1 / 19 "Sex Object" by Jessica Valenti

Feminist blogger Jessica Valenti knew she would receive backlash for naming her memoir “Sex Object.” Despite the fact that no woman appreciates being demeaned to the status of an object, Valenti predicted that trolls would object to the name, claiming Valenti wasn’t attractive enough to deserve the dehumanizing title. And she was right. This is but one infuriating circumstance Valenti explores <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062435086/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?amp=&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062435086&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=8ed139d7da67b8214367c725ad3264fb&tag=thehuffingtop-20" target="_blank">in her essay collection</a>, which recalls with vulnerability and force the experience growing up a sex object first, a human being second. Readers might be surprised at how many of their own repressed memories bubble up reading Valenti’s account, how many times instances of misogyny have been laughed off or brushed under the rug. -Priscilla Frank

Dey Street Books