Men Explain Things to Me
REBECCA SOLNIT
The essay that gave a name to the everyday experience of being talked over, and to why it matters.
The Feminist Academy · Book Club
The Feminist Academy Book Club
The Feminist Academy Book Club is a monthly feminist book club, and the centre of everything we do. One book a month, read at your own pace, and a live conversation where a question counts for more than a perfect point.
HOW IT WORKS
One theme a month. Three ways in.
Every month we take a single idea and turn it over from several directions — so you can follow the thread that suits you, and still be part of the same conversation.
The Book Club
Our non-fiction read for the month, chosen to open up the theme. Past reads include Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates and The Will to Change by bell hooks.
The Fiction Shelf
The same theme, explored through fiction. A novel or short story collection that puts the month's questions into someone else's life.
The Cultural Lens
The theme connected to an artist, poet or photographer — because a painting or a poem can say what an argument takes pages to reach.
Themes have ranged from masculinity and patriarchal power to agency and consent.
You do not need to finish the book to join the conversation.
“Hiding in Plain Sight” gathers Solange’s essays on making visible how patriarchy shapes everyday life.
THE MONTHLY RHYTHM
A month, a book, a room.
01
Choose the book
Each month we read one feminist title. Read it at your own pace. Our masterclass is our own discussion of selected ideas from the book — commentary and context to support your reading, never a substitute for it.
02
Unpack the ideas
Short, generous feminist masterclasses bring our own reading of the book’s ideas — company for whatever pace you read at.
03
Meet in the room
We meet on the last Wednesday of the month at 8pm, online and in person, for a relaxed debate. Bring a thought, a question, or simply your listening self.
04
Keep the thread
Stay in the group chat between sessions, follow the reading roadmap, and let the conversation ripple into everyday life.
Recent reads
What we’ve been reading.
The New Age of Sexism
LAURA BATES
What happens when old sexism is rebuilt inside new technology? Laura Bates looks at how bias and misogyny are reproduced through AI and emerging technologies.
The Will to Change
BELL HOOKS
hooks asks us to tend bridges with masculinity and explains how the system radicalises boys.
What it costs
One membership, £25 a month.
Our feminist book club is part of one membership, alongside feminist masterclasses, essays and live events, online and in person. Start with a 7-day free trial, then £25/month. You do not need a perfect reading record, and you do not have to finish the book to join the conversation.
We keep a number of concessionary spaces for people who cannot afford the membership. There’s no form to fill in; this is a relationship based on honesty and trust. If you need a concessionary place, simply Solange.gulizzi@gmail.com and she’ll add you to the membership.
Who it’s for
A feminist reading group for curious minds.
The book club is for women, non-binary people and feminist souls — the curious, the questioning, the ones wanting to speak up and the ones wanting to listen. A warm, trans-inclusive space for learning, questioning and finding your people. No perfect points required.
Read one chapter. Bring one question. Join the masterclass for our own discussion of what the book raises. That is enough to begin.
The book is the work itself — the masterclass is our own commentary on it, made to send you back to the pages.
The Feminist Academy is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the author or publisher.
This material is The Feminist Academy’s own interpretation of selected ideas from the work. It is intended to support learning, reflection and discussion and is not a substitute for reading the book.