Our teaM has come up with a list of five feminist books you need to get your hands on right now.
We'll keep on saying it: International Women's Day isn't just on 8 March—it's every day! And we're proud that Manucurist reflects this.
Through our founder Gaëlle Lebrat-Personnaz—living proof that female entrepreneurship has bright prospects for the future.
And through our predominantly female teaM, dedicated to offering clean, green beauty (at last!) without compromise.
We admit there's still a long way to go in terms of gender equality, both in politics and society. But we are eternal optimists, and we believe that highlighting these inequalities is a good starting point for eliminating them.
So, our teaM has specially selected five feminist books that depict this discrimination, but also highlight the incomparable power of women through the ages. Don't delay, get your hands on them today!
The undefeatable power of women
Witches by Mona Chollet
"Tremble, tremble, the witches are back!" was a feminist slogan in the 1970s. This unflattering, misogynist portrayal is a legacy from the trials and witch-hunts of the Renaissance. However, Mona Chollet believes that, "Witches can act as a positive force for today's women, freed of all forms of oppression."
A unique and powerful book
Confessions of a Girl Gang by Joyce Carol Oates
The time is the 1950s. The place is a blue-collar town in upstate New York. Five high school girls—Maddy (the narrator), Goldie, Lana, Rita and Legs—make a lawless, life-and-death pact to avenge the humiliations they have been subjected to. They become the Foxfire gang, loudly proclaiming their will to live in the face of a society that constantly tries to crush them.
The great feminine odyssey
La Plus Belle Histoire des Femmes (The Most Beautiful History of Women) by Françoise Héritier, Michelle Perrot, Sylviane Agacinski and Nicole Bacharan
What's it like to be a woman? How do women live in a man's world? Each era has its own answer. But the implication is always the same: the female gender is relegated to second place. Four exceptional female writers put the status of women into words. It's the story of an extraordinary battle—moral, social and sexual—imposed on women since the dawn of humanity. A long road that's far from over.
Black women and feminism
Ain't I a Woman? by Bell Hooks
"Ain't I a Woman?" is the question posed by Sojourner Truth, former slave and black abolitionist, in a famous speech in 1851, calling upon feminists and abolitionists to rise up against the various forms of oppression black women have been subjected to: class, race and gender oppression. A thorough analysis of the history of black women, a forgotten—or even disregarded—part of American history.
For boys and girls
The League of Superfeminists by Mirion Malle
The League of Superfeminists is a feminist super-toolbox. It is aimed at children aged 10 and over and tackles issues of consent, body image, sexual identity and how women are portrayed in a clear, insightful and humorous way. These concepts are backed by practical tools (the Bechdel test, inclusive writing) that make this graphic novel a genuine feminist self-defence manual, worth reading at any age.
