The Pocket Guide to Feminism - by Bel Olid (Paperback)

About the Book

"A woman's life is different. This is clear when a stranger's catcall makes her feel targeted in the street. When politicians make off-the-cuff sexist remarks. When media commentators wade in with their condemnation of free, unrestricted abortion. When a father is praised to the skies for attending parents' evening while the mother's attendance is taken for granted. When they fire her because she's pregnant. When they dismiss her medical symptoms as anxiety. To counter sexism today, we need to learn the art of self-defence. Today, feminism is more alive and more necessary than ever because discrimination against women has become more subtle and difficult to detect, yet it retains its paralysing power. With combative energy and acerbic wit, Bel Olid explains the key concepts of the current feminist struggle in a smart, radical and often counterintuitive way."-- Back cover.

Book Synopsis

A woman's life is different. This is clear when a stranger's catcall makes her feel targeted in the street. When politicians make off-the-cuff sexist remarks. When media commentators wade in with their condemnation of free, unrestricted abortion. When a father is praised to the skies for attending parents' evening while the mother's attendance is taken for granted. When they fire her because she's pregnant. When they dismiss her medical symptoms as anxiety. To counter sexism today, we need to learn the art of self-defence. Today, feminism is more alive and more necessary than ever because discrimination against women has become more subtle and difficult to detect, yet it retains its paralysing power. With combative energy and acerbic wit, Bel Olid explains the key concepts of the current feminist struggle in a smart, radical and often counterintuitive way.

Review Quotes

"An extraordinary, provocative book that raises important questions about compulsory sexuality and verbal and physical violence against women. It dismantles stereotypes, sometimes with humour, and challenges gender categories. A must-read for everyone."
Aurélie Vialette, Yale University

"Bel Olid's lucid feminist insights are more relevant than ever and show how patriarchy works in the world at large."
Carol Hay, author of Think Like a Feminist: The Philosophy Behind the Revolution

About the Author

Bel Olid is a Catalan writer and translator who stopped trying to be the woman the world demands and started trying just...to be.