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Good Slut: How Money, Sex and Power Set Women Free
Women's freedom is in jeopardy. Misogyny is everywhere. Courtship, duty and marriage are dying phenomenons - nails in the coffin to female happiness. Our bodies are an inventory of pain and weakness. Evidently, it is a very bad time to be female.
Or so we're told.
In Good Slut, Zoe Strimpel examines the myths that submerge women in narratives of victimhood and fragility, instead offering a much-needed dose of realism. Because while women's agency is increasingly under threat by the return of 'traditional' values, fuelled by fear-mongering discourse from both the political left and right, it's unequivocally never been a better time to be a woman. It may be complex terrain, yet women's pain, injustices, experiences and achievements are taken more seriously now than ever before. What's more, the opportunities in free societies are whether sexual freedom, bodily autonomy or financial independence, women can, should and will - if they desire - have it all.
Courageous, defiant and incisive in its approach, Good Slut argues that liberation - true liberation - comes not from fear or shame, but from making the most out of the intertwined forces of money, power, and, of course, sex. A fierce celebration of female agency and choice, it is a timely reminder to get back in touch with the joy and freedoms available to us - if only we dare to grasp it.
Or so we're told.
In Good Slut, Zoe Strimpel examines the myths that submerge women in narratives of victimhood and fragility, instead offering a much-needed dose of realism. Because while women's agency is increasingly under threat by the return of 'traditional' values, fuelled by fear-mongering discourse from both the political left and right, it's unequivocally never been a better time to be a woman. It may be complex terrain, yet women's pain, injustices, experiences and achievements are taken more seriously now than ever before. What's more, the opportunities in free societies are whether sexual freedom, bodily autonomy or financial independence, women can, should and will - if they desire - have it all.
Courageous, defiant and incisive in its approach, Good Slut argues that liberation - true liberation - comes not from fear or shame, but from making the most out of the intertwined forces of money, power, and, of course, sex. A fierce celebration of female agency and choice, it is a timely reminder to get back in touch with the joy and freedoms available to us - if only we dare to grasp it.
- GenresNonfictionFeminism
246 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2026
About the author
Zoe Strimpel
4 books5 followersZoe Strimpel is a journalist, author of two indispensable dating books and a dating scholar. Having recently completed a MPhil at Cambridge in gender studies she is currently the Asa Briggs PhD scholar at Sussex, working on a thesis about the late 20th century history of dating.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 29, 2026
The first and most important critique for me that new readers should be aware of is the distinctly flawed analytical approach this author takes to any data set or piece of research. She makes swift, calculated conclusions about the meaning of certain data points from a place of evident bias and wilfully ignores the wide number of variables that would be inconvenient for her arguments to address. Not only this but she starts her analysis on any given topic with a presupposition about history that is a completely illegitimate way of framing things and is in its very self both the spark and fuel for this never ending, feminist-led gender war; re-writing history as conflict between the sexes and pitting women against men in all aspects of life.
The author makes some fair arguments in the first half of the book in places but on the whole the author seems to advocate for female superiority and believes women should, before all else, prioritise their own self-interest. Above the reasonable needs of men, society and most disturbingly the wellbeing of children. Her idealistic world view is incredibly short sighted, maleficent and amoral. She advocates for unbridled hedonism (female only of course), male desperation and sexual enslavement but ultimately an unsustainable model of life that couldn’t possibly last more than a couple of generations (with great strife and decay).
It is deeply concerning that views like this are commonplace in liberal circles and enterprises.
The author makes some fair arguments in the first half of the book in places but on the whole the author seems to advocate for female superiority and believes women should, before all else, prioritise their own self-interest. Above the reasonable needs of men, society and most disturbingly the wellbeing of children. Her idealistic world view is incredibly short sighted, maleficent and amoral. She advocates for unbridled hedonism (female only of course), male desperation and sexual enslavement but ultimately an unsustainable model of life that couldn’t possibly last more than a couple of generations (with great strife and decay).
It is deeply concerning that views like this are commonplace in liberal circles and enterprises.
March 22, 2026
This book doesn't deserve even one star. Zoe Strimpel comes across as profoundly anti-feminist, glorifying figures like Bonnie Blue and framing promiscuity, casual sex work, and unbridled neoliberal "girlboss" individualism as the pinnacle of an "evolved" society. Reading it was genuinely rage-inducing.
Modern feminism does not promote victimhood as some inherent trait, it's about recognizing and confronting real, ongoing systemic harms. Women and girls have endured rape, abuse, and exploitation by men throughout history, and that violence continues today, often normalized or minimized. Everyday oppression, subtle and overt, has become so ingrained that many no longer notice it, yet it shapes women's lives profoundly.
Strimpel's response to male violence? Urging women to "toughen up" with mandatory self-defense training (including grotesque suggestions like learning to "disable male genitalia" through eye pokes and bites) rather than demanding societal change cultural, legal, and structural reforms to hold men accountable and prevent abuse in the first place. This individualizes a collective problem and shifts the burden onto women instead of challenging the patriarchy.
Additionally, outwith the book she defends Israel's actions with zero empathy or acknowledgement of Palestinian suffering, aligning with a worldview that dismisses certain oppressions while celebrating others. Which shows more about her bad character as well as her books and hideous journalism
It's hypocritical and callous.
The title The Good Slut itself is provocative and reductive, turning a reclaimed slur into what feels like a performative embrace of commodified sexuality. I read it as a committed feminist, hoping for insight, but came away sickened by its dismissal of structural realities, its joyless scolding disguised as empowerment, and its blind spots on privilege, ongoing violence, and global injustices.
This isn't liberation, it's a rotten, individualistic manifesto that ignores the bigger picture. Avoid it.
Modern feminism does not promote victimhood as some inherent trait, it's about recognizing and confronting real, ongoing systemic harms. Women and girls have endured rape, abuse, and exploitation by men throughout history, and that violence continues today, often normalized or minimized. Everyday oppression, subtle and overt, has become so ingrained that many no longer notice it, yet it shapes women's lives profoundly.
Strimpel's response to male violence? Urging women to "toughen up" with mandatory self-defense training (including grotesque suggestions like learning to "disable male genitalia" through eye pokes and bites) rather than demanding societal change cultural, legal, and structural reforms to hold men accountable and prevent abuse in the first place. This individualizes a collective problem and shifts the burden onto women instead of challenging the patriarchy.
Additionally, outwith the book she defends Israel's actions with zero empathy or acknowledgement of Palestinian suffering, aligning with a worldview that dismisses certain oppressions while celebrating others. Which shows more about her bad character as well as her books and hideous journalism
It's hypocritical and callous.
The title The Good Slut itself is provocative and reductive, turning a reclaimed slur into what feels like a performative embrace of commodified sexuality. I read it as a committed feminist, hoping for insight, but came away sickened by its dismissal of structural realities, its joyless scolding disguised as empowerment, and its blind spots on privilege, ongoing violence, and global injustices.
This isn't liberation, it's a rotten, individualistic manifesto that ignores the bigger picture. Avoid it.
April 17, 2026
Well I respect someone who holds an unpopular opinion and defends it in good faith, which is what I think Strimpel is doing here. However ultimately I think her opinions are unpopular for reason.
While I think the analysis of discourse on both the left and the right early on in the book is spot on, it fails to genuinely engage with either. Large parts of the books are spend misrepresenting or exaggerating arguments on both sides. Fighting against a straw-man, which gets increasingly frustrating. Making you wonder if she actually understood the points she aims to argues against. For example, she regards only-fans as a positive for women because it opens up an income stream to those who need it. When discussing economic coercion she suggests the solutions would be universal basic income and a strong social safety net. This is presented as some sort of 'gotcha', when ... well yes .... these are points the "socialist left" who she derides constantly, would very much agree with. The entire section on sex work is incredibly naive in my opinion. Mia Döring's harrowing testimony as a teenage prostitute is brought up and then immediately dismissed with "just stop, if you don't like it"
While I think the analysis of discourse on both the left and the right early on in the book is spot on, it fails to genuinely engage with either. Large parts of the books are spend misrepresenting or exaggerating arguments on both sides. Fighting against a straw-man, which gets increasingly frustrating. Making you wonder if she actually understood the points she aims to argues against. For example, she regards only-fans as a positive for women because it opens up an income stream to those who need it. When discussing economic coercion she suggests the solutions would be universal basic income and a strong social safety net. This is presented as some sort of 'gotcha', when ... well yes .... these are points the "socialist left" who she derides constantly, would very much agree with. The entire section on sex work is incredibly naive in my opinion. Mia Döring's harrowing testimony as a teenage prostitute is brought up and then immediately dismissed with "just stop, if you don't like it"
March 6, 2026
Rancid, Godless, and perverted.
The entire book reads like an exercise in self-justification, stitched together with a series of perverse and deeply questionable anecdotes. I find myself seriously questioning the credentials of this supposed "conservative" author, because the book offers little beyond a celebration of promiscuity and an assault on basic moral standards - all under the banner of sexual liberalism, dressed up in crude, sleazy humour.
Abstract "freedom" or the endless expansion of "rights", does not automatically lead to happiness or a healthy society. The book seems to assume that it does, axiomatically, yet never seriously engages with the argument. If, for some reason, one wishes to academically justify their promiscuity - this is not the book to use.
Holding up figures like Bonnie Blue as role models for young women, while encouraging the normalisation of single motherhood, is profoundly irresponsible. Anyone tempted to follow this advice would do well to look at the long-term consequences and check back in twenty years to see how that philosophy has actually worked out.
The entire book reads like an exercise in self-justification, stitched together with a series of perverse and deeply questionable anecdotes. I find myself seriously questioning the credentials of this supposed "conservative" author, because the book offers little beyond a celebration of promiscuity and an assault on basic moral standards - all under the banner of sexual liberalism, dressed up in crude, sleazy humour.
Abstract "freedom" or the endless expansion of "rights", does not automatically lead to happiness or a healthy society. The book seems to assume that it does, axiomatically, yet never seriously engages with the argument. If, for some reason, one wishes to academically justify their promiscuity - this is not the book to use.
Holding up figures like Bonnie Blue as role models for young women, while encouraging the normalisation of single motherhood, is profoundly irresponsible. Anyone tempted to follow this advice would do well to look at the long-term consequences and check back in twenty years to see how that philosophy has actually worked out.
March 8, 2026
Wake up. You may think it doesn't get any worse than this. Yes it can and will. Wake up.
no-interest
March 8, 2026A self hating woman. Ick.
March 24, 2026
Atrocious read. Wish I’d read the reviews before picking it up. Clueless author.
May 26, 2026
I didn’t think a book called “Good Slut” would be coming out on the side of Thatcherite capitalist economics and being so fucking weird about the pro-Palestine movement, MeToo, and trans people. I didn’t think that was something I would have to worry about. Clearly I need to check reviews before buying supposedly feminist literature because I think it has a cool cover. Genuinely dogshit.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews