Feminist Ryan Gosling: Feminist Theory (as Imagined) from Your Favorite Sensitive Movie Dude

by Danielle Henderson

Based on the popular blog of the same name, Feminist Ryan Gosling pairs swoon-worthy photos of the sensitive, steamy actor with feminist theories to the delight of women (and more than a few of their mothers) everywhere. What started as a silly way for blogger Danielle Henderson and her classmates to keep track of the feminist theorists they were studying in class quickly turned into an overnight sensation. Packed with 100+ photos and captions throughout -- including the best "Hey girl" lines from the blog and 80 percent brand-new material -- this book is a must-have for feminists and fans of the actor alike. What more could a girl want? You know, besides gender equality and all that.

Genres: Humor, Feminism, Nonfiction, Poetry, Philosophy, Coffee Table Books, Gender Studies

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2012

About the author

Danielle Henderson is a TV writer (Maniac, Dare Me, Harper House), retired freelance writer, and a former editor for Rookie. She cohosts the film podcast I Saw What You Did, and a book based on her popular website, Feminist Ryan Gosling, was released by Running Press in August 2012. She has been published by The New York Times, The Guardian, AFAR magazine, BuzzFeed, and The Cut, among others. She likes to watch old episodes of Doctor Who when she is on deadline, one of her tattoos is based on the movie Rocky, and she will never stop using the Oxford comma. Danielle reluctantly lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Vonia]

What is there to say? Handsome pictures of Ryan Gosling. An admirable actor, but an even more admirable look. Obviously, there is nothing of serious quality in this coffee table title. But do we care?????....

[Joellyn]

I’m not saying that I’d totally fall for someone using this book as pick-up lines, but I’m also not *not* saying that.

[Caroline]

A very good book on feminism, taught me a lot. I don’t know who this Ryan Gosling guy is but something tells me he’d blow up in movies. Good luck to him! I’d be his first fan for sure :)

[Anneka]

That was a fun book!

[Stacy]

More like 1.5 stars. I took several lit crit classes. I read theory for fun. I have a partial clue. I never actually laughed, chuckled, or even smiled.

This book is simply for the elite who have had a chance to hear the names of theorists, for the very small group who are intellectually curious enough to google those words and phrases merely to discover a soon-forgotten definition, and for the smallest group that actually plunges deep into gender studies. What we need, my true, TRUE feminists, is something in layman's terms for all of the women out there who are clueless as to what feminism is about, and what it means to actually be one.

Am I saying dumb it down? Um, yeah. Maybe just a touch. Not everyone in this "free" country believes they are free to not get married immediately after some point of their education and start having children, left to only run the household and perform wifely duties for the next 20+ years. And - you ain't gonna believe this shit - there actually ARE women out there who think feminism is a bad thing, and that they have never been a victim of patriarchy or gender-biased values. Using large words and the names of people they don't know won't prove otherwise.

Cute idea, exceptionally poor execution. Furthermore, I think I have had enough of looking at Ryan Gosling's face to last a lifetime. Which also means I may have to delete my "Hey girl, I love it when you rearrange the bookshelves" meme.

[Leslie]

Completely biased review. Got as Xmas gift from friend who knows me and those hey girl pictures. Oddly enough Gosling is not my favorite celeb crush. Those hey girl things just make me laugh so much. He is up there on the list though. This book is what started the hey girl craze. They're actually much more witty and intellectual which makes sense as the author who came up with them is mastering and teaching gender and women's studies. I still like any of the memes but this book was extra sassy.

[Hilary]

Dang Danielle, way to GO grrrlll.

I’m glad I studied engineering in college cause this philosophy and gender studies stuff is way too hard on my brain. All those names, all that theory. So much thinking. If then - but maybe not - or this? Thank goodness Ryan Gosling was there to show me the way. I would follow him anywhere.

[Dylan]

Completely silly Little Free Library pick that will go right back in the Little Free Library. 😂

[sylas]

Silly

[chaya]

i'm no longer a misogynist

[Roderick]

Such stupid equation of insulting fare like "The Golden Girls" and manure like "Sex and the City" or aborting babies (more than half of whom are female) with feminism is why I found this book moronic: the premise is okay, but the content is garbage (ex: "all bodies are good bodies" is nonsense; obesity is not good for anyone's health, no matter what the sex). Get "The Guerrila Girls' Bedside companion to the History of Western Art" instead.

[Kelly]

Finally--a book about feminism that dudes can understand. Too many pictures of some pretty boy called Ryan Gosling, though.

This is a visionary book. Colleges around the country are revising their syllabi to include this as a must-read text for all entering freshmen, whether or not they're gender studies majors or pre-law.

[Melanie (Moviemavengal)]

If you've read the tumblr, you've read this book, and it's still hilarious. Bought this book for my sister's birthday and it's a fun read. Price was right, too.

My personal favorite - "Hey girl. I'm pretty psyched for the chance to make a movie that passes the Bechdel Test."

[Jon]

3.5. This actually made me laugh a lot. Playing off the hey girl meme to talk about feminist theorists? Actually really smart. If I went through a gender studies degree and had only this to show for it I’d be stoked

[Vivian]

This is funny. With references to Derrida, Lacan, Butler, Chicago, Grier and a plethora of theorists and activists this is smart and the tongue in cheek bites just hard enough.

[Nick]

Loved it :D
Turns out feminism and Ryan Gossling are a match made in heaven <3

[Kayla Cagan]

Totally goofy and fun. The copy and the photos match well. Recommend with a glass of wine.

[Abenet]

The quotes were great, but the images are really what makes this a 5 star book.

"Hey Girl. I mean grrl."

[Kristina]

jak jsem si přečetla cizí dárek část 1.

[begemot]

Hmm, so this is just a collection of not-very-funny memes (I laughed at a couple of them), that didn’t need to be a physical book. It didn’t need to be a book at all - a blog, which is the memes’ origin, sounds like the best place for them.

There is no “feminist theory” in the book, beyond some awkward one-liners in the memes. Admittedly, as the author warns, a lot of the names referenced in those one-liners are unfamiliar to me. However, instead of using this opportunity to provide some background information on those historical figures and their ideas and philosophies, since, you know, she went to all the trouble of publishing a book, the author urges you to “Google them”. I might do that, but again, what’s the point of making this book then? Online, at least you can link to the wiki pages or something.

But I had a feeling that none of the stuff would actually be particularly funny, even if I “got” all the references, because the one-liners weren’t particularly deep - you can get at least the rough idea of what the joke is supposed to be in most cases.

Oh, and while she touts herself as a feminist, she is thanking her husband for paying for the meal on their first date and is implying in one of the memes that men should be paying for women when they go out, because of the gender pay gap… Oh, and Joss Whedon stuff has already aged rather poorly :) And in a book that’s very short on text, she misspelled America Ferrera’s last name…

Apparently the retail price for this is $14 CAD. That’s ridiculous.

[Robert Day]

This is the kind of clever thing that I try to do but with the difference being that Danielle has totally made it work (and I can't). Perhaps she has much better karma than me. I was probably cruel to Ryan in a previous life whereas she must have really gone to town in the pre-Ryan love stakes.

So, yeah.

The concept is easy to get, but more difficult (from experience) to get right. You put up a picture of something cute (in this case, Ryan's face) and then put some interesting words next to it (in this case, cute, feminism-inspired comments purporting to come from Ryan's lips).

So, yeah.

I read it through in one sitting while the wife meditated in the next room. I didn't laugh out loud at any point, but that's more about me than the material.

So, yeah, that's that.

[Emily]

Writing from the other side of Barbie (and Ken) Summer like 10ish years after this book was released, can I just say it HOLDS UP. I think this may have been my introduction to Dean Spade. Tragically the pay gap hasn’t improved all that much. And there is quite a bit of overlap with the Barbie movie. Danielle Henderson is a seer.

[HV_bookwyrm]

This book takes a funny and light-hearted approach to exposing readers to feminist thought - in the form of memes. It's funny, it's current and relevant. It's just a fun way to spend 20 minutes or so, to be honest.

[Amanda]

"Hey girl. I was going to go to the gym, but we've still got some Gilmore Girls episodes on the DVR."

I borrowed this from my roommate because she said it's her favorite book. Any now I can see why. It's just so perfect. Ryan Gosling and feminist quotes? Yes, please.

[Rana]

Hey girl...

[Trish]

This is a fun book to read. It will make you laugh.

[Lorraine]

This is really funny. I've always liked this meme. This is going in the office.

[Jennifer]

4.5 stars rounded up. More likely to finally pick up some bell hooks as a result.

[Meli]

Goofy fun, easy read and good for a few laughs

[Claire]

A fun way to pass a half-hour during the slow holiday season. I need to watch more of Ryan’s films!