"This book explores the universal heroine's journey as she quests through world myth. Numerous stories from cultures as varied as Scotland and Africa reveal heroines who battle for safety and identity, thereby upsetting popular notions of the passive, gentle heroine. Only after she has defeated her dark side and reintegrated can the heroine become the bestower of wisdom"--Provided by publisher.

In the early nineties, riot grrrl exploded onto the underground music scene, inspiring girls to pick up an instrument, create fanzines, and become politically active. Rejecting both traditional gender roles and their parents' brand of feminism, riot grrrls celebrated and deconstructed femininity. The media went into a titillated frenzy covering followers who wrote "slut" on their bodies, wore frilly dresses with combat boots, and talked openly about...

"An Empowering and Celebratory Portrait of Black Women-from Josephine Baker to Aunt Viv to Cardi B. In 2013, film and culture critic Zeba Blay was one of the first people to coin the viral term #carefreeblackgirls on Twitter. As she says, it was "a way to carve out a space of celebration and freedom for Black women online." In this collection of essays, Blay expands on this initial idea by delving into the work and lasting achievements of influential...

From sexist jokes about women drivers to such empowering icons as Amelia Earhart and Rosie the Riveter, representations of the relationship between women and modern technology in popular culture have been both demeaning and celebratory. Depictions of women as timid and fearful creatures baffled by machinery have alternated with images of them as being fully capable of technological mastery and control-and of lending sex appeal to machines as products. In...

A scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities in the 2000s, and the sexist, exploitative culture that took them down. Welcome to celebrity culture in the early aughts: the reign of Perez Hilton, celebrity sex tapes, and dueling tabloids fed by paparazzi who were willing to do anything to get the shot. It was a time when the Internet was still the Wild West, and when slut-shaming, fat-shaming, and revenge porn were all considered...

"The Female Monster is alive and well in the pop-cultural imagination. What does she tell us about ourselves and how we live today? Funny, smart and encyclopedic, nimbly addressing everyone from the biblical Lilith, to the movie Carrie, to Hae Min Lee (whose death was the focus of the first season of "Serial") to the cult film "The Craft", this book explores the female dark side, as represented in female monsters throughout pop culture. These monsters...

"From stars like Britney Spears and Mariah Carey to classic icons like Yoko Ono, female musicians have long been the target of toxic labels in the media and popular culture: liar, crazy, snake, diva, and so on. This book takes a candid look at the full range of sexist labeling and inspires us to think about these remarkable women on their own terms"--

"Fanfic, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more - it's never been a better time to be a girl geek. The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy is the ultimate handbook for ladies living the nerdy life, a fun and feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom. With delightful illustrations and an unabashed love for all the in(ternet)s and outs of geek culture, this book is packed with tips, playthroughs, and...

"FIRST THINGS FIRST, hip-hop is not just the music, and women have played a big role in shaping the way it looks today. FIRST THINGS FIRST takes readers on a journey through some notable firsts by women in hip-hop history and their importance. Factual firsts like Queen Latifah becoming the first rapper to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lauryn Hill making history as the first rapper to win the coveted Album of the Year Award at the GRAMMYs,...