Would it be ridiculous if I said that this book changed everything for me?
No. Because it's true.
"The Feminist Utopia Project: Fifty-Seven Visions of a Wildly Better Future" is a collection of essays, interviews, comic strips, illustrations, poems, manifestos, and more, each describing with thoughtful specificity and unapologetic detail that particular author's or artist's take on what a "feminist utopia" would look like.
Far from the mainstream feminist theory in which I was immersed in college – necessarily replete in heartbreaking, demeaning personal accounts of abuse, rape, misogyny, and harassment – "The Feminist Utopia Project" is just as powerful, while simultaneously being completely uplifting. It is the perfect companion to serious examinations of the hard road that's led us here. Each vision is beautiful and complete, and seems shockingly within reach. Rather than looking at where we've been, and how it has challenged and changed and stunted us, "The Feminist Utopia Project" turns the reader gently, safely toward the future. Somehow without ever pointing directly to the violence that marks our history, the essays acknowledge it as an artifact of the past – something that we (humanity) do not need to keep carrying with us.
The perspectives and voices in the book are many and varied – from well known names like Janet Mock and Melissa Harris-Perry, to thoughtful, open interviews with sex workers. How would living in a feminist utopia change a teenage mother's average day? How would the standard for "good sex" change? What would it look like if birth control were invented by an abortion provider? Each segment elevates a different topic in a way that's completely accessible and inspiring. And I was given the reminder I so badly needed about the importance of intersectionality in feminism, and that feminism benefit all of us – not just women.
It had been awhile since I'd read much feminist theory. Since college, probably. Like I said earlier, a lot of it's tough and heavy to digest. "The Feminist Utopia Project" is the complete opposite; it's an informed, welcoming answer to a question I didn't even realize I was asking. I truly hope this collection finds its way into college classrooms. In the meantime, if you are a woman, or someone who knows a woman, or someone who identifies as a HUMAN, it's time to read this book. The only way we can move forward, in the direction that celebrates and makes safe and changes everything, is if we all have similar pictures in our minds of what that future looks like.
My friend Kate is a vegan. A few years ago when "Eating Animals" came out, she was so strongly inspired by the book that she bought a copy for anyone who expressed the slightest interest in reading it (present company included). I loved the book, and I was in awe of how Kate had so graciously embraced it, offering to share with whomever was interested what had touched her so deeply. I never felt that way about a book – until now. This is my "Eating Animals." I wish I had enough money to buy a copy for each person reading this right now. Maybe someday I'll win the lottery, and mail a copy of "The Feminist Utopia Project" to every house in America. In the meantime, if it's in your budget, try the book. The Kindle version is cheaper, although something in the illustrations gets a little lost. And, as ever, the library version is free.
So what changed? My mind reopened. Rather than having to fortify myself to get through recollections of trauma and harsh realities that can seem all too familiar, inescapable, and heavy, I began to see feminism for what it is: something intelligent, and growing, and beautiful, and hopeful. We can't forget about that part. Maybe it's not a fair way to look at feminist theory, but I personally needed some balance, which was fully, wholly provided by this book.
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