F-Bomb: Dispatches from the War on Feminism

by Lauren McKeon

Women are leading the fight against feminism and women's rights. The question is, why?

From pop icons to working mothers, women are abandoning feminism in unprecedented numbers. Even scarier, they are also leading the charge to send it to its grave. Women head anti-feminist PR campaigns; they support anti-feminist politicians; they're behind more than 70 lawsuits across North America to silence the victims of campus rape; they participated in Gamergate, the violent, vitriolic anti-women-in-technology movement; and they're on the front lines of the fight to end reproductive rights. Everywhere we turn, there's evidence anti-feminist bombs have exploded, sometimes detonated by the unlikeliest suspects. Between women who say they don't need feminism and women who can't agree on what feminism should be, the challenges of fighting for gender equality have never been greater.

F-Bomb takes readers on a witty, insightful, and deeply fascinating journey into today's anti-feminist universe as investigative journalist and feminist Lauren McKeon explores generational attitudes, debates over inclusiveness, and differing views on the intersection of race, class, and gender. She asks the uncomfortable If women aren't connecting with feminism, what's wrong with it? And she confronts the difficult For gender equality to prevail, we first need to understand where feminism has gone wrong and where it can go from here.

In a world where sexual harassment allegations regularly dominate news coverage and in which 53 percent of white women voted for Donald Trump, F-Bomb presents urgent and necessary discussion on women's lives today.

This book is not authorized by and has no relationship to the WMC FBomb, an inclusive feminist blog that has been publishing since 2009. See www.womensmediacenter.com/fbomb.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook

250 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2017

About the author

Lauren McKeon is an award-winning editor and writer. She is the former editor of This Magazine and a contributing editor at Toronto Life. Her essays have appeared in Hazlitt, Flare, the Walrus, and Reader's Digest, and she has spoken on gender issues at conferences and seminars and on radio and television broadcasts. She teaches at Humber College.

Reviews

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

F-Bomb isn't a bad book. But it's been written before. It was called Backlash by Susan Faludi. Yes, it's older and American, but it was more theoretically sound that F-Bomb. If you need an update on some of the nasty things surrounding the feminist movement, particularly in Canada, this has tonnes of issues. But I think most people in the feminist movement already know this, and the accompanying analysis isn't particularly novel or deep. Now admittedly, perhaps I should be less harsh on this book given I am an academic that specialises in gender issues. For a general audience, this is fine. But I do wish our general audience books were less... quippy and snarky. Again, see Backlash.

Also, I really hate the first chapter on feminist in-fighting. Important topic, but McKeon just doesn't do it justice. She falls back too lazily on us VS them tropes, saying things like some feminist view the future as only white, straight, able-bodied, etc... while the rest of us see a rainbow. That's horrifically simplistic and fails to really dig into where the disagreements in the feminist movement are coming from.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of me feels like I should pretend to like this more than I do because y'know, sisterhood. But I firmly believe feminism can take it, whatever damage misogynists might have inflicted on it recently.

Ms. McKeon has plenty to say on the subject of anti-feminists and why they are wrong but I don't think her intermittent snarkiness really makes her voice more credible and it does nothing to bring said anti-fems back onside. Basically this book is only interested in preaching to the converted. Which makes me sad. Especially since most of said converted are already well-acquainted with all of the information being presented. I feel like, after writing a whole book about everybody needing to be on the side of feminism, our girl Lauren has sort of missed the point.

I recieved a free copy of this book for review from Goose Lane Editions via Goodreads.

[beentsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very interesting and covered so many of the points I feel when I hear the word feminist and when I try to formulate how I do or do not fit with that term. Glad I read this, gave a lot of my thoughts a new way of moving through my head and a new voice.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren McKeon gives us an in-depth view of feminism as it stands today in her book F-Bomb, looking at the emergence of new and popular anti-feminist groups, as well as the reason for women to leave the movement over the past decade. McKeon herself has been a feminist since her teens, a lot like me really, and has been an active and popular feminist writer in Canada for many years now, and adds her own personal account of how she has seen the movement splinter from the inside.

F-Bomb gives us an accurate and in-depth description of the issues that feminism faces today: terrible press, misinformation, lack of diversity, exclusive, online “schooling”, superiority from those who have “been around the block”, emergence of actual anti-feminist groups who sing a pretty song, etc. F-Bomb starts off with showing us that the movement will continue to lose both respect and view of concrete goals, as well as a continued mass exodus if we don’t focus on the core internal issues at hand.

McKeon isn’t scared of digging deep into her research, and I love that all of her points are backed up with real facts, as well as personal interviews with feminists, anti-feminists, and those in between. She does a great job with turning the anti-feminist and MRA movements inside out, and showing how they are able to take a narrative that seems pretty logical and sympathetic, and twist it, which is probably why they have gained so much appeal over the past few years. I have personally always dismissed the anti-feminist crowd as slightly stupid, but this actually showed me why so many people have jumped on the bandwagon. And while, yes, it will never be something that I will jump on, McKeon’s research really does point out that the holes in today’s feminism are much more glaring and large than I could see for myself.

I love that she brought up my biggest pet peeve with feminism, that of it often appearing as an exclusive club that only middle-class white women can join (and I have written about this before), drilling down to the absolute importance of intersectionality within the movement if it wants to stay alive and flourish. I also loved how McKeon took a whole chapter to discuss motherhood and feminism, and brought up all of the dualities that come with being a mother and a feminist. Again, I have no issues being both, but I can understand why a lot of women leave feminism behind when they become mothers, and McKeon makes some seriously excellent points.

After looking in the issues with feminism today in the first two parts, McKeon uses the third and last part of her book to show us what can change, and how we can help make the necessary changes needed to ensure that we continue to fight collectively for equal rights, against violence and abuse, and for an all-around better world for everyone. McKeon brings up the Women’s March, and shows that the next generations will be more inclusive and open to change, and there is a lot of hope in her tone. I did find that while F-Bomb did a great job researching all of the issues feminism faces today, there were no real concrete solutions in the final research (not that I was really looking for any anyway, I think looking at the issues gives a good example of where we need to work harder). So if you are looking for McKeon to tell you what you need to do, she doesn’t, but it should be pretty self-explanatory.

McKeon has a very specific style of writing: witty, funny, a little tongue in cheek. It sometimes sounds like she’s talking to you, which can get a little too much at times. I did find the book a little tough going in the beginning, but once I got used to how McKeon writes and gets her point across it’s actually pretty enjoyable. F-Bomb is a really well-researched, interesting book that brings home a lot of important points. I appreciate that this is not the only book that digs into the issues that feminism continues to face, but it does a great job showing all sides of the picture.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

[Cathryn Wellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're feeling discouraged about the state of feminism in Canada, you can take a poison pill or just sit down and read F-Bomb.

Having been in the thick of the feminist movement in the States, I hoped by now no one would take umbrage with the importance or accomplishments of it, that no one would feel a righteous indignation at the thought someone might consider them "feminist".

According to McKeon's examination of anti-feminist sentiment, a whole lot more people than most of us think are in that negative camp. On the one hand it doesn't surprise me, given the statistics on women's progress over the last six decades and all that's coming to light concerning sexual harassment. On the other hand, the level of antipathy does shock me.

Canadians like to think we're far more socially advanced than our southern neighbours. This book reminds us that important social change does not continue or advance without constant vigilance. Feminism is not one simple, agreed-on idea. It is multi-faceted, complex and scrappy. It is also absolutely essential if we want a world where social equality is a given, not a distant dream.

[Kerry Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible, fascinating, essential, and really powerful.

[Janeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. Everyone.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I think the author was writing this book for women like me. The ones who don't really identify with what they perceive as the feminist movement. And she'd like to point out that we really should, despite the confusion and lack of direction.

The author is one I would define as a hardcore or even radical feminist. Maybe it's not a phrase I should use, maybe the term should just be feminist and there shouldn't be this divisiveness or will to break the movement into smaller sections.
I like her passion. Her willingness to fight for something she believes in strongly.

I'm not sure a book like this is going to convince anyone sitting on the fence to become a more vocal feminist or even to start calling themselves feminists at all. She comes across as judgemental to those who aren't like her. To those who hold an opposing view. To those who maybe just want to lives their lives and not fight.

She has a particularly mocking section for those who call themselves anti-abortion feminists. And another section where she roundly scoffs the man-positive movement.
These parts in particular will only make the converted go 'you go girl' and the others more firmly entrenched in their views. So, if she was trying for a change of mind, this might not be the way to do it.

But she holds out hope for the new generation. As do I. I think in a time where more young men and women are watching their mothers work long hours as a single parent or where 2 income families spend more time sharing household chores, where the media has stories about stay-at-home Dads and a movement such as MeToo can bring sexism into national debate, that there will inevitably be a cultural change.
And with activists like the author and the others she lists, working to bring change to the education system and workplaces. I like to think we're still moving forward. Despite the Donald Trump & Harvey Weinstien's of the world.
Would it be faster if we all banded together and said enough is enough?? Yes, but we're human and we're opinionated and we're busy, we're never gonna agree on everything.

So, some of us write books, some of us raise enlightened kids, some of us blog and some of us work the career ladder. As long as there is still discussion and conversation, there is still aspiration.

[shaynesthoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

after 5 months i finally finished this book 😭 pretty interesting read, although in my opinion i feel that alot of the things the author mentions is common sense... things like "feminism has historically been dominated by white women's pov and needs to include more poc"... like duh? but i guess for someone whos looking for a beginner/introductory read to feminism id say this would be pretty good, as it gives alot of examples (particularly in canada) of feminist movements (though this book focuses more on the anti-feminist movements).

theres a page where the author talks about the 2017 march for life rally where people were chanting "roe v wade has got to go!" and the author mused that "for the first time in a very long time, it actually seemed possible." and now we're here....

[d · Rating 3 out of 5]

not good and not bad... or maybe good and bad in equal parts with the end result being kind of nothing. i don't know if i'd recommend but also did not hate it. also once you start to notice how often the author brings up how important intersectionality is but how little time she spends actually talking about anything to do with racism or ableism it's kind of funny.

[David Wineberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women undoing the progress of women

I seem to be adding a new shelf: books that look at the unimaginable side. I was fascinated by What Slaveholders Think, and flabbergasted by Women Against Abortion. Now comes F-Bomb, in which Lauren McKeon ventures to interview and understand women vociferously against feminism. It gets ugly, but she handles it with aplomb. And thankfully, humor.

McKeon says the dictionary definition of feminist is “someone who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” Yet only 5-20% of women consider themselves feminists. There is a huge anti-feminist movement across the continent. A lot of it is right wing, conservative and/or faith-based. But there are vast numbers of indoctrinated girls staking their futures on no say over their bodies, lower wages, and rape culture. This is the conundrum McKeon tackles.

From her base in Canada, McKeon, who teaches at Humber College and edits some of the biggest magazines in the country, takes a journalist’s approach. She went to conferences, and contacted groups, Youtube stars and ordinary schoolgirls to find out why they say what they do. She doesn’t hide her astonishment and distaste, but gives everyone respectful treatment. She doesn’t argue with them; she reports.

The lack of unity and non-symmetry of the feminist message becomes more apparent with every chapter. McKeon learned that everyone is a reductionist; they all want a simple, media-friendly message for this complex, hurtful issue. All groups and self-proclaimed leaders have the same fault; they generalize what “all women” want. If there is any general message here at all, it’s that all women do not want the same thing. There are groups that want to put men on pedestals and groups saying that women should not have the vote. Mostly, they hate the word feminist and whatever it conjures in their minds. It appears that feminists are learning the hard way that with any more than two people in the room, unanimity is all but impossible.

She describes in eloquent detail her own rape in high school, and how that changed everything. As well as how common it is. For boys too. She recites the failures of the justice system and government. And joined the Toronto bus to the Women’s March on Washington for Trump’s inauguration. McKeon is totally immersed in her subject.

One thing glaringly missing in F-Bomb is the failure of firms where women lead (either on the board or in executive positions, or from investment bankers who can set terms for client supplicants) to implement a feminist agenda. Is there still a wage gap at those companies? Are there still discrimination cases where women are discouraged for speaking up, or even fired? Are their boards 50% female? Are there family care benefits? Do they institutionalize equality? No word in F-Bomb.

Ironically, McKeon spends a lot of time fielding flak from older feminists who criticize millennials for dressing like sluts and not being feminists. She has coffee with a klatch of successful women in finance, now in their 60s. They say they fought for the breakthrough, and young women are abandoning it. They are disgusted by it every day. McKeon says she has no answers on behalf of her generation, but I do. It’s the older women’s fault. Why haven’t they mentored every generation in the importance of feminism? Why haven’t they used their senior positions to establish policy? Why haven’t they institutionalized equality so no one ever has to think about it again? Instead, we have the 70s generation whining about the millennials, while anti-feminists and male apologists take center stage. McKeon needs to throw it right back at them, especially with her far deeper understanding of the greater picture.

McKeon has a fast-paced style that is most accessible. The chapters of F-Bomb are focused and well-defined. The writing is clear, and the pacing is a pleasure. She puts her remarks on people and events in brackets, instead of footnotes (the ugly new trend I keep encountering, even in science books!), which is a great relief and helps keep up the pace. This is not a feminazi screed. It is not preachy. It provides far more insight than the referential We Were Feminists Once, by Andi Ziegler. McKeon is constantly surprised by what’s out there vying for acceptance, and so am I.

David Wineberg

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

(One of those reviews where I spend more time ruminating on my own mind than on the book in question.)

If the goal of F-Bomb was self-reflection, than hurrah! It succeeded. Because I sit here and think and think and think and think about what I want to say about this book, about what didn't really work for me with it, and then I end up thinking about my twenties and then that day in my thirties where I just decided to take all the liberal feminism blogs off my RSS feed (yes, this was a while ago), mainly because there had been a whole string of ewww breastfeeding is gross and yay I'm not pregnant statements in articles* and it really hit me then that the feminism that these blogs was in very narrow focus, and me, non-USian, non-single, non-childfree, was not what they were ever going to focus on. F-Bomb doesn't have that same teensy focus, but it has the same feel of trying to appeal to someone who isn't me. That's fine for me to not be in the audience -- I don't expect every book on every issue to cater to me (although I am awesome, so if you are looking for someone for your book to cater to, I do suggest me), but F-Bomb does have a bit of an echo-chamber feel to it. Who is going to pick up this book? Middle (and up) class twenty somethings with an interest in liberal feminism. Who is going to say hell yeah! to the message in this book? Middle (and up) class twenty somethings with an interest in liberal feminism. Who is the audience for this book? Middle (and up) class twenty somethings with an interest in liberal feminism. Did it teach me (middle class and thirty something more aligned with non-liberal-feminism) anything I didn't already know? No.

Am I done posing questions? About F-Bomb, no. Plus I have more to say.

Sometimes the book had snide quips for people, places, or things that McKeon holds in contempt. When it comes right down to it, that was what really annoyed me most about this book. But why? I know ridicule is a time-honoured tradition for revealing the sheer idiocy of idiotic movements. So why did this grate so much in F-Bomb? Because it was unnecessary, in which case I can blame McKeon, or because I found it catty -- which is such a loaded, gendered term -- in which case I have no one to blame but myself for falling prey to my own internalized misogyny. Am I mad at McKeon or am I mad at myself? If I am angry at myself, is that what is colouring my reaction to F-Bomb? I just can't get past the feeling that F-Bomb made me angry at the wrong things.

F-Bomb by Lauren McKeon went on sale March 6, 2018.

I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

* I actually emailed a complaint to the blog (I can't rightly remember which one it was now, but it was a relatively major one in terms of liberal feminist blogs) in question about how for some women pregnancy was a radical act (W/POC, people with disabilities, or any other people for whom body autonomy had been denied to them by governmental and/or social forces). The article in question disappeared, but there was no acknowledgement, not even an insincere mea-culpa, they didn't even email me back. Just whoosh, gone, no interest in engaging. It's shitty to be called out, yes, but these blogs had no problem calling out others, and I'd like to think I was polite about it. Didn't matter. No engagement back. Oh well.
Google Reader shuttered a few years later, so the golden age of RSS was coming to an end in any case.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Confronting privilege means we need to open doors and cede platforms in thoughtful and consistent ways. We need to keep doing it, keep listening, keep stumbling, and keep trying to do better."

Wow, this book! The writing was great, but the topics varied from interesting to shocking, to I-have-to-put-it-down-rage-inducing. *To be clear - the author, Lauren McKeon, does not share the beliefs in this book, she was reporting on them.*

I knew the whole concept of Men's Rights Activists (MRAs) existed and there are people out there that were advocates for them (although that sentence is such an oxymoron don't even get me started), but to read interviews with some of the people McKeon spoke to? Oof.

For instance, Janet Bloomfield a feMRA - female men's rights activist - who doesn't believe women should vote because they "can't be drafted, make bad economic decisions, and are too pro-immigration." But she believes women can earn the right to vote if they "are in the military, mothers of sons, wives of men, officials or elected by men."

(I'll wait while you go vomit).

This book does not pull punches - McKeon covers everything from the pro-life movement to feMRA, rape culture, to being a wife and mother; all centered around this anti-feminist movement. She even talks about feminism in phases, as a whole, and addressed several thought-provoking topics about what feminism means, looks like, and why.

As disgusted as I was with some of the information (basically the anti-feminist movement as a whole), McKeon makes a great point about listening to people with differing opinions, because ignoring them does not make this movement go away.

This was one of those books that I kept thinking of after I'd finished. And McKeon did give us some positive information and resources at the end. I recommend reading this with a group or a friend - if only so you can text about things making you angry as you read!

"What I've learned from the front line of the new post-feminism is that feminism itself must never, ever reach a concrete definition. To thrive, it must always be a new feminism; it must always keep evolving without losing sight of its core principles of inclusion and equality."

[Maria Anneliese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this so much more than I actually did. I made it through most of the book (about 85%) but after pushing through this for months I'm not really compelled to go on. I read nonfiction to learn, and I picked this up hoping to learn more about the anti-feminist movement and why so many women want to use the freedoms that feminism has earned them in order to roll those freedoms back. But the analysis is mostly superficial and the few times that the author does engage with one of these individuals, they never really seemed to push them to get to the core of their ideology, just sort of relayed the talking points you can get from these people on twitter or blogs, and then moved on with maybe a few snarky side comments for the reader's benefit.
This is a more minor issue but there was a lot more "scene-setting" than I like in nonfiction (unless I'm reading a memoir). Whenever the author is at one of these pro-life or anti-feminist meetings, we have to read about what everyone is wearing, the crowd-size and demographics, what sort of merchandise they're handing out and I just couldn't have cared less. I was hoping for an incisive exploration of the anti-feminist mindset, but I feel I'm no closer to understanding this movement than I was when I picked this up. I think this book probably works for people who like a very prominent narrator and reads more like a person's journey through this cultural movement rather than an exploration of it.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing, accessible, unpretentious book that details the gritty, unglamorous movement that we know as feminism today. Lauren McKeon writes in an approachable voice and is so incredibly current in her book. She somehow takes a gigantic topic and breaks it down into ten segments that give the reader a better (not full, of course) understanding of what feminism is, where it came from, and the obstacles it faces TODAY. I would recommend F-Bomb: Dispatches from the War on Feminism to anyone looking for a contemporary nonfiction read. This is such a relevant book that was satisfying to read. I'm glad we have people like McKeon writing about this topic. Now we need more people reading about it!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting. This is my first time reading about feminism, and I found it enlightening and showed me that a concept I thought simple was much more complex. I have always thought my self a feminist because to me feminism means equality and choice for everyone. I don’t understand the anger associated with feminists, because we want equality it doesn’t mean I’m taking away others equality. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a simple introduction to the world of feminism. I did find the over describing of what people where wearing a bit off putting but besides that a fascinating read.

Something I found super interesting was people’s reaction to the book when I pulled it most reactions where negative especially when I mentioned it was feminism. I was shocked and amazed the thoughts people had on feminism it was disconcerting and weird

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars, probably. I LOVED this book. It was full of so many important messages, and I commend the author for exploring the anti-feminist perspectives in order to see how feminism itself can improve, particularly with regard to intersectionality. As a Canadian woman/feminist I definitely appreciated the Canadian perspective. I also thought, with her descriptions of wide-leg jeans, spiky hair, and riot grrrl music appreciation, that the author and I probably would have been very good friends had we gone to high school together. The only downside is that I feel McKeon is kind of preaching to the choir here, but still, I enjoyed her smart, sassy determination and her commitment to the research and the cause.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved McKeon's approach to this book. She takes the reader through the evolution of feminism in order to understand what is going well with the movement, what needs to change, where we are failing, and to understand the views of post- and anti-feminists. She tackles some important and uncomfortable questions, and conveys the importance of intersectionality for feminism's future. One of the most important things I took away from her writing is that there is no one definition of feminism; it means something different to everyone and that's where the strength and power of the movement lies.

Very relatable, with some valuable insight. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn more/find what feminism means to them and to help spark some self reflection.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a big, messy, dispiriting topic, and McKeon does a good job with it, up to a point. What she does well is marshal her facts: the research is conscientious, and her material is clearly and logically presented. Where she falls down is in the rebuttal; where she could be providing research and statistics that counter the anti-feminists, she resorts to glibness and the language of memes. I know that there are no monolithic answers to the problems bedeviling feminism, but the lack of any clear voice here is most disturbing.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

F-Bomb is pretty eye-opening, from trying to understand the women who loudly and proudly claim they are anti-feminist, to hearing what high school girls today think about feminism and the issues girls and women are still grappling with. It made me sad, angry, hopeful and proud all at the same time. I also really liked the emphasis that McKeon put on making modern feminism intersectional!

*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[feux d'artifice · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really easy read, I read this in the span of two days lol. a journalistic approach to finding out the perspectives and ideologies of anti-feminist advocates. engaging, enraging and engrossing, wld recommend.

one thing I particularly enjoyed was the Canadian references. so often the books I read are pretty US-centric so this was a plus for me.

a side thought from me: so as I read this, in my bag I was also carrying my book non violent communication, and I wonder how effective this form of communication could have been in circumstances described in f bomb.

[Lucile Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

6. F-bomb: Dispatches from the war on feminism by Lauren McKeon
McKeon looks at the new generation of young women who feel that the fight for equal rights is over and don’t believe it is under attack. As an early feminist, and the daughter and grad-daughter of feminists, I find it aggravating to hear young woman (and some young men) say that the fight is over. Is no one reading the news? McKeon presents arguments for continuing the fight for equality, reproductive laws, and consent information. However, there were not that many concrete suggestions for continuing the fight.

[Lecy Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically, a study of women undoing all the progress that women have made so far. This book is a journalistic review of anti-feminism. Some of the stories McKeon shares are shocking and it made me angry to read this. She did a great job of researching, interviewing and reporting. Her writing is fast-paced and clear and enjoyable to read, but it was depressing to read because of the subject matter. *ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview of some current issues feminism is facing. Discusses anti-feminist, MRA movements, gamergate, and pro-lifers.

There really wasn’t much here that I wasn’t at least peripherally aware of already. I didn’t find any amazing new insights.


(I received a free copy of this book through a giveaway on goodreads)

[David Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book and an important book. The investigation into the anti-feminist movement is fascinating and sometimes chilling. It made me feel that Margaret Atwood's Handmaids Tale might be closer to reality than I previously believed. I found parts it unnecessary. For example to much energy was spent proving that women are oppressed. Sometimes the tone is condescending.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tough slog to get through in parts - and I wonder how effective it is to give anti-feminists and MRAs even this much of a platform - but the chapters were well constructed and there were just as many Canadian examples as American ones, which was refreshing.

[Kulwarn Parmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend

As a man in late 60's who raised a feminist daughter, I learnt a lot about anti-feminists, their arguments, their leaders, their tactics. I highly recommend it even if you're a feminist, man or woman.

[Andrew Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read! Engaging and valuable for anyone seeking greater clarity on both new feminism and the growing anti-feminism movement in North America.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. Will recommend to my friends. Gives a lot of helpful insight and is really informative while still being really digestible.

[Elorra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting view on feminism and (anti) feminism, especially using Canadian examples!