The Illustrated Feminist: 100 Years of Suffrage, Strength, and Sisterhood in America

by Aura Lewis

A beautifully illustrated history celebrating the achievements of American women from 1920 to present day
 
The year 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in America, and what better way to commemorate the 19th Amendment than with a gorgeously illustrated handbook that explores a century’s worth of feminism? Each chapter illustrates 10 landmark moments in each decade from 1920 to 2020. Featuring iconic events and the trailblazing women who made them happen, from Amelia Earhart to Shirley Chisholm, The Illustrated Feminist will inspire both dedicated feminists and burgeoning activists to continue the fight for women’s rights. Aura Lewis’s powerful artwork coupled with her well-researched and accessible text make this book an ideal gift for anyone looking to celebrate groundbreaking women and their colorful history.
 

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, History, Graphic Novels

224 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2020

About the author

Aura’s work explores women’s stories, memory, and identity through visual narrative. Her practice spans illustration, books, and painting, all rooted in storytelling and imagination. She holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and is inspired by fashion from around the world, playful color, vintage design, and popular culture.

Reviews

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Loved everything about this. Learned a lot. Would recommend it to anyone but especially girls and women. The author is also very conscious to point out when women’s achievements specifically only benefited white women and repeatedly reminded the reader that women of color and in the queer community were often overlooked or excluded. If you liked Brazen you should read this book.

[Rachel-RN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice complication and introduction to multiple people, events/legislation (both positive and negative) in regards to women's rights. It was well packaged and interesting to read with good illustrations. It covers the US during the years from 1920-2020. I did like that while it focused on individuals, it also focused on pertinent legislation.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty beautiful, however know that it is only for American feminist acts.

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Overlooked some of the negative history with regard to some of the icons including Margaret Sanger

[Susan Fraiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This inspiring volume tells the story of advances in the lives of American women from the passing of the 19th Amendment granting women the vote in 1920 until today. Combining charming illustrations alongside concise, uplifting texts, this book is splendidly crafted, a pleasure to hold in one’s hands. The writing is very accessible— there are 10 brief, eminently readable profiles per decade, with notes for those who want more. The book is geared to adults, but is also suitable for older teens. Highly recommended.

[Librarian Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and a well researched overview of feminism through the years It goes through the highlights but so much information is missing. Some can be found in the back matter but let’s be real, if you have to to the back matter to get a fuller picture then does the book itself really do it’s job? 3 stars, maybe 4 if you actually read the back Matter. Would have loved to see something said in large print about the commercialization of feminism and how it’s actually harming the movement. Or about how Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton were actually based on lies.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't resist this book while browsing the non-fiction section in the library. I was looking for something else and this one grabbed my attention. It reminded me of the kind of NF for kids, colorful, easy one page bios, chronological order, historical. Unfortunately, or fortunately, based on your perspective, I learned a lot of new information, names of women I should have known already, and many more rabbit holes to dive into.

[Alli Brydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aura Lewis's THE ILLUSTRATED FEMINIST is a must-have book for any collection! It covers a very broad range of topics on feminist history, but in a detailed, informative, and inspiring way. The artwork is just magical and will inspire anyone, young to old, to pick up the torch and continue the fight for equal rights. It's a book you'll want to pick up for reference over and over again.

[Amitai Fraiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Aside from the aesthetics of the book- which are incredible, and more importantly, the texts are all so well researched and very much approachable. It is clear the author had to make some tough decisions concerning what to include and what must be left out. It's a compelling read, and the bite-sized pieces make it approachable and a perfect coffee table book.

[Gift Isaiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

About 100 years ago, women couldn't even vote, let alone run for president. America has come such a long way regarding women's rights in the past 100 years, and we are only moving forward.

The Illustrated Feminist is a non-fiction book that focuses on 100 years of women's struggles and victories in America. The Illustrated Feminist has ten chapters containing ten essays in each. I chose to pick chapter ten (which is the 2010's). The tenth chapter features several iconic women, one of which being, Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton showed all of America that it is possible to be a woman and run for high positions of power.

I personally really like this book. I like it because it is super informative about women's struggles and feminism. I would highly recommend this book if you are looking to learn more about feminism in a book that is easy to read.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love seeing the hard-working women of the past and the present. I do like to remind people, though, that feminism is all about the choice. Women should get to be stay at home mothers and wives and they should get to be the CEO of a major company and they should get to do this without feedback from others, including other women.

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this library book in two days- it was excellent and informative. I learned so much about these women from the 1920's through the 2010's. Very inspiring. I am planning on buying the book to keep in my personal library. The back section has a whole list of notes for each chapter which is great. I highly recommend this to women and girls of all ages. Kudos to the author for this one!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lewis chose a variety of feminist to honor in words and art. I love her fun and funky illustrations and found this essays easy to read before bed and inspiring too.

It is a great book to add to your library - every person's library.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute visual history of the last 100 years, with a focus on women's issues and others that overlap (like LGBT rights). The pages are easy and quick to read as an overview, but it's definitely feel-good and not very in-depth.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a nice introduction to feminism, but just found myself googling the topics to learn more as it was more so quick facts spliced together rather than going in depth on each topic. I feel like the people are topics could have been expanded on while keeping the books concise nature.

[Julia B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was educational, inspiring, and beautiful! A nice easy read to learn about the women who helped make our planet a better place.

[Lora Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the artwork so much!

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and easy to read overview of the last hundred years of feminism. The illustrations are so fun!

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75*

[Rachel Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUCH a fun, more light-hearted and inspiring way to learn about our history! Totally reading her other book on Gloria Steinman.

[Asparagoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It left me wanting more than just a paragraph of each.

[d · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Talks about intersectionality and barely talks about Latina, Asian or Trans Women defeating the purpose of intersectional feminism. Loses half a star for that.

[Meagen Barth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it. A wonderful way to empower women using empowered women.

[Bethany Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A creative and intellectual book on famous female figures and historical events that changed women's lives for each decade. I'm a big fan of the art!