Uncomfortable Women. The History of Feminism in 11 Conflicts

Patriarchal culture has imposed ideals of meekness, self-sacrificial service, and humility upon women for centuries, the role of a domestic angel, and the necessity of being «nice». The heroines of Helen Lewis are not to be called nice. Their names have been associated with scandals. Complex, intolerant, uncomfortable, sometimes aggressive, sometimes funny — originals, eccentrics, upstarts, they spoke with utmost candor about problems and showcased the abnormality of the familiar, broke stereotypes, and forced society to reconsider gender norms, changing lifestyles, legal standards, and government institutions — in the interests of everyone else. Thanks to them, women have gained the rights they often use without even thinking: the right to control their own bodies and voices, their time and income, the right to make mistakes and correct them. Full of vivid and precise political observations, both amusing and informative, this book is a sober, bitter, joyful, and fearless history of feminism, its victories and failures, and a manifesto of all those women who are not ready to be «comfortable».