Jessica Valenti embarked on a similar venture when she launched the website Feministing in 2004. More focused on collective rather than personal feminism, the site primarily focuses on political issues, and also publishes cultural critiques and interviews with prominent feminists and role models. In 2007, Valenti published her first book, Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters, a how-to guide for the fully feminist life. The book begins with an explanation of why feminism is wonderful ("When you're a feminist, day-to-day life is better. You make better decisions. You have better sex.") before launching into chapters with titles like "You're a hardcore feminist. I swear." The book takes time to dispel "myths" about feminism: that feminists hated men, didn't shave, and were only chaste, middle-aged women.

Full Frontal Feminism is a big reason I became interested in feminism when I did, as a disenchanted junior in high school. Recommended to me by a friend whose older, fascinating sister had come across it in college, Full Frontal Feminism brought together a wide array of topics for an effective crash-course in why I should care about feminism. It's not that this was my introduction to feminism; it wasn't. But Full Frontal Feminism made me feel that I could appropriately call myself a "feminist."

Sexy Feminism takes cues from both Baumgarnder/Richards and Valenti, creating its own specialized protocol in the process. Keishin Armstrong and Wood Rudúlph seek to appeal to young women who feel that feminism isn't sexy, fun, or any of the other words in their subtitle. Once again, the authors claim that they're "here to detonate, once and for all, those pervasive myths about feminism." And, like Baumgardner and Richards (whom they declare to be idols), Keishin Armstrong and Wood Rudúlph's definition of a feminist includes a call to action. In contrast to the dichotomy between girl power feminism and activist feminism drawn by Manifesta, Keishin Armstrong and Wood Rudúlph try to combine the two, drawing the mainstream into their realm and calling it their own.

What these recent guides make clear is a desire to bring feminist-inspired actions, cultures, and people back into the feminist movement. As the authors of all three books make clear, the intended reader is likely already a feminist, even if they don't know it yet. What the authors are seeking, then, isn't to educate readers about the existence of double standards and the pay gap so much as to show that the reader's values and feminism's values are one and the same.

Keishin Armstrong and Wood Rudúlph explain why they think it's important for people who believe in feminist values to align themselves with the feminist movement:

But feminist is just a word, you may say--why is it so important? Given the choice between living feminist principles and calling ourselves feminists, of course we'd choose the former. But we don't think there should have to be a choice. To distance yourself from the word is to imply there's something wrong with feminism and/or feminists, an implication that leads to the continued denigration of the cause itself.

I, however, am not convinced by this argument, or any of the other recent books claiming that more people should call themselves feminists. As has been made clear by others, promoting the equality of women doesn't have to lie solely in the domain of feminism, nor can it only be accomplished within the movement's bounds. These authors seem to think political organization and action around women's issues can only happen in a feminist framework, but plenty of organizations work towards women's rights without needing to label themselves "feminist." The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, for example, was not formed out of the feminist movement and has never been officially linked to it. Planned Parenthood certainly espouses feminist values, but it has not depended upon an official relationship with outright feminist organizations--and yet has created meaningful change beneficial to women and in line with traditionally feminist values. Just as there are a multitude of ways to be a feminist or espouse feminist values, so should there be a variety of guides and books that help young people figure out feminism for themselves.

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