July 2019: Monthly Reading List

As of July 2019, we have been sharing monthly reading lists on our Instagram account. We both read so much that it seemed logical to share these monthly lists with you! It was also a way to check that neither of us was reading too much of one type of feminist literature - it’s a tempting trap to succumb to sometimes.

Here’s our July pick:

Bad Feminist (Roxane Gay)
A collection of essays that is an insightful journey through the feminist movement, and a call to arms of how we can all do better.

Amateur: A True Story About What Makes A Man (Thomas Page McBee)
A compelling account of the author (a trans man) as he trains for an amateur boxing match at Madison Square Garden, whilst unpacking the fraught relationship between masculinity and violence.

Illness as a Metaphor (Susan Sontag)
These two essays explore myths and social stigma surrounding illness: in the first, Susan Sontag writes of her own experience as a cancer patient, whilst in the second, she details the mystery and panic surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

Circe (Madeline Miller)
Madeline Miller beautifully tells the story of Circe (daughter of Helios, god of the sun) who is banished to a remote island as punishment. She crosses paths with many well-known mythological figures whilst developing her occult talents.

Bodies that Matter (Judith Butler)
Developing upon her notion of “performativity”, first introduced in Gender Trouble, Judith Butler here explores how the dominant (heterosexual hegemony) dominates the principles of body, gender and sex.

Kindred (Octavia E. Butler)
We had a great discussion at July’s book club session with this one! This fantasy novel transports Dana, a young, black women, from the 1970s back to antebellum Maryland in order to save her ancestors. An unflinching look at slavery in America that also serves as a reminder that progress can always be undone.

HOMO INC.ORPORATED (Sam Bourcier)
Homo Inc.orporated offers a radical critique of homonationalism and the politics of equal rights.

Revolting Prostitues (Juno Mac & Molly Smith)
What do sex workers want or need? This is the one question that rarely gets asked when the conversation turns to prostitution. The authors - both sex workers themselves - examine the laws in several countries / cities to illustrate that they often leave the sex worker the most vulnerable.

Photo by Radu Marcusu on Unsplash