Girl Up, який об’єднує дівчат з усього світу, котрі змінюють світ, співзасновниця руху «Життя темношкірих важливе», що бореться проти насильства і дискримінації найвразливішої категорії – не-білих трансгендерних жінок, і ініціаторка кампанії #БезплатніМісячні, яка закликає британський уряд забезпечити школярок і студенток безкоштовними засобами гігієни (бо коштують вони недешево – як, зрештою, і в нашій країні). Усі ці неймовірні жінки – активістки, літераторки, акторки – несамовито надихають і закликають не лише відстоювати власні права, а й підтримувати посестер, які почуваються слабшими. All in all, I think this is worth the read if you're unsure about what feminism means to you or if you just want to get more of a grasp on the basics. It was good to see how inclusive it was, but I would still very much recommend reading it with a critical eye (not that you shouldn't always do that).

Now don't get me wrong, it's in no way my intention to belittle these women or invalidate the experiences they share. I have respect Girl Up's work, and I appreciate the diversity of the contributors and the emphasis on everyone being a work in progress. There were a few essays that I would recommend to newbie feminists (I only gave this book two stars because of them): I have to say that it did feel a bit repetitive at times, because the writings were organized in different collections, such as 'epiphany', 'anger', 'poetry break' and such (also I'm not a *huge* fan of poetry, but that's another matter altogether). As it's a collection, I loved some of the writings (especially those about lesser talked about topics), when I wasn't convinced by others. As 50 women contributed to this book, I wish some pieces had been longer, because they did feel a bit rushed at times, and I didn't get as much out of them as I did from others. Moreover, as I'm not new to reading about feminism, I feel like I only learnt something new from a minority of writing pieces, so that was a bit of a let-down, but the book isn't at fault in that! Like I said, I think it's a great introduction to feminism, but as I already knew quite a bit about that topic, I wanted to learn more new things and I didn't.Manager: (Looks around. Sees girls offering to help. Turns to only male intern who is busy doing something else) Denis, come and help me with this. Feminists don’t wear pink (and other lies): Amazing women on what the F-word means to them is a selection of thought pieces written by 50 very different women, discussing feminism on their own terms. Another thing this feminist book did great at, which you hardly see in other books, is male representation. This book talks about men as much as women in this book, which is the foundation of feminism; sexes and genders. It also gives you wide intel on intersectionality, which is why I find it so painfully significant for young adults to read. Fact is, not all women have periods - doesn't make them less of a woman. Similarly, some men have periods - doesn't make them less of a man. My main issue with this book is the feminism espoused by many of the entries is extremely individualistic: how they have been impacted by sexism and how they've been liberated by feminism.

I couldn’t possibly choose a favourite piece as they were all so varied: some were funny, some were heartbreaking, others more historical, some were educational and lots were forward looking — all those things made it such a great and varied book to read. But there were a few that really resonated with me that I will share now. I'm in no way an expert in feminism and there's still plenty of learning I have to do. Not only are books much harder to engage with in terms of starting a dialogue (as opposed to online), but they also occupy a place of authority in society. If you're going to speak from that place of authority, you should know what you're talking about and what you're contributing to the conversation ( especially if you're going to sell it for GBP 12.99). Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) is a collection of writings, penned by 52 extraordinary women, famous in their own, crucially different, ways. From Hollywood actresses to teenage activists, each tells the story of their own relationship with feminism and their own take on it. Some of the incredible women include: authors like Helen Fielding (of Bridget Jones’ Diary); actresses such as Emma Watson and Keira Knightley; Youtuber Tanya Burr, along with a hoard of other empowering women with wisdom and stories to share. These pieces of writing are all worthy and interesting in their own right, but when taken together demonstrate a cohesive narrative that feminism is for everyone, and that everyone’s feminism is different and that’s okay. The book is separated into sections as a way of understanding feminism: epiphany, anger, joy, action and education. There is also a small poetry section half-way through and some suggestions of further reading from the wonderful Emma Watson and ‘ Our Shared Shelf.’ As a feminist who loves pink, I give this brilliant book of essays an enthusiastic "YES"" - Mindy Kaling My last mention will be to Dolly Alderton and her ‘Dismantling and destroying internalized misogyny: to do list.’ Dolly’s practical and insightful solutions to destroying internalized misogyny make you realise how many of your thoughts are not really your own and how harmful this can be. Dolly shows us that all the things we hate about ourselves; all our imperfections, our not rights, our weird looking things, are all constructed by the media and TV and films. We don’t actually hate our grey hairs because of some deep biological fear, it is purely because we have been conditioned to be this way. Dolly shows us not to use the language that men use – the ‘sluts’ and the ‘bitches’— because men are oppressing us and quite frankly we are better than those words. Most importantly, Dolly puts the whole problem with pitting women and other women so clearly. As she says, the patriarchy have made us believe there is only one slice of cake and we have to all fight over it. That when another women gets the job, boyfriend, dress (insert anything) that we wanted, she is taking it directly away from us. When in fact there is space for all of us, it is not a case of only one woman can win. Dolly gives the best tips on how to support other women, or challenge them when the needs be, but in a constructive way. I think any woman would learn a lot from Dolly.Wonderfully candid, often funny and absolutely necessary, a triumphant rallying call to young women." - The Observer

These stories are wonderful because they are real. They are amazing because they are so diverse. They are marvellous because they made me feel! I was crying, laughing, angered and hopeful all the way through this book. Brilliant, hysterical, truthful and real. These essays illuminate the path for our future female leaders. - Reese Witherspoon Published in partnership with Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, and curated by writer and Pink Protest founder Scarlett Curtis, this book’s contributors include: About once a month, I find myself stretched out on the couch, helpless as my uterus reenacts Game of Thrones' Red Wedding in painstaking detail. I do not enjoy my period. I do not look forward to my period. I could wave goodbye to my period and still feel like a woman. However, if your feminism is solely motivated by how it benefits you then it's extremely fragile, as a) it only takes someone else with a conflicting experience to devalue it, and b) it makes you much more susceptible to acting only in favour of you and people like you, rather than recognising the challenges facing people who are different - challenges where you may actually be part of the problem.Here, personal stories from actors, writers, and activists explore the contradictions and complications at the heart of the movement. By bridging the gap between feminist hashtags and scholarly texts, these essays bring feminism into clear focus. As a feminist who loves pink, I give this brilliant book of essays an enthusiastic YES - Mindy Kaling Entitled Woke Woman, Arterton’s story describes Fields’ encounter with Bond in a Bolivian airport: “I meet Mr Bond at the baggage reclaim. He eyes me up, giving me the once over. I introduce myself. He makes some smarmy comment. ‘Mr Bond,’ I say, ‘I’m not interested in flirting with you. I am here to work.’” Unlike in the film, Fields refuses an invitation to Bond’s hotel room: “Maybe he is attractive, but he’s at least 20 years older than me, we’ve only just met, he’s a work colleague – the list goes on. Plus this man has a reputation. Don’t women who go up to his hotel room and sleep with him usually die in some horrific yet iconic way?” This book is a collection of personal essays written by a multitude of brave, clever, strong, passionate women. Some of them you might know before you start reading - like Kiera Knightly, Emma Watson and Kat Dennings - others you will want to know after reading their story! Each essay is a personal story of what feminism means to the individual woman.

As you are reading this, you are either a full-on feminist or thinking about it" ( Be a fun feminist - Nimco Ali p. 269) The older I get the more I discover the depths, the more I realise sexism is a carefully architected system that might take longer than we think to truly decode; that fact alone makes me aware that I am, at twenty-nine, still a feminist with training wheels." (A Feminist Call to Action - Jordan Hewson, p. 289) This book is specifically aimed at young adults, teaching them that they can be whatever they want to be and letting them know that feminism is a lot, but one thing it definitely isn't: a dirty word that describes man-hating women who burn bras and every other stereotype you can think of.You can identify as a feminist and act according to your feminism and still hurt the movement as a whole (see SWERFs and TERFs). This is frustrating for several reasons. For example, feminists (and women in general) do talk to their sons about sexism - perhaps now more than ever. If mothers (and why only mothers?) just talking to their sons solved sexism, I think we'd be a lot further on than we currently are.