First published 2025
Sophie Gilbert identifies a turning point when feminism lost momentum in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Atlantic staff writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist argues that third-wave and riot girl feminism collapsed into a period marked by hyper-objectification and sexualization. Gilbert examines cultural artifacts from music, film, television, fashion, and tabloid journalism to reveal how this era harmed women. She traces many problems back to the explosion of internet pornography and its influence on mainstream culture. The book shows how American excess and materialism combined with puritanical and chauvinistic attitudes. Gilbert connects Victoria's Secret advertising, explicit music videos, and vicious internet culture to create a picture of systematic misogyny. Her analysis reveals how early twenty-first century cultural production created lasting damage that continues today.
Genres: feminism, social-issues, non-fiction, criticism, 21st-century, cultural-studies
Vibes: analytical, critical, provocative, thought-provoking, urgent
Tropes: cultural-critique, generational-commentary, systemic-analysis
Setting: America
Period: Late 1990s, Early 2000s, 21st Century
352 pages · Paperback · John Murray
Content warnings: sexism, sexual-content