We’re back with this month’s Equality Now Feminist Culture Club, bringing you a roundup of recommendations from our staff and supporters of books, movies, TV shows, and podcasts that act as a megaphone for women’s rights. Want to read more? Head to our Feminist Culture Club archive.
Books
For three years, Dolly Alderton has been sharing her wisdom, warmth, and wit with the diverse universe of fans who have turned to her “Dear Dolly” column seeking guidance on various life problems.
She has thoughtfully answered questions ranging from breakups and body issues, families, relationships platonic and romantic, dating, divorce, the pleasures and pitfalls of social media, sex, loneliness, longing, love and everything in between.
Dear Dolly brings together her collected knowledge in one invaluable volume that will make you think, make you laugh, and help you confront any conundrum or crisis.
The Pocket Guide to the Patriarchy by Maya Oppenheim
Across the world, women are still denied opportunities and rights. The home remains the most dangerous place for women to be worldwide, with the majority of homicide victims who are women being killed by partners or relatives.
In her debut novel, Maya Oppenheim delves into the realities, real-world anecdotes and tales of resistance to help you combat denial and continued injustice as the far-right grows and women’s rights come under attack. If yet another rebuttal of patriarchy leaves you lost for words, this book can be pulled out of your pocket.
This novel follows Violeta, a strong woman who manages to overcome innumerable obstacles and gradually reveals details of her family and love life to her grandson Camilo, whom she has raised since the day he was born. It begins and ends with an epidemic and covers the last 100 years of history through the eyes of a grandmother inspired by her mom, Panchita, one of the women who marked her the most.
What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin
What the Body Remembers, Shauna Singh Baldwin’s first novel, tells the story of a Sikh family, with all the complications arising from a polygamous marriage, in the context of the atrocious events of the 1947 Partition of India, focusing both on intra- and inter-community violence against women.
Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan’s finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee’s complex and passionate characters—strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis—survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.
Yaari: An Anthology on Friendship by Women and Queer Folx
Yaari centers friendship in the politics of everyday life and well-being. Drawing on narratives of women and queer folx from South Asia, it reflects on friendship in all its avatars—as wondrous and full of excitement; as joyous and embedded in an ethics of care, as evoking jealousy, anger, and disappointment; and as strained and fractured.
TV Programs
The docu-series showcases real-life stories of protagonists from the queer community who are not only blazing a path of their own but are also an irrefutable and overwhelmingly positive influence on every person they come across.
Set in the early 1950s, “Lessons in Chemistry” follows Elizabeth Zott, whose dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a patriarchal society as she jumps from one chauvinistic 1950s milieu — an elite research institute to another: local television. The series is based on Bonnie Garmus’ 2022 novel of the same name.
Reasonable Doubt is an exploration of the multi-faceted nature of a Black woman just trying to be the best version of herself on all fronts, with mixed results. It stars Jax Stewart, an LA-born and bred criminal defense attorney who seems like she has it all; on top of a successful career, Jax also has a husband, two beautiful children, and a tight-knit group of best friends with whom she’s been close since she was a teenager. From the outside looking in, Jax seems to be living the dream. But nothing is as it seems.
Based on the bestseller by Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl dissects the horror of insidious racism in white workplaces. The story is inspired by Harris’ own personal experiences working as an editor and addresses various forms of racism in the corporate world.
Films
Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, is a clever feminist reimagining of Mary Shelley’s gothic classic Frankenstein, based on the 1992 novel by Scottish author Alasdair Gray. The film stars Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back from the dead by an eccentric scientist after drowning herself to escape her abusive husband – only when she’s brought back to life she is not quite the same, as her brain has been swapped for that of her unborn child.
Nyad tells the remarkable story of athlete Diana Nyad, who, at the age of 60 and with the help of her best friend and coach, commits to achieving her life-long dream: a 110-mile open ocean swim from Cuba to Florida. Jodie Foster and Annette Benning star.
In How To Have Sex, three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday, drinking, clubbing and hooking up in what should be the best summer of their lives. As they dance their way across the sun-drenched streets of Malia, they find themselves navigating the complexities of sex, consent and self-discovery.
Podcasts
Deven Grey, a young, isolated mother in Alabama, reached a point of no return on December 12, 2017. She shot and killed her boyfriend, John Vance. Rather than face a jury, Deven accepted a “blind plea” deal. Hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Liz Flock, Blind Plea asks: Who do we believe, and why? And in America, who has the right to self-defense and a fair trial?
We Change The Rules is a brand new podcast hosted by award-winning journalist Samira Ahmed that tackles the issue of gender inequality in the law globally. What’s the current state of legal equality for women and girls, and what damage is it doing to wider society? What obstacles are slowing progress, and what can we do about it? A groundbreaking series, with guests including former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and the former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka.
Do you have any suggestions for us to share next month? Do send them over to supporters@equalitynow.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Achieving gender equality will happen faster if everyone takes up the challenge. Equality Now is proud to stand with No nonsense in our shared commitment to enduring, inclusive equality for women & girls.