Answers for that Nagging Feeling

Before we learn about a better way, we need to understand how we got to where we are. Why did decisions make sense in a certain context? Why are certain systems and structures so hard? How did society adapt to their context?   

We live in a society that has an overdone strength—masculinity. We've ended up here mostly without malicious intent, but rather because logical decisions were made with imperfect information. Some of that imperfect information had a simple fix, like including women in decision-making, but some imperfect decisions more complex and in the context of war and famine. Either way, we need to understand our past to co-create a future. 

To artfully address deep-rooted sexism in our intimate lives, minds, partnerships, homes, communities, and societies, it's essential we understand the full context and set of complex decisions that led us here. 

Creating lasting change takes effort. If you're curious enough, these works will pull you in<3. 

Foundational Feminist Thought

• The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
  A classic philosophical work that introduced the idea of women as "the Other." It dives into biology, psychoanalysis, and history to explain how women have been positioned in society.
  
  • Read when men feel like aliens
    
    
• The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
  Credited with sparking the second wave of feminism, this book critiques the post-war ideal that women should find fulfillment only in domesticity and childrearing.
  • Read when you're stir crazy and life feels like it's on repeat
    
    
• Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister
  A historical and cultural look at women’s anger—and how it's been weaponized, dismissed, and ultimately used to create change.
  • Read when people keep hearing what they want to hear
    

Cultural Critique & Media Analysis

• Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
  An award-winning investigative work that uncovers how media, pop culture, and politics have worked to undermine the feminist gains of the 1970s and 1980s.
  • Read when you can't stop doom scrolling
    
    
• Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
  A collection of essays that tackles everyday sexism, including the now-famous essay that coined the term "mansplaining."
  • Read when you can't quite put your finger on it
    
    
• Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher
  Explores how young girls are psychologically impacted by cultural messages, particularly the way adolescence can strip away their confidence and sense of self.
  • Read when you feel like a failure 
    
    
• The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
  Argues that as women gain power, unrealistic beauty standards become more oppressive—a new kind of cultural control dressed as empowerment.
  • Read when the pressure for performance is mounting
    
    
• Sex Object by Jessica Valenti
  A raw, personal memoir that chronicles the toll of everyday sexism and the hypervisibility of women’s bodies.
  
  • Read when eyes keep following you

Modern Feminism

• Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
  A groundbreaking look at how the lack of gendered data affects everything from workplace ergonomics to medical diagnosis and urban planning.
  
  • Read when you feel overworked and your body is turning against you
    
    
• Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women by Kate Manne
  A sharp, philosophical analysis of how male entitlement shows up in politics, relationships, and the public sphere—and what it costs women.
  • Read when you feel like you're always being 'taken care of' rather than seen as an equal.    
    
    
• Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne
  Explores the difference between sexism and misogyny, arguing that the latter is a policing system for gender roles.
  • Read when you can't break through the ceiling
    
    
• The Pleasure Gap by Katherine Rowland
  A deep-dive into cultural, relational, and psychological reasons why women struggle to access pleasure.
  • Read when you feel unfulfilled.

In a world where the pendulum swung too far, the universe will always rebalance.

 

Ready to learn the truth about your body and relationships?

Continue Discovering Seasonal Sexuality.