Hi everyone! ✨ For International Women’s Day, let’s share books that inspire, challenge, and expand our thinking about feminism.

What are your favorite feminist books, and why? (:

I’m looking for anything that questions patriarchy, critiques power, and imagines more just futures. They can be from any genre: fiction, non-fiction, essays, theory, memoir, fantasy, horror, poetry… anything that moves you or makes you think.

These books matter more than ever. Right now: ★ In Iran, nearly 180 schoolchildren were killed in the bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school. ★ In Mexico, 10 women are murdered every day for being women, and thousands of girls are sold into marriage. ★ In the US, the Epstein files expose global sexual exploitation of girls and young women, hidden beneath elite power. ★ In Gaza, women report being promised food, money, or work in exchange for sexual interactions. ★ In Sudan, women endure starvation, rape, and bombs while fleeing El Fasher.

These realities show why we need literature that teaches, challenges, and empowers.

Some examples of what I mean: ☆ Feminist theory ☆ Anti-patriarchal fiction ☆ Essays or political non-fiction ☆ Fantasy or horror that critiques gendered power ☆ Books about resistance, autonomy, and liberation

I’d especially love to hear works from diverse feminist perspectives, for example: ★ Marxist feminism ★ Anti-racist / intersectional feminism ★ Anti-colonial or decolonial feminism ★ Queer and trans-inclusive feminisms ★ Radical critiques of patriarchy

Here are some of my recent favorites to get us started: ☆ Fiction (horror): Woodworm by Layla Martínez 🖤; generational oppression, patriarchy, and abuse collide in this eerie, class-conscious story where women and ghosts fight for justice. ☆ Non-fiction: Career and Family by Claudia Goldin 📊✨; explores a century of women balancing careers and family, with data, examples, and insights that make systemic barriers real and relatable. ☆ Non-fiction: No son micro. Machismos cotidianos; shows how everyday jokes and microaggressions are part of a bigger patriarchal system, clear, sharp, and eye-opening. ☆ Memoir / True Crime: Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice 🌞; tells the story of Liliana Rivera Garza, her brilliance, autonomy, and the gender-based violence she faced, while demanding justice for her femicide/feminicide and celebrating her life. ☆ Fiction (historical/horror): Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates 🔪👩‍🦳; a chilling, immersive story set in a 19th-century women’s asylum where Dr. Silas Weir conducts grotesque experiments on women, fueled by obsession and unchecked ambition. Narrated by his eldest son, the novel blends historical fact and horror, exposing patriarchy, abuse, and the terrifying consequences of power gone wrong. ☆ Fiction (historical/magic): Weyward by Emilia Hart 🧙‍♀️🐦; across five centuries, three extraordinary women—Kate, Altha, and Violet—navigate abuse, societal limits, and dangerous legacies. From 17th-century witch trials to WWII estates to modern escapes, this story weaves female resilience, magic, and the natural world, showing how women survive, resist, and transform their destinies. Before reading please check the content warnings!

To everyone protesting today: stay safe and take care of each other ✊💜. Remember to bring your backpack with the essentials. :) To those who can’t or won’t go: we can still learn, read, discuss, and build community. Change grows through knowledge, conversation, and collective reflection.

💬 Let’s make this thread a living feminist reading list!

What books have challenged the way you think about patriarchy, exploitation, or power? Classics, hidden gems, fiction, theory… let’s hear it! (:

ETA: Updated formatting, wording, and added the real-world case examples I forgot to include before. (:

ETA 2: I just made a list with all your rec's in mind! It's called Girl Boss? More Like System-Buster #8M2026 (if you have a better name, pls tell me bc I don't know how to feel about this one, jeje) and you can find it here: https://pagebound.co/lists/e15f06fb-e2b4-44ca-aa24-d2874ce63e47. Pls keep them coming and I'll be updating the list!! 💜🔥🫶🏻