Best Gender Studies Books of 2025

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution is a thought-provoking book by Louise Perry that challenges the idea of sexual freedom and autonomy. Perry argues that the hyper-sexualized culture and liberal feminism of our time have resulted in more loss than gain for women. She advocates for a new sexual culture built around dignity, virtue, and restraint. The book is a must-read for those who are uneasy about the mindless orthodoxies of our ultra-liberal era and seek a new approach to sexuality that prioritizes women's true interests, desires, and happiness.

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, published by Routledge, is a well-known and controversial scholarly work that challenges traditional feminism's essentialist notions of gender and sex. Butler argues that gender is a social performance, not an inherent reality. The book has been praised for its groundbreaking ideas and innovative concepts, making it a must-read for anyone interested in feminist theory. This book is an intellectual pleasure and a political necessity that reshapes the way we experience and perform our lives and bodies.

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks presents a blueprint for a global feminist movement. First published in 1984, the book remains relevant today, offering an analytical critique of American feminist theory. While hooks' direct style may unsettle some readers, the book is a readable and comprehensive guide for scholars and activists alike. The Women's Review of Books praised it as an important and widely used text in women's studies courses. Overall, Feminist Theory is a thought-provoking and significant contribution to general gender studies literature.

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism is a groundbreaking classic work of feminist scholarship that examines the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman's involvement with feminism. Bell Hooks, a cultural critic, intellectual, and feminist writer, attempts to move beyond racist and sexist assumptions. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in black history, women's history, or the connection between the two. Overall, Ain't I a Woman is an absorbing delineation of the American black woman's oppression and a consistent analysis of the interrelationships of race, gender, and class in contemporary cultural life.

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks is a short and accessible primer that explores the nature of feminism and its positive promise to eliminate sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. With her characteristic clarity and directness, hooks encourages readers to see how feminism can touch and change their lives, emphasizing that feminism is for everybody. This book is a great introduction to the topic of feminism and is a must-read for anyone interested in gender studies and social justice.

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble examines how search engines like Google perpetuate negative biases against women of color by privileging whiteness and discriminating against people of color. Noble argues that search engines are not neutral arbiters but can easily be manipulated to reflect discriminatory practices. This book provides an original and sometimes disturbing account of how racism and sexism are created, maintained, and disseminated in the 21st century. Overall, Algorithms of Oppression is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the social problem of data discrimination and the culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online.

The 30th Anniversary edition of Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins is a timely update that showcases the importance of Black women's ideas and actions in the discourse of social justice. The book traces the history and contours of Black women's ideas and actions to argue that Black feminist thought is the discourse that fosters Black women's survival, persistence, and success against the odds. Collins's meticulous research synthesizes the important intellectual work done by Black women. This edition speaks to both people who have long been working on social justice and a new generation of readers encountering the ideas and actions of Black women for the first time. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the role of Black women in shaping social justice movements.

Introduction to Intersectional Qualitative Research, written by Jennifer Esposito and Venus Evans-Winters, is a groundbreaking book that introduces students and new researchers to the basic aspects of qualitative research while infusing intersectional concerns throughout the research process. The book covers a wide range of topics, from research design to data collection and analysis, with a focus on how race and gender matter in research. The authors draw on their combined forty years of experience conducting and teaching intersectional qualitative research, making this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in this field. Overall, this book is a must-read for those who want to conduct qualitative research that is both rigorous and inclusive.

A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care is a comprehensive resource for mental health practitioners who want to provide competent and affirming care to transgender and gender nonconforming clients. The authors, who specialize in working with this population, offer tailored interventions based on developmental stages and situational factors. The book covers language, etiquette, and appropriate communication, as well as ethical and legal issues that may arise. Informed consent approaches and practical exercises are also included. Overall, this book is a powerful tool for clinicians seeking to better understand and support their TNGC clients.

The Love Jones Cohort is a groundbreaking book that explores the intersection of race, gender, and class among members of the Black middle class who are single and living alone. The book provides a nuanced understanding of how social structures shape the lifestyle factors of Black middle-class adults who are SALA. The author draws from stratification economics, intersectionality, and respectability politics to examine how these adults define family and friends, pursue romantic relationships, select where to live, accumulate wealth, and maintain overall health and well-being. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in ethnic demographic studies and the Black middle class.