Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie / Photograph: Stephen Voss
BOOK OF THE DAY
The Future Is Feminist review – two centuries of women’s wit and wisdom
Editor Mallory Farrugia’s energising collection traces the living thread from Mary Wollstonecraft to Mindy Kaling
Barbara Ellen Tue 26 Feb 2019 07.00 GMT
I
n a way,The Future Is Feministis aptly named, as it’s a Tardis of a book. Edited by Mallory Farrugia, the anthology zips back and forth between different time zones to offer “radical, funny and inspiring writing by women” as far back as the 18th century (an extract from Mary Wollstonecraft’s groundbreaking 1792 book,A Vindication of the Rights of Woman), through to modern articles, such as Naomi Alderman’s ambitiousHow to Build a Truly Feminist Society(theGuardian, 2017). All 21 pieces have previously appeared elsewhere, as everything from poems and essays to book excerpts, even speeches. While Jessica Valenti notes in her foreword that recent times have seen “an explosion in the cultural power and relevance of feminism”, this anthology also serves as a reminder that the wick on the feminist dynamite has long fizzed dangerously.
Rosamund Pike in a scene from Johnny English Reborn
Rosamund Pike is right to call out digital 'tweaks' ... but aren't we all at it?
The deceit of unreal perfection is no longer Hollywood’s alone. Deep-fake is everywhere
Barbara Elle Saturday 27 February 2021
If Rosamund Pike isn’t “good enough” , then where does that leave the rest of us? The actor says that her breasts were enlarged by Photoshop for a publicity poster for the 2011 Johnny English Reborn film. Looking at the image, they do seem markedly bigger. Of course it had to be her breasts that were blown up like party balloons. In the same image, no one appears to have said: “Put Rowan Atkinson’s crotch on display, and make it bulge.”
From The Second Sex to The Beauty Myth: 10 of the best feminist texts
Twentieth-century polemical writing that changed the way we think about gender Barbara Ellen Monday 9 October 2017 06.00 BST
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (1949)
To ask what influence this book had on gender politics is akin to wondering what the sun ever did for the earth. The answer? Everything. Today, The Second Sex is still hailed as the mothership of feminist philosophy. “One is not born, but rather becomes (a) woman,” muses De Beauvoir (the quote varying, according to the translation). Exploring topics from sex, work and family to prostitution, abortion and the history of female subordination, De Beauvoir challenges the notion of men as the default (the ideal), and women as “other”. For many, The Second Sexrepresents not just key feminist reading, but rather essential feminist thinking and being.
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1963)
This book was no mere pity-party for dissatisfied 1950s/60s Valium-gobbling US housewives. It was a call to arms, demystifying what became known as “second-wave feminism” for ordinary women all over the world. Friedan also identified “the problem that has no name”, probing the lack of fulfilment in women’s lives – where everything “domestic” and trivial was deemed theirs, and everything important was “men only”. With a precision and defiance that still resonates today, The Feminine Mystique challenged the notion that, for women, anatomy was destiny.
Sexual Politics by Kate Millett (1970)
Sexual Politics brought the fizz of iconoclasm to gender politics, tackling how women were routinely diminished and over-sexualised in literature and wider culture. Calling out the likes of Norman Mailer, Henry Miller and DH Lawrence, for what might be politely termed patriarchal/male dominant gender bias, and impolitely, literary macho dick-swinging, Millett set the benchmark for in-depth, no-holds-barred feminist critique. Her book remains relevant today because it encouraged readers to question not just the topics cited, but everything around them and tounderstand better how sexism could be systematically ingrained, culturally as well as politically.
1970 and 2006 editions of The Female Eunuch, featuring the iconic cover art by John Holmes, and Germaine Greer photographed for the Observer magazine in 1970. Composite: Sandra Lousada for the Observer
The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer (1970)
This work marked Greer out as a taboo-busting feminist punk, before punk was even invented. The tone was set by the provocative female body-suit on the cover, while the text counselled women to break free in all ways from male-prescribed gendered “normality”, including monogamy. The Female Eunuch remains a feminist classic and while truly a book of its time (women were advised to taste their menstrual blood), the author’s sabre-rattling intellect hasn’t dated.
Against Our Will: Men. Women and Rape by Susan Brownmiller (1975)
Anyone who cares about those who are raped, and how they are treated afterwards by society, owes a debt of thanks to Brownmiller’s book. A ground-breaking text on sexual assault, it correctly identified rape as a crime “not of lust, but of violence and power”, arguing against the widespread fallacy that those who were raped “deserved” it. Brownmiller’s book was widely credited with helping to transform the public view of rape globally, even influencing changes in law. More than 40 years since its publication, anyone who fights against the still-thriving culture of “victim blaming” is echoing the work of Brownmiller and Against Our Will.
Beyond the Fragments by Sheila Rowbotham, Lynne Segal, Hilary Wainwright (1979)
First a pamphlet, then a conference, then a book, with three authors, Beyond the Fragments applied “socialist feminist” ideologies to the complex problems of an unequal society. While some of the issues and terminology were very much of the era (it was updated in 2012), the book was highly influential, arguing for greater cohesion among disparate left-leaning groups. The text not only examined the relationship between women and the state, it also honoured the whole feminist experience, from the personal to the political, and back again.
Protesters hold their fists in the air during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in New York on 10 July 2016. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP
Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks (1981)
This text dealt with the socioeconomic, educational and sexual devaluation of black women. As evidenced by her other books, including Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, hooks writes for all women, particularly the poor and marginalised. However, Ain’t I a Woman gave them a powerful voice at a time when they were barely heard, and when the idea of a black US First Lady remained about as feasible as a Martian president. With the book’s essence still infusing the spirit of modern movements such as Black Lives Matter, hooks is acknowledged as one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from feminist America.
Intercourse by Andrea Dworkin (1987)
As radical as other works by Dworkin, such as Pornography, Intercoursefocused on how heterosexual sex was too frequently based on the subordination, “occupation” and degradation of women. (although the famous quote – that all heterosexual sex was rape – wasn’t explicitly made in the book). It further stereotyped Dworkin as a cartoon “man hater” in the public imagination, and her ideas may still be too strong for many. However, there could be no serious debate on matters such as sexual violence or consent without acknowledging the unflinching courage. and originality of her thinking. Arguably, Dworkin’s work is “feminist Ribena” – providing the concentrate to the mainstream dilution of now-accepted feminist thought.
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (1990)
Wolf’s work recognised the dark truth that however clever, funny and dynamic women might be, there was always something trying to make them feel bad about the size of their thighs. Worse, that this relentless external message (that a woman’s desirability was paramount)was internalising, and getting worse, even as modern women’s power and prominence outwardly increased. Wolf is viewed by some as controversial, sometimes inconsistent but her skilful analysis of female oppression (and the fact that they never really went away) makes The Beauty Myth all too relevant today.
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (2014)
Already viewed as a classic of fourth-wave feminism, Gay’s book examines race, weight, sex, gender, violence and popular culture. She blends the observational with the devastatingly confessional (Gay’s gang rape; over-eating). Her deceptively low-key writing style doesn’t mask her core message: in a contradictory world, the modern feminist is more useful being expressive and engaged than being rigidly “observant”.
This is part of the Observer’s 100 political classics that shaped the modern era. Please leave suggestions below of books that inspired and shaped your political consciousness and we’ll round up the best in next week’s Observer
The young Marilyn Monroe was a pretty girl in a sea of pretty girls
Dita Von Teese, stripper, 34, London Interview by Barbara Ellen Sunday 8 July 2007 00.03 BST
Burlesque is not a style or a fashion statement. It's about striptease.
I always wanted to be someone. I had an Aunt Opal, who was very painted - green eye shadow, drawn-on beauty marks, flaming red hair. She smoked from a cigarette holder and swore like a sailor. Most people thought she was vulgar, but I wanted to be like her when I grew up.
I love the word stripper. It's a fabulous word. There's a lot of snobbery about burlesque. You hear it all the time: 'I'm not a stripper, what I do is different.'
Even when I did regular stripping, I was dressed vintage-style. I wasn't ever this tanned bikini babe swinging around a pole.
Dita von Teese
My martini-glass act is the one I've done more than any other. I've been performing it since 1993. I have about 15 other shows, but that's the one that always gets booked.
I'm more attracted to glamour than natural beauty. The young Marilyn Monroe was a pretty girl in a sea of pretty girls. Then she had her hair bleached, fake eyelashes, and that's when she became extraordinary. It's that idea of what you're not born with, you can create.
I'm used to corsets now. A 22in, even a 16in, I know how to stand, walk, sit, stay composed.
I've never had any inhibitions about being nude onstage. I will think about what the steps are, how my costume comes off, but never the nudity. It's never even crossed my mind.
Men rarely say anything to me after a show. Maybe they're intimidated. It's usually the women who come up - a lot of them are inspired to bring elements of burlesque into their private lives.
People paint me out to be this person into exotic sex, which I am - I've said I'm into bondage and spanking. But I think a lot of people, if they were honest, would say, 'Yeah, that sounds fun.'
I like vanilla sex as much as the next girl. Sometimes when I date men, they feel they have to put on a show. I'm like: 'Stop trying so hard to impress me with your sexual perversions.'
People say, 'How can you be a feminist?' I would say, 'It's all about equal rights, isn't it?' And the second someone says you can't do what you love, do you have equal rights?
I've never been that girl out looking for a rich husband. I never wanted to have anyone say what I can or can't do. My soon-to-be-ex husband [rock star Marilyn Manson] asked me to quit my work so he could support me. I quickly realised that he wanted to change me. The things people like about you in the beginning end up being the things they don't like.
We were painted as this weird couple, because we had taxidermy in our home. But I've been to castles and there are all these hunting trophies and bear rugs.
We were so terribly in love. I never took him for someone who would exploit our divorce for the sake of records. I don't think people realise he used our marriage bed in that music video to have sex with that girl [Manson's new girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood]. And he wore his wedding ring. I just thought, 'Wow, this is kind of obsessive. I guess I still matter.'
Dita von Teese
I'd get married again. I'm not going to let one bad experience ruin it for the rest of my life.
I performed my show Liptease at the Cannes film festival. The room was full of big movie stars and producers. They'd never seen a girl take off all her clothes and ride a giant lipstick before. Sharon Stone came up to me afterwards to say how much she loved it.
I've had breast enlargement. It's so tiresome when people lie about their surgery.
Am I going to be frolicking about in my G-string in a champagne glass when I'm 60 years old? No. I'll be thinking about how to evolve accordingly.
· Dita is a spokeswoman for Viva Glam, the MAC range which supports men, women and children with HIV/Aids.
Interview by Barbara Ellen Sunday 22 October 2006 23.57 BST
I've always had the voice, I've always sung, ever since I was small - in school, in chapel, to the radio. I don't really know life without it.
I lived in Wales for the first 24 years of my life and it stood me in good stead, gave me values. But that's also a lot to do with your upbringing. It could be working-class, it could be middle-class, but you've got to have love and attention, and I did, I was lucky.
I might have become a miner like my father, but I had tuberculosis when I was 12. I couldn't go out between the ages of 12 and 14. It was a big lesson - not to take life for granted. I said to myself, when I get out of this bed, I'll never complain about anything ever again. But I do.
Jones duetting with Janis Joplin in the television program This Is Tom Jones in 1969
I'm never scared to try new things. When you do something and the kids dig it, it's great. It's not about trying to be young, or something you're not, because they always see through that.
You need to have a bit of an ego in this business.
When you first get successful you spend a bit - big house, cars, jewellery, all the trappings.
But after a while you think, how many watches can one man have?
I've been misquoted many times about women. I'd be asked about growing up and I'd say that my father went to work, and my mother was a home-maker. Then it was, 'Tom Jones thinks men should work and women should look after the house.' But I didn't say that.
Elvis was an icon. For him to tell me he liked my voice meant a lot. It was the same when Frank Sinatra told me he loved the way I sang.
I was never interested in drugs. I like to have a drink because I like the things that go with it - pubs, restaurants, having dinner. It's not just sitting in the corner with a bottle. That's how drug-taking seems to be: people going off on their own to the toilet to do it.
Getting a knighthood was fantastic. You look into yourself - am I worthy of this? I find I don't swear as much as I used to.
When you do shows you feel as if you're pouring yourself into the audience, and when they applaud it's as if they're saying, 'We know, we get it.' It's so reassuring.
I don't like bad behaviour just because you're rich or famous. I remember early on I had to get there really early for my TV show and I was moaning away. When I arrived there was this building site, and this kid was going up a ladder carrying a hod, which is what I used to do. And he said, 'Hey Tommy, want to give me a hand with this?' I thought, Jesus Christ, I'm moaning, but he's going to be up and down that ladder all day.'
Even when I was younger I didn't look in mirrors much. I've got a good bone structure and I try to keep myself in shape, but I'm not vain.
If you're singing love songs, sexy songs, and the feelings aren't coming across, then there's something wrong. But if you're always doing it with a wink, that can catch up with you.
I'm not looking forward to retiring. The biggest fear for any performer is that it will be taken away from you. It's so much part of you, a physical thing, it's scary to think one day it won't be there any more. If I'm not able to sing, I won't know what to do.
There is no alternative to ageing - just death. The only reason I would like to be young is that you've got longer to live. But it's a great feeling to have grandchildren.