Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word

"Young people interested in learning more about the history of women's rights in America will gain much from this well-written review of feminism. Higgins discusses the negative connotation attached to the concept, following up with a detailed explanation of the goals and theories behind modern-day feminism. She then takes readers on a historical journey through the three waves of feminism and covers suffrage, abortion rights, forced sterilization, and the demand for equal rights. Higgins also touches on how the newest incarnation of feminism seeks to expose how race, class, ability, age, and sexual orientation affect the female experience. Wage gap issues, violence against women, and unrealistic beauty standards are all reviewed in separate chapters, supported by photographs and statistics that amplify the impact of the heavy topics. Higgins concludes by considering how young feminists might move forward in the digital age. Ample back matter encourages readers to seek out information and take action. This informative, impeccably researched investigation of the history of feminism will do more than fill a collection gap--it firmly emphasizes that feminism and feminist are not dirty words. VERDICT: A highly recommended first purchase."--School Library Journal

"Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word celebrates the history of feminism in the United States by introducing readers to the first feminist heroes, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Sojourner Truth. Readers discover the social issues challenged by feminists which began with the right to vote and have expanded to include fighting work discrimination, defending women's sexual rights and choices, and challenging society's beauty standards. Higgins adds a new flavor to the definition of feminism by including issues of race and expanding gender definitions, giving deeper meaning to the fight for equal rights. Learn what is next for feminism in the push for gender justice for LGBTQ individuals and ponder the question, 'Should feminism focus squarely on women or widen the net as broadly as possible?' Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word captures the interest of the reader with engaging text, quotes, pictures, and side blurbs. It makes the issues of feminism personal and relatable by introducing stories of real-life women struggling with discrimination or fighting for equal rights. With thoroughly researched information, this book shows the transition in feminist viewpoints and goals over time and helps young readers determine whether they are feminists. This book about the history of empowering women is a great addition to any school or public library collection and will find readers in teens passionate about social justice."--starred, VOYA

"This small, colorful book introduces readers to the complexities of an ever evolving movement, drawing partly on world history but mainly concentrating on the United States in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The introduction, 'Are you a feminist?' gives an excellent historical overview and then, noting the controversial nature of this 'f-word, ' offers definitions to ponder. The six chapters that follow cover an enormous breadth of material--including workplace discrimination, Guerilla Girls, rape culture, reproductive and gender justice, and more--presented in short, accessible paragraphs and charts. Disagreements among feminists are discussed without judgment. There is some questionable use of statistics, but that is not too problematic, since anyone who reads the book will feel compelled to do further research. Oddly, the artwork misses the mark more than once. For example, the photograph of Kelly Clarkson is not the controversial one described in the text. Also, it seems silly to show thin, white Ashley Judd in a T-shirt that says, 'This is what a feminist looks like' in a book emphasizing intersectionality and inclusion. Why not show an Asian-American man wearing it, for example? Equally disconcerting in this mostly progressive book is its apparent conflation of minimum wage and living wage and, in its thumbnail biographies, the inclusion of Ms. magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem but not co-founder Dorothy Pitman Hughes. A good starting point for discussions."--Kirkus Reviews

"Feminism has come a long way from the fight for suffrage, and in its current manifestation, it can be difficult for some to determine precisely what feminism stands for or, indeed, if it's necessary at all. It seems like women have more freedom than ever, but, as these two titles emphasize, in both the political and personal spheres, there's a lot of ground yet to cover. Higgins' Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word offers a comprehensive and stunningly up-to-date account of the history of feminism. She begins with the basics--key terms, long-held beliefs about the inequality of the sexes, the history of transactional marriage arrangements, legal limits on women's rights, etc.--before launching into milestone moments from the last century, such as the Nineteenth Amendment and Betty Friedan's earth-shaking 1963 manifesto, The Feminine Mystique. That historical coverage is relatively brief, however, because the meat of Higgins' volume is the myriad ways feminism has changed in the past few decades, thanks to the ever-widening scope of the movement. Higgins expertly and clearly tracks the rise of intersectionality--the idea that feminism should focus on issues facing all women, not just those facing white, middle-class women--by following up descriptions of major beliefs or actions of feminists with criticisms raised by other women in the movement. It's a remarkably effective tactic for tracing the splintering, spiraling growth of feminism while simultaneously showcasing perhaps the biggest concern of contemporary feminism: How do you construct a movement encompassing such a wide, varied range of issues facing more than half the world's population? Higgins' answer, of course, isn't a wholesale elimination of feminism; rather, her point seems to be that there's a place for all concerns facing women--even if those concerns are contradictory, muddled, and far from perfect--and the best way to advocate for women worldwide is to empower them to stand up for themselves. With plenty of grassroots organizations listed in the back matter and photos of a diverse array of women, cis and otherwise, peppering the pages, Higgins invites burgeoning feminists to find their own places among the vast movement."--starred, Booklist