Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto

With a title designed to entice and infuriate, this book provides an alternative to what Crispin (editor & founder, Bookslut) calls universal feminism and choice feminism. Crispin argues that a nonthreatening feminism is entirely pointless, maintaining that superficial feminism results in nothing. Anyone can "take up the [feminism] mantle, and terrible things are done in its name." Andi Zeisler's recent We Were Feminists Once offers a more compelling take on how feminism has migrated from action toward being a lifestyle or brand. With statements such as "despite our attempts at converting women to our values, we rarely seem to pause and ask ourselves if these things make us happy," Crispin detracts from the work feminists have done to take action against such acts as female genital mutilation, and she reduces women's achievements (e.g., calling Gloria Steinem "that banal, CIA-funded advocate for white, middle class women and almost no one else") in ways that aren't productive of meaningful change and instead have the tone of misogyny.