Sluts and Subs and Feminist Non-Fiction

Not that much of a meme participant, but I’m enjoying May More’s current series as it involves talking about books. I shared one of my favourite fiction recommendations last week, and now we’re moving on to non-fiction. I’ve picked three different books, so let’s start with the most recent.

Revolting Prostitutes by Juno Mac and Molly Smith

This book is an angry, brilliant call to arms: if you’ve ever thought the ‘Nordic Model’ (of criminalising the punter rather than the sex worker) was a helpful idea then get ready to be firmly disabused of that view. It’s not an easy or exactly enjoyable read – too much to make you angry – but it’s a very important one.

Thinking Kink by Catherine Scott

I have copies of this one in stock. Catherine wrote a wonderful exploration of the way popular culture portrays kink and kinky people, and the messages conveyed  about female sexual autonomy and desire, particularly in era just after 50 Shades. Sadly she is no longer around to know that her book is now recommended reading for students of sexuality and psychology.

The Ethical Slut by Janet Hardy and Dossie Easton

When the first edition came out (with Hardy writing under the pseudonym Catherine Liszt), around the end of 1997, I was editing For Women magazine, a top-shelf title aimed at a female audience. We’d been sent a review copy, so I pinched it out of the cupboard and read it in my lunch hour. I still remember how utterly mindblowing and world-changing it was, even though I found (and still find) some of the therapy-speak a bit annoying. It was the first book I’d ever encountered which didn’t treat people who rejected monogamy as either bad or broken in some way, and much of its advice is still valid today.

There are plenty more posts recommending non-fiction, check them out.