Best Feminist Theory Books of 2026

Badass Affirmations: The Wit and Wisdom of Wild Women is a motivational book filled with positive affirmations, inspirational quotes, and profiles of powerful women. Becca Anderson, the author, emphasizes the importance of affirming oneself daily to strengthen self-esteem and empower oneself. The book is a perfect gift for women who need a little bit of sass and encouragement in their lives. What makes this book unique is the mix of short bios and longer profiles of badass women who have left their mark on the world. The book also includes journal prompts to help readers reflect on their own feelings and thoughts. Overall, this book is a must-read for women who need a little bit of inspiration and empowerment in their lives.

The Will to Change by bell hooks is a thought-provoking book that delves into the ways that patriarchal culture keeps men from expressing their emotions and loving. Through candid and challenging discussions, hooks encourages men to reclaim the emotionally open part of themselves and find spiritual unity. This book is a compelling study of the culture's unfairness to men, and it's a clarion call to align with visionary radical feminism. Overall, The Will to Change is a brave and astonishing work that can help men reclaim the best part of themselves.

The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism is a must-read book for women who want to navigate the menopause transition confidently. Dr. Jen Gunter, a renowned gynecologist, debunks myths and misconceptions surrounding menopause with real science, historical perspectives, and expert advice. She challenges the culture of shame around women's bodies and provides empowering knowledge to help women take control of their health. The book is a comprehensive and conversational guide that mixes humor and candor with sound medical information. It's a refreshing and feminist take on menopause that every woman should read.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez is a groundbreaking, award-winning examination of how a gender gap in data perpetuates bias and disadvantages women. Perez unearths a dangerous pattern in data and its consequences on women’s lives, from economic development to healthcare to education and public policy. She shows how women pay tremendous costs for this insidious bias, in time, in money, and often with their lives. Written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this provocative and vital book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding and fighting gender inequality.

"To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves...'The body is not an apology' is the mantra we should all embrace." --Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum . "Taylor invites us to break up with shame, to deepen our literacy, and to liberate our practice of celebrating every body and never apologizing for this body that is mine and takes care of me so well."--Alicia Garza, cocreator of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Strategy + Partnerships Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance. "Her manifesto on radical self-love is life altering--required reading for anyone who struggles with body image."--Claire Foster, Foreword Review. Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. . The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world--for us all.

Feminism Against Progress by Mary Harrington is a bold critique of modern feminism, arguing that it has been co-opted by a small group of elite women who use the movement to further their own interests. The book contends that progress is no longer benefiting the majority of women, and that only a skeptical feminism can truly defend their interests in the twenty-first century. Harrington warns against a dystopian future in which poor women become mere sources of body parts and wombs for the rich. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in feminist theory and its evolution in the digital age.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. “The fights against hunger, homelessness, poverty, health disparities, poor schools, homophobia, transphobia, and domestic violence are feminist fights. Kendall offers a feminism rooted in the livelihood of everyday women.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of  How to Be an Antiracist, in The Atlantic. “One of the most important books of the current moment.”—Time   “A rousing call to action... It should be required reading for everyone.”—Gabrielle Union, author of We’re Going to Need More Wine A potent and electrifying critique of today’s feminist movement announcing a fresh new voice in black feminism. Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? . In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on reproductive rights, politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed.

Communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks is a powerful guidebook that challenges every woman to courageously claim the search for love as the heroic journey we must all choose to be truly free. In her trademark commanding and lucid language, hooks explores the ways ideas about women and love were changed by the feminist movement, by women's full participation in the workforce, and by the culture of self-help. This book is an intimate, revealing, and provocative read that every woman should have. Hooks' conclusion to her groundbreaking work on love in American life is masterful and a must-have for every thinking person.

An instant New York Times Bestseller!. A no-holds-barred guidebook aimed at white women who want to stop being nice and start dismantling white supremacy from the team behind Race2Dinner and the documentary film, Deconstructing Karen. It's no secret that white women are conditioned to be "nice," but did you know that the desire to be perfect and to avoid conflict at all costs are characteristics of white supremacy culture? . As the founders of Race2Dinner, an organization which facilitates conversations between white women about racism and white supremacy, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao have noticed white women's tendency to maintain a veneer of niceness, and strive for perfection, even at the expense of anti-racism work.. In this book, Jackson and Rao pose these urgent questions: how has being "nice" helped Black women, Indigenous women and other women of color? How has being "nice" helped you in your quest to end sexism? Has being "nice" earned you economic parity with white men? Beginning with freeing white women from this oppressive need to be nice, they deconstruct and analyze nine aspects of traditional white woman behavior--from tone-policing to weaponizing tears--that uphold white supremacy society, and hurt all of us who are trying to live a freer, more equitable life.. White Women is a call to action to those of you who are looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy. Your white supremacy. If you are in fact doing real anti-racism work, you will find few reasons to be nice, as other white people want to limit your membership in the club. If you are not ticking white people off on a regular basis, you are not doing it right.