women to support each other."—Booklist

"A witty book full of insights, opinions, and good advice."—Kirkus

"With a distinct, lively, and consistently hilarious delivery, Frances-White upends common misconceptions-feminists, she assures readers, can love lipstick and men-and encourages readers to do "what you can, when you can" to end oppressive power structures. Feminists of any stripe will be moved by this rousing, funny, highly appreciative exhortation to 'smash the patriarchy like a strong, green, healthy plant breaking through the foundations of an old house.'"—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2019-09-25
From the London-based Australian co-creator and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast comes a book-length version of that program.

A stand-up comedian who also hosts the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice, the author opens her chapters with the phrase "I'm a feminist but" and proceeds with an example of a cause of remorse, such as lying about one's weight by 20 pounds or mistaking Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique for the name of a classic perfume. Throughout the narrative, there are abundant examples of Frances-White's weaknesses and the rifts between good intentions and human behavior, and she encourages feminists to shed their guilt and take up their "most unapologetic and persuasive voice." In Part 1, the author provides a capsule history of the feminist movements and her opinions on their significance. In parts 2 and 3, Frances-White broadens her reach, taking on the air of the podcast, which she describes as a microclimate where women are given power, space, and the assumption of brilliance. The text features a mix of various pieces from the podcast. She includes her own angry speech about Brexit, her stand-up comedy bit satirizing how women undermine themselves, an irony-filled piece on Harvey Weinstein, and her feminist rewrite of the famous speech in Henry V, which ends with the rousing cry, "God for Women, Feminism, and Saint Angelou!" Frances-White also muses on the diet industry, the fun of makeup, being open to other people's struggles, toxic masculinity, Donald Trump, female fertility, sexism in religion (now an atheist, she was raised as a member of Jehovah's Witnesses), and women's own sexual submission fantasies. Confidently opinionated, the author gives other feminist writers a voice, introducing them proudly and interviewing them intelligently. Fans of the TV series Fleabag will relish her lengthy interview with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, its creator and star.

A bit of a potpourri but a witty book full of insights, opinions, and good advice.

Kirkus Reviews

Deborah Frances-White and Adjoa Andoh work together to narrate this set of ruminations about contemporary womanhood and its many dilemmas. Frances-White has an upper-crust British accent that gives the questions she's asking an added layer of importance. As she reads at a quick but measured pace, listeners are pulled along by her brisk no-nonsense approach to a seemingly overwhelming topic. At the start of each chapter, Andoh provides short vocal clips of ironic statements that sum up the theme. Those looking for the nuances of issues facing women and feminism will likely replay many of these chapters numerous times. If there ever was a title that could start an audio book club, this is it. M.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile

Deborah Frances-White and Adjoa Andoh work together to narrate this set of ruminations about contemporary womanhood and its many dilemmas. Frances-White has an upper-crust British accent that gives the questions she's asking an added layer of importance. As she reads at a quick but measured pace, listeners are pulled along by her brisk no-nonsense approach to a seemingly overwhelming topic. At the start of each chapter, Andoh provides short vocal clips of ironic statements that sum up the theme. Those looking for the nuances of issues facing women and feminism will likely replay many of these chapters numerous times. If there ever was a title that could start an audio book club, this is it. M.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile