13 Feminist books for the women’s history buff

5. Equality in our health care

Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. First published way back when and regularly updated, this is a most fundamental book about, well, our bodies. It was birthed when a group of highly educated Boston women began to believe their doctors might not actually know what was best for them or actually any of us. The classic and comprehensive guide is regularly updated and includes all aspects of women’s health and sexuality, including menopause, birth control, childbirth, sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health and general well-being. ($28, Indie Bound)

6. Freedom to be in public spaces

Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape by Susan Brownmiller. This book is so powerful that I remember where I was when I happened to begin reading a review. Against Our Will is crucial to understanding the current campus movements to end impunity for sexual assaults and the international initiatives to end rape as a weapon of war. (Amazon, $14)

7. Freedom from violence in our homes

Battered Wives by Del Martin. This is the book that broke the silence surrounding violence against U. S. women. It remains the best general introduction to partner violence and includes excellent critical summaries of the legal and political status of battered wives and the extent to which their immediate predicament must be understood in broad political terms. A long-time activist for lesbian rights, Martin married Phyllis Ann Lyon, in San Francisco on June 16, 2008, in the first same-sex wedding to take place in San Francisco after the state’s highest court same-sex marriage. Two months later, Martin died from complications of an arm bone fracture in San Francisco. ($35, Amazon)

8. Equality in the nation’s narrative

But Some of Us Are Brave from The Feminist Press. Originally published in 1982, this is a guide for anyone who wishes to include women of African descent in the history of American women and in the history of the descendants of Africans in the United States. It features essays by Alice Walker, the Combahee River Collective and Barbara Smith. This book is vital in this post-Ferguson discussion of race, gender and impunity in America. (The Feminist Press, $20)

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