How To Be A Better Feminist: 13 Mind Blowing Books Every Feminist Should Read

Want to know the best books every feminist should read in their lifetime? After reading these empowering books by women you are sure to be a better and more educated feminist.

It’s almost the New Year and we’re reading more and becoming smarter, and i’m so happy for us. And as we get more educated the book market just gets so much better!

Feminism is so multi faceted, and the best way to grow and become better is simply to become more educated. As a feminist and bookworm myself, these are the best books every feminist should read before they die.

Here you will find all the best feminist literature, from the best feminist fiction books, the best books on feminist philosophy, to brilliant books on feminist pop culture, that are actually worth your time.

This post is all about the best books every feminist should read in order to be a better feminist.

Books Every Feminist Should Read In Their Lifetime

Contents:

Best Feminist Fiction Books
Best Books on Feminist Philosophy
The Best of Non Fiction Feminist Pop culture

best feminist fiction books

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in a dystopian theocracy where women are stripped of rights and forced into reproductive servitude, Atwood’s novel explores themes of power, control, and resistance. Through the narrator Offred’s perspective, it offers a chilling critique of patriarchy and the fragility of women’s freedoms.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Plath’s semi-autobiographical novel follows Esther Greenwood, a young woman struggling with societal expectations and mental illness in 1950s America. It exposes the suffocating effects of gender roles and the psychological toll of trying to conform to a restrictive, patriarchal world.

Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century by Justine Larbalestier

This anthology brings together feminist science fiction stories from across the twentieth century, each paired with critical essays that analyze their themes and contexts. It highlights how women writers have used the genre to question gender norms, imagine alternative futures, and critique power structures.

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

Atwood’s debut novel follows Marian, a young woman who begins to lose the ability to eat as she becomes increasingly alienated by the pressures of consumerism and gender expectations. The novel uses surreal and satirical elements to explore identity, autonomy, and women’s roles in modern society.

best books on feminist philosophy

The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir

Beauvoir examines how women have been historically constructed as the “Other” in relation to men, arguing that gender is not innate but socially produced. The book lays the foundation for modern feminist theory by calling for women’s liberation through existential freedom and equality.

Think Like A Feminist by Carol Hay

Hay presents feminism as a practical and philosophical framework for analyzing everyday life, encouraging readers to challenge systemic injustices and personal biases. She combines clear reasoning with real-world examples to show why feminist thinking remains essential for achieving genuine equality.

An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy by Alison Stone

Stone provides an accessible overview of major debates and theories within feminist philosophy, from the nature of gender and identity to issues of knowledge and ethics. The book maps the evolution of feminist thought while situating it within the broader philosophical tradition.

Categories We Live By: The Construction of Sex, Gender, Race, and Other Social Categories by Asta Kristjana Sveinsdottir

Ásta explores how social categories like gender, race, and disability are constructed through social positions and contexts rather than biological facts. She offers a detailed metaphysical framework for understanding how these categories shape identity and social reality.

On Female Body Experience: “Throwing Like a Girl” and Other Essays by Iris Marion Young

Young investigates how women experience embodiment in a patriarchal society, focusing on how social norms shape bodily movement, perception, and freedom. Her phenomenological essays reveal how gendered expectations become inscribed in the lived experience of the body.

The Best of Non Fiction Feminist Pop culture

Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert

Gilbert explores how modern pop culture has pitted women against each other through unrealistic beauty standards, competitive media narratives, and internalized misogyny. She argues that the culture of comparison undermines female solidarity and perpetuates cycles of self-criticism and insecurity.

Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters by Aph Ko and Syl Ko

The Ko sisters link race, gender, and speciesism through sharp essays that challenge mainstream feminist and vegan movements to confront their whiteness. Drawing on pop culture and philosophy, they propose a Black feminist vegan framework that reimagines justice and liberation.

The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti

Valenti exposes how the cultural fixation on female virginity polices women’s bodies and equates moral worth with sexual behavior. She argues that this “purity culture” reinforces sexism, silences sexual agency, and harms young women’s sense of autonomy and self-worth.

The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks by Sam Maggs

Maggs celebrates female fandom and offers practical advice for navigating geek culture with confidence, from attending conventions to engaging online. The book empowers women to embrace their passions unapologetically while pushing for inclusivity and representation in fandom spaces.

How To Be A Better Feminist: 13 Mind Blowing Books Every Feminist Should Read