7 Must-Read New Feminist Nonfiction Books

We finally, finally have a full and researched biography of the queer, feminist icon Marsha P. Johnson, who fought both by existing and through her work as an activist to illuminate the Black trans experience. Tourmaline, herself a Black trans woman, a filmmaker, and an activist, has worked to make trans history visible. This excellent, highly anticipated biography promises to become a must-have for feminist, intersectional, and queer libraries moving forward.

Two groups, Black Women Radicals and the Asian American Feminist Collective, come together to present this anthology about an intersectional, international feminism that forges solidarity between Black and Asian feminists. This is a great read for organizers as well as for anyone interested in these intersections and in building new, strong feminist bonds across movements.

Even as slavery attempted to rip all cultural practices and knowledge out of the hands of Black enslaved people, conjure women preserved spiritual beliefs, herbal knowledge, and traditional medicine in defiance. This not only gave power to Black communities during and after slavery in the South, but also laid blueprints for future cultural mainstays and inventions that we take for granted in the modern day (like Vicks VapoRub, for one). Stewart outlines the history of these women and the impact they’ve had on Black history, feminist history, and the modern-day U.S.

Solnit’s books, from Hope in the Dark to Men Explain Things to Me, have been revolutionary and inspiring to many over the course of the past decade. Her newest essay collection builds on Hope in the Dark to explore the idea that hope must be grounded in knowledge of the past if we want to shape the future, showing how activist success is often built on overlapping, small victories rather than predictable, step-by-step change. She talks power, feminism, climate, and more in her newest volume.

Unsurprisingly, the rape kit was invented by a woman, Marty Goddard, who was tired of seeing sexual predators and abusers get away with their crimes due to a lack of evidence. Journalist Kennedy tells the story of Goddard, her disappearance into obscurity, how a man took credit for her work (shocking), and the long history of how forensics has failed survivors of sexual violence. She also tells her own stories, blending nonfiction forms into one impactful story.

This book out of Brazil is a game-changer. Sex worker and activist Prada outlines the way that sex workers have consistently contributed to and pioneered change for feminist causes, even as so many mainstream feminists reject sex work and condemn it. She then adds a call-to-action, envisioning the kind of feminism we could build on an intersectional net that includes sex work as feminist labor and acknowledges the contributions of sex workers to activism, pushing to a place of inclusion and revolt instead of the hypocritical condemnation of an entire group of powerful women.

What do we do in post-Dobbs America? As preventable deaths, abuse, and horrors rise now that abortion is once again outlawed in many states, feminists are determined to claw back our rights. In this book, Cheung lays open the truth of state-sponsored violence against pregnant people, particularly pregnant people of color or under the poverty line, and unpacks the capitalist backing of the Dobbs decision and how we can fight for our lives and rights moving forward.