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Jessica Valenti

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York

November 01

Website

http://jessicavalenti.com

Twitter

jessicavalenti

Genre

Nonfiction, Memoir

Member Since

February 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/JessicaValenti

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Jessica Valenti is a columnist for the Guardian US and the author of four books on feminism, politics and culture. Her third book, The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women, won the 2010 Independent Publisher Book Award and was made into a documentary by the Media Education Foundation. She is also editor of the anthology Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape, which was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Top 100 Books of 2009.

Jessica founded Feministing.com, which Columbia Journalism Review called “head and shoulders above almost any writing on women’s issues in mainstream media.” Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Guardian ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Hi Jessica, I have loved all your work. I really enjoyed The Purity Myth and I have used your work in my Sociology of Gender class. I just had a basic question: Can I look forward to another book on the horizon? If so, what is the theme? Thanks

Jessica Valenti Hi Brian, thanks so much for the kind words - and a big thank you for using The Purity Myth in your class!

My new book, Sex Object, is out this June. I…moreHi Brian, thanks so much for the kind words - and a big thank you for using The Purity Myth in your class!

My new book, Sex Object, is out this June. It's a memoir about (obvs) objectification, and what it's like growing up in a sexist culture. At least, what it was like for me. I'm trying to explore how misogyny shapes us...it's a very different book than my other work which makes it both exciting and terrifying!

After this one comes out, nothing new on the horizon after that. Not immediately, anyway!(less)

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Hello Jessica, long time fan. My question is, as a feminist writer what issue(s) are ready to be done writing about and what new issue(s) do you think we should be focusing on as feminist? P.S. Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness is one of the most eye opening books I ever read.

Jessica Valenti Hi Trillian! Thrilled that you liked Why Have Kids!

I don't know that there are any feminist issues that are ready to be retired quite yet - even issue…moreHi Trillian! Thrilled that you liked Why Have Kids!

I don't know that there are any feminist issues that are ready to be retired quite yet - even issues that we've made progress on are still worthy of conversation & debate. (And more progress!) I also don't know that there are "new" feminist issues as much as there are new modes of thought and action around existing issues.

That said, a newer feminist issue FOR ME is definitely how to parent while modeling my politics and values. I'm also thinking a lot lately about how anti-choice laws are being used to criminalize pregnant women who don't have successful birth outcomes (like women who are being arrested for stillbirths because of suspected drug use, for example). Hope that answers you a bit - and thanks again for the support!(less)

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Jessica Valenti’s books

Average rating: 3.88 · 43,903 ratings · 4,378 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Sex Object: A Memoir 3.66 avg rating — 12,663 ratings — published 2016 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women 4.08 avg rating — 8,200 ratings — published 2009 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Full Frontal Feminism 3.86 avg rating — 8,077 ratings — published 2007 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know 3.90 avg rating — 3,269 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness 3.55 avg rating — 3,283 ratings — published 2012 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World by Jessica Valenti (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Jaclyn Friedman (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.24 avg rating — 380 ratings — published 2020 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Future is Feminist: Radical, Funny, and Inspiring Writing by Women 3.87 avg rating — 213 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Le sabbie del litorale adriatico 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Such double standard is spec. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Por que ter filhos?: Uma mãe explora a verdade sobre a criação de filhos e a felicidade 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality

by Patricia S. Churchland

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Jan 01, 2012 12:36PM

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World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

by Max Brooks (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 01, 2012 12:31PM

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Cleopatra: A Life

by Stacy Schiff (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 03, 2011 01:45PM

Quotes by Jessica Valenti (?)

“What’s the worst possible thing you can call a woman? Don’t hold back, now.
You’re probably thinking of words like slut, whore, bitch, cunt (I told you not to hold back!), skank.
Okay, now, what are the worst things you can call a guy? Fag, girl, bitch, pussy. I’ve even heard the term “mangina.”
Notice anything? The worst thing you can call a girl is a girl. The worst thing you can call a guy is a girl. Being a woman is the ultimate insult. Now tell me that’s not royally fucked up.”
― Jessica Valenti, Full Frontal Feminism

tags: double-standards, eye-opening, feminism, gender-inequality, insults, men, names, sexism, woman, womanhood, women

2124 likes

“Now, should we treat women as independent agents, responsible for themselves? Of course. But being responsible has nothing to do with being raped. Women don’t get raped because they were drinking or took drugs. Women do not get raped because they weren’t careful enough. Women get raped because someone raped them.”
― Jessica Valenti, The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women

tags: blame, female-liberation, feminism, rape

594 likes

“The desirable virgin is sexy but not sexual. She's young, white, and skinny. She's a cheerleader, a babysitter; she's accessible and eager to please (remember those ethics of passivity!). She's never a woman of color. SHe's never a low-income girl or a fat girl. She's never disabled. "Virgin" is a designation for those who meet a certain standard of what women, especially young women, are supposed to look like. As for how these young women are supposed to act? A blank slate is best.”
― Jessica Valenti, The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women

tags: feminism, purity-myth, virgin, virginity

204 likes

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Polls

Which book would you like during December/January

The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Womenby Jessica Valenti

5 votes, 41.7%

Swamplandia!by Karen Russell

2 votes, 16.7%

Annabelby Kathleen Winter

2 votes, 16.7%

F 'em!: Goo Goo, Gaga, and Some Thoughts on Ballsby Jennifer Baumgardner

2 votes, 16.7%

Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passionby Jean H. Baker

1 vote, 8.3%

BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch by Magazine Lisa Jervis

0 votes, 0.0%

Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhoodby Naomi Wolf

0 votes, 0.0%

12 total votes

1 comment

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