Recommendations based on Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rapeby Jaclyn Friedman

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

    by bell hooks
    Exploration of feminist thought and its applications to everyday life.

    Acclaimed cultural critic bell hooks offers an open-hearted and welcoming vision of gender, sexuality, and society in this inspiring and accessible volume. In engaging and provocative style, bell ... (Goodreads)

  2. Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference

    by Cordelia Fine
    Exposing the deeply embedded gender biases in our culture and beliefs.

    It’s the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children–boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks--we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay ... (Goodreads)

  3. Sex Object: A Memoir

    by Jessica Valenti
    A candid memoir about the author's experiences with sexism, objectification, and harassment as a woman in modern society.

    Author and Guardian US columnist Jessica Valenti has been leading the national conversation on gender and politics for over a decade. Now, in a darkly funny and bracing memoir, Valenti explores the ... (Goodreads)

  4. Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

    by Christopher Ryan
    An exploration of the evolutionary and cultural origins of human sexuality.

    Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. Mainstream science–as well as religious and cultural institutions--has maintained that men and women evolved ... (Goodreads)

  5. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence

    by Inga Muscio
    A powerful manifesto for reclaiming the word "cunt" and its power for female empowerment.

    An ancient title of respect for women, the word cunt long ago veered off this noble path. Inga Muscio traces the road from honor to expletive, giving women the motivation and tools to claim cunt as a ... (Goodreads)

  6. Heart Berries

    by Terese Marie Mailhot
    A memoir of a First Nations woman's journey through trauma, mental illness, and healing. Raw, poetic, and unflinching.

    Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to ... (Goodreads)

  7. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

    by Michelle Alexander
    Exploring the roots and reality of systemic racism in the U.S. criminal justice system.

    "Jarvious Cotton's great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting ... (Goodreads)

  8. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

    by Alison Bechdel
    An autobiographical story of a daughter's complex relationship with her father and her own journey of self-discovery.

    The narrative of Fun Home is non-linear and recursive. , Incidents are told and re-told in the light of new information or themes. , Bechdel describes the structure of Fun Home as a labyrinth , ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Beauty Myth

    by Naomi Wolf
    A critical analysis of the societal pressure on women to conform to beauty standards and its impact on their lives.

    The bestselling classic that redefined our view of the relationship between beauty and female identity. In today's world, women have more power, legal recognition, and professional success than ever ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Vagina Monologues

    by Eve Ensler
    A collection of stories and monologues celebrating the power and complexity of female sexuality.

    The Vagina Monologues is made up of various personal monologues read by a diverse group of women. Originally, Eve Ensler performed every monologue herself, with subsequent performances featuring ... (Wikipedia)

  11. And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic

    by Randy Shilts
    A history of the AIDS epidemic and its impact on the world, politics, and individuals.

    By the time Rock Hudson's death in 1985 alerted all America to the danger of the AIDS epidemic, the disease had spread across the nation, killing thousands of people and emerging as the greatest ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

    by Gavin de Becker
    Examining how fear can be used to protect oneself from violence, and how it is a valuable tool.

    True fear is a gift. Unwarranted fear is a curse. Learn how to tell the difference. A date won't take "no" for an answer. The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted ... (Goodreads)

  13. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

    by Audre Lorde
    Collection of essays and speeches exploring issues of race, gender, sexuality, and liberation.

    A collection of fifteen essays written between 1976 and 1984 gives clear voice to Audre Lorde's literary and philosophical personae. These essays explore and illuminate the roots of Lorde's ... (Goodreads)

  14. We Should All Be Feminists

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    A call to action for an inclusive, gender-equal society through an examination of feminism.

    What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists , a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed TEDx talk of the same name—by ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities

    by Dossie Easton
    An exploration of ethical non-monogamy, providing insight into brave new approaches of intimate relationships.

    The essential guide for singles and couples who want to explore polyamory in ways that are ethically and emotionally sustainable. For anyone who has ever dreamed of love, sex, and companionship ... (Goodreads)

  16. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza

    by Gloria E. Anzaldúa
    Exploration of the hybrid identity of Chicana women, navigating between two cultures.

    Anzaldua, a Chicana native of Texas, explores in prose and poetry the murky, precarious existence of those living on the frontier between cultures and languages. Writing in a lyrical mixture of ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients

    by Irvin D. Yalom
    A guide to the principles of psychotherapy, exploring the relationship between therapist and patient.

    Acclaimed author and renowned psychiatrist Irvin D. Yalom distills thirty-five years of psychotherapy wisdom into one brilliant volume. The culmination of master psychiatrist Dr. Irvin D. Yalom’s ... (Barnes & Noble)

  18. Columbine

    by Dave Cullen
    Investigation into the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, exploring the perpetrators and the aftermath.

    "The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Girl Who Was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy

    by Leah Wilson
    A collection of essays by popular authors analyzing the themes and characters of the Hunger Games trilogy.

    Katniss Everdeen's adventures may have come to an end, but her story continues to blaze in the hearts of millions worldwide. In The Girl Who Was on Fire , thirteen YA authors take you back to Panem ... (Goodreads)

  20. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

    by Cheryl Strayed
    Collection of heartfelt advice from a wise and compassionate storyteller.

    Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills - and it can be great: you've had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Sun and Her Flowers

    by Rupi Kaur
    An exploration of personal growth, healing, and finding one's self.

    From Rupi Kaur, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. A vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. Ancestry ... (Goodreads)

  22. Modern Romance

    by Aziz Ansari
    A humorous exploration of contemporary love, using the latest research and personal anecdotes.

    At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. ... (Goodreads)

  23. Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

    by Jenny Lawson
    A humorous and candid memoir of a woman's life, incorporating stories from her childhood to adulthood.

    The #1, New York Times, bestselling (mostly true) memoir from the hilarious author of, Furiously Happy,.,“Gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate.”—,O, The Oprah Magazine, When Jenny Lawson was ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. How to Be a Woman

    by Caitlin Moran
    A humorous exploration of modern femininity and fighting for women's rights.

    Caitlin Moran puts a new face on feminism, cutting to the heart of women’s issues today with her irreverent, transcendent, and hilarious How to Be a Woman. “Half memoir, half polemic, and entirely ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

    by Gretchen Rubin
    A memoir of a woman's year-long journey to find happiness by making small changes in her daily life.

    #1 New York Times Bestseller “An enlightening, laugh-aloud read. . . . Filled with open, honest glimpses into [Rubin’s] real life, woven together with constant doses of humor.” —,Christian Science ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. Nickel and Dimed: On

    by Barbara Ehrenreich
    A journalist's exploration of poverty in the U.S., exposing the struggles of low-wage workers.

    Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which ... (Goodreads)

  27. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

    by Mindy Kaling
    Humorous memoir reflecting on Mindy Kaling's life and career.

    Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck - impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

    by Naomi Klein
    Examination of the exploitation of economic crises and shock tactics by governments and corporations.

    In her ground-breaking reporting from Iraq, Naomi Klein exposed how the trauma of invasion was being exploited to remake the country in the interest of foreign corporations. She called it "disaster ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

    by Bessel van der Kolk
    Examining the physical, psychological and emotional effects of trauma, and how to heal.

    A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing. Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful ... (Goodreads)

  30. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

    by Allie Brosh
    A humorous and candid account of the author's life, exploring the highs and lows of everyday life.

    #1, New York Times, Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s, Hyperbole and a Half, showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with ... (Barnes & Noble)