Here We Are is a scrapbook-style teen guide to understanding what it really means to be a feminist. It’s packed with essays, lists, poems, comics, and illustrations from a diverse range of voices, including TV, film, and pop-culture celebrities and public figures.
Here We Are is a response to lively discussions about the true meaning of feminism on social media and across popular culture and is an invitation to one of the most important, life-changing, and exciting parties around.
I've read quite a few What-Feminism-Means-In-The-Real-World type books recently and it's not really something that is going to get old any time soon for me. There are so many different takes on feminism and so many ways it can be interpreted, I always find some new or interesting way of looking at things. And that's why I think this book worked so well - it has like fifty contributors, so there are lots of opinions to read about.
One of the things I liked most was the range of intersectional feminist topics: we had gay and transgender contributors, contributors of many religions, races and backgrounds. This isn't something you see that often - too many books about feminism focus on what it's like to be a white, straight feminist and while this is valid it was definitely good to get other people's experiences represented.
My favourite contributors were:
Courtney Summers (who is a joy in literally everything she writes) talking about why she writes unlikeable charaters.
I Have Always Eaten the Bread by Lily Myers - about body image
Don't Peak in High School by Mindy Kaling, who is razor-sharp
I Absolutely Consider Myself a Feminist by Laverne Cox
One thing I would say is that the tome of this book isquite different to another (excellent) book on Teen Feminism I read recently, which was Girl Up by Laura Bates (of Everyday Sexism 'fame'). I think it's because this book is mostly American contributors, whereas Bates is from the UK. Girl Up is full of scalpel-sharp wit and humour, wheras this book is a bit more earnest in tone. I think I identified with Girl Up a bit more than with this book, but it is still a really good read and totally thought-provoking.
4.5 stars