The Guilty Feminist

August 19, 2019
Comedian Frances-White shares lessons learned from creating and hosting The Guilty Feminist podcast in this bighearted effort to raise consciousness and incite activism among the timid. She writes, “It’s not enough to feel like a good person: we need motivation to put things right. Doing nothing and saying nothing is tacit support.” It starts, she suggests, with women embracing their own flawed selves, finding and using their voices, setting boundaries, and forming alliances. To succinct explanations of feminism’s history, goals, and pitfalls, she adds advice, personal confessions, punchy examples, and a hefty dose of humor. Frances-White is meticulous and incisive, and makes a point to interview queer, nonbinary, disabled, and nonwhite colleagues (Jessamyn Stanley, Susan Wokoma, and Becca Bunce among them) on their feminism; repeatedly notes that she speaks from a place of white middle-class privilege; and acknowledges that gender is an increasingly fluid concept. With a distinct, lively, and consistently hilarious delivery, Frances-White upends common misconceptions—feminists, she assures readers, can love lipstick and men—and encourages readers to do “what you can, when you can” to end oppressive power structures. Feminists of any stripe will be moved by this rousing, funny, highly appreciative exhortation to “smash the patriarchy like a strong, green, healthy plant breaking through the foundations of an old house.”

October 15, 2019
From the London-based Australian co-creator and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast comes a book-length version of that program. A stand-up comedian who also hosts the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice, the author opens her chapters with the phrase "I'm a feminist but" and proceeds with an example of a cause of remorse, such as lying about one's weight by 20 pounds or mistaking Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique for the name of a classic perfume. Throughout the narrative, there are abundant examples of Frances-White's weaknesses and the rifts between good intentions and human behavior, and she encourages feminists to shed their guilt and take up their "most unapologetic and persuasive voice." In Part 1, the author provides a capsule history of the feminist movements and her opinions on their significance. In parts 2 and 3, Frances-White broadens her reach, taking on the air of the podcast, which she describes as a microclimate where women are given power, space, and the assumption of brilliance. The text features a mix of various pieces from the podcast. She includes her own angry speech about Brexit, her stand-up comedy bit satirizing how women undermine themselves, an irony-filled piece on Harvey Weinstein, and her feminist rewrite of the famous speech in Henry V, which ends with the rousing cry, "God for Women, Feminism, and Saint Angelou!" Frances-White also muses on the diet industry, the fun of makeup, being open to other people's struggles, toxic masculinity, Donald Trump, female fertility, sexism in religion (now an atheist, she was raised as a member of Jehovah's Witnesses), and women's own sexual submission fantasies. Confidently opinionated, the author gives other feminist writers a voice, introducing them proudly and interviewing them intelligently. Fans of the TV series Fleabag will relish her lengthy interview with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, its creator and star. A bit of a potpourri but a witty book full of insights, opinions, and good advice.

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November 1, 2019
Women wonder. "I'm a feminist, but I like to watch the Kardashians." "I agonize over buying a swimsuit." "I have to wear eyeliner." "Can I still be part of the sisterhood?" Stand-up comedian Frances-White cuts us all some slack in this funny yet pointed examination of twenty-first-century feminism. Hint: It's no longer the domain of white women who burn their bras and divorce their husbands. The author taps into interviews from her UK podcast The Guilty Feminist to portray an inclusive modern movement that has room for women with diverse sexual orientations, races, physical abilities, and economic status as well as mainstream, radical, and separatist feminists. Interviewees share stories of overcoming limitations and prejudices with creativity, leadership, humor, and compassion. Frances-White also explores the historic waves of feminism and some of their leaders. The world of comedy has its own misogyny, and Frances-White talks about the challenges she faces in that still male-dominated profession. This high-energy book reminds readers about the origins of feminism and how important it is for women to support each other.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)