My Body Back Project’s Comments (group member since Jul 07, 2016)

My Body Back Project’s comments from the MBB Book Club group.

This 30th June was My Body Back’s first VIRTUAL Book Club. Since this was the launch, on the 30th there was no book or theme set. Instead, we wanted a conversation about books that have stuck with you and recommendations that you want to pass onto others.

We’re starting a My Body Back book club because we want to create a lasting sense of community amongst our service users and bring them together with non-service users. You don’t have to have experienced sexual violence to join, the only requirement is that you want to read your way towards female empowerment – so anyone who considers themselves a feminist is welcome!

We think that books can be pretty instrumental in changing our perspectives on something, exploring otherwise suppressed ideas or merely to make you feel like you’re walking on marshmallows away from humdrum life.

This first virtual MBB Book Club was a brainstorming session, where we wanted you to think of all the books that have stayed with you. In the following sessions (virtual and in real life), we will then explore these books that mean most to you.

Here is a list of potential categories we could explore:
- Books to empower
- Books to learn to love yourself
- Books for coming of age
- Books that address mental health well
- Books to explore sexuality and yourself
- Books I wish I read when I was younger
- Books exploring female identity
- Books for female camaraderie
- Books that made me feel warm and fuzzy!

We want to use these books as a vehicle for discussing things we normally find it hard to express: exploring sex as a means of achieving connectedness and personal strength, unpicking taboos around expected female behaviours.

We have already pooled your suggestions from social media to make our current book list but this Discussion group can be an ongoing feed of must-read recommendations!