Who are we, where do we come from, and why does it matter?From whom do I come? Our Blood describes the central importance of our sense not just of our heritage, but our embodied heritage: that our past is in our bodies and runs in our blood, and that our embodied past is central to our futures. Deeply felt heritas, as Michael M. Bell, Loka Ashwood, and Jay Orne call it, can be a source of great love and kindness for one another. But it ca...

From neighborhoods as large as Chelsea or the Castro, to locales limited to a single club, like The Shamrock in Madison or Sidewinders in Albuquerque, gay areas are becoming normal. Straight people flood in. Gay people flee out. Scholars call this transformation assimilation, and some argue that we—gay and straight alike—are becoming “post-gay.” Jason Orne argues that rather than post-gay, America is becoming “post-queer,” losing the radical lessons of sex.In Boystown, Orn...

Shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize 2014Laurie Penny, one of our most prominent young voices of feminism and dissent, presents a trenchant report on our society today--and our society tomorrow, as she is willing to fight to see it.Smart, clear-eyed, and irreverent, Unspeakable Things is a fresh look at gender and power in the twenty-first century, which asks difficult questions about dissent and desire, money and masculinity,...

Feminism has hit the big time. Once a dirty word brushed away with a grimace, "feminist" has been rebranded as a shiny label sported by movie and pop stars, fashion designers, and multi-hyphenate powerhouses like Beyoncé It drives advertising and marketing campaigns for everything from wireless plans to underwear to perfume, presenting what's long been a movement for social justice as just another consumer choice in a vast market. Individual self-actualization is the goal, shopping more o...

A roadmap to sex and gender for the twenty-first century, using Lady Gaga as a symbol for a new kind of feminismWhy are so many women single, so many men resisting marriage, and so many gays and lesbians having babies?In Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal, J. Jack Halberstam answers these questions while attempting to make sense of the tectonic cultural shifts that have transformed gender and sexual politics in the last few decades. ...

“We live in a society where sex is used against women as much as it’s used by women. Sexy Feminism calls foul on that (and other) double standards—and makes manifest my frequent observation that feminists are almost always the sexiest people in the room.” —Jennifer Baumgardner, author of F’em!: Goo Goo, Gaga, and Some Thoughts on BallsNot your mother’s feminism! A humor-filled action plan for an accessible, cool, and, yes, even sexy brand of 21st-century feminism

Originally published in 2004, Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer is a classic of LGBTQ+ literature and is taught in most gender studies programs throughout the United States. It was the first book to offer a one-stop, no-nonsense introduction to the core of postmodern theory, particularly its impact on queer and gender studies and is still powerfully relevant today.Nationally-known gender activist Riki Wilchins combines straightforward prose with concrete examples from ...

"That's so gay!" Most people have heard that before, but what does it really mean? Words have power and must be used cautiously. Accepting someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) begins with first understanding what each of those identities means. Consider common stereotypes of the LGBT community, explore where they come from and what they mean, and decide if they are actually valid. How can individuals do their part to reduce hurtful stereotypes and gain a better pers...

Romance and love are in a state of crisis: Statistically speaking, young women today are living romantic lives of all kinds—but they’re still feeling bogged down by social, cultural, economic, and familial pressures to love in a certain way.Young women in the modern world have greater flexibility than ever when it comes to who we choose to love and how we choose to love them; but while social circumstances may have changed since our parents’ generation, certain life expectations re...

An anthology exploring the act of passing-as the "right" gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ability, body type, ethnicity, and beyondNobody Passes is a collection of essays that confronts and challenges the very notion of belonging. By examining the perilous intersections of identity, categorization, and community, contributors challenge societal mores and countercultural norms. Nobody Passes explores and critiques the various systems of power seen (or ...

From Jennifer Baumgardner, one of the leading voices of Third Wave feminism, comes this provocative, thoughtful, often funny collection of essays and interviews that offers a state of the union on contemporary feminist issues.F 'em! is a mix of old and new essays by Baumgardner, ranging in tone from laugh-out-loud confessional to sobering analysis. She investigates topics as varied as purity balls, sexuality, motherhood, and shared breastfeeding; rape, reproductive rights,...

There's no denying that men's involvement and interest in feminism is key to its continuing relevance and importance. Addressing the question of why men should care about feminism in the first place, Men and Feminism lays the foundation for a larger discussion about feminism as a human issue, not simply a women's issue. Men are crucial to the movement—as fathers, brothers, husbands, boyfriends, and friends.From "why" to "how" to "what can men do", Men and Feminism...