Book Recommendation: The Guy’s Guide to Feminism

Unless you’ve been living in a cave or the Midwest, you’ve noticed spring (weather) is finally here! Yes, the beautiful time of year when the birds are back, flowers are blooming, and the thaw of winter is behind us. With the return of the sun comes the return of outdoor recreational reading. There’s nothing I love more about my outdoor porch than curling up in my favoring chair, and with a glass of lemonade beside me flipping the pages of a wonderful book between my hands. One such book I had the pleasure of reading was The Guy’s Guide to Feminism. It’s a brief but well written read that’s sure to fit into anyone’s schedule and personal feminist level.

Guy’s Guide might as well be called Feminism 101, but with a slant towards engaging the modern man. Written by two of the world’s leaders for man’s feminist advocacy, Michael Kaufman and Michael Kimmel keep the tone light without taking away from the true messages and ideas behind the feminist movement. The book bounces between different writing styles, from narratives of different character’s personal exploration of feminist behavior, to descriptive historical pieces that demystify the F-word and set the record straight.  While it doesn’t persuade the reader to fully adopt feminism (there’s never any preachy man-shaming here), it does explain where feminists, especially male feminists, are coming from and why it makes sense to them.

Its easy-going format makes it accessible for anyone to pick up, from the unsure newbie (i.e. me before reading this book and beginning to blog), to the weathered feminist veteran. Having said I’ll admit that it really is written for anyone new to feminism. While the book lacks significant, in-depth detail for knowledgeable feminists, it can still act as a great quick reference or light read; hell, even I like to reread Chamber of Secrets for giggles.

For me, the book really was my first introduction into feminism. Reading it I learned the key terminology, and began attributing titles to different unnamed thoughts and ideas I had formed beforehand. Beyond anything else it gave me eyes to see, ears to hear and a voice to speak. I began to notice the inequality, the social stigmas, the misjudgment, and the harassment, and so I began speak up. I talked to friends, coworkers, family, and I began a dialogue of inquisitive feminism. I’ve come to realize a lot of people have a false interpretation of the F-word, and while it’s a learning process figuring out how to best explain feminism on all levels, looking back to Guy’s Guide and referring this blog has been invaluable.

In appreciation for the power this book gave to me, I highly recommend it. It started me on the right foot for what’s likely to be a lifetime of feminist discourse and I’ll be hard pressed to find any other introductory text that could’ve done the same.  It’s the perfect book for this wonderful weather or even as a summer beach read; engaging, interesting, and not so bogged down with significant detail that you couldn’t put it down and take part in a game of Frisbee. Check it out today, and if you’d like, leave a comment on any other good Feminist reads you’d recommend (I’m almost done with The Devil in the White City and need a new book)!