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What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up
As featured in Elle magazine's Best Feminist Gift Books ‘Lauren Bravo is one of my very favourite writers.’ Dolly Alderton 'A joyous and energetic celebration of girlhood, friendship and pop culture. If you have ever sung into the lid of a can of Impulse body spray, you need to read this.' Daisy Buchanan The words 'girl power' conjure vivid memories of short skirts and platform boots. But it wasn't just about the look, it was about feminism. The Spice Girls gave a generation their first glimpse of the power of friendship, of staying true to yourself, of sheer bloody-mindedness. And the girl power generation went on to kick-start a new conversation around gender equality. We may have grown up asking What Would the Spice Girls Do?, but their particular brand of feminism is as relevant today as it was twenty years ago – we still need that fun and fearlessness, we still need accessible and all-embracing equality… we still need a zig-a-zig-ah. ‘The Spice Girls’ arrival on the pop scene marked the gateway to a modern form of feminism, all dressed up as a riotously good time.’ Stylist As featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5Live and BBC Radio Sussex.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published October 18, 2018
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2201 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
March 17, 2019
When I started reading this book, there was a huge rush of nostalgia and I really thought I would love it. It is a good book and an interesting one, but unfortunately for me it wasn't what I was expecting. Most of it felt like an overload of information, statistics thrown at you until your brain hurts, every now and again I'd come across an interesting new fact about the Spice Girls but not many.
This book feels catered to a very select group of individuals, it seems to be aimed at current 30 to 32 year olds specifically, most of the fans who've commented in this book also fit into that small age bracket. I was a huge Spice Girls fan so I was looking forward to reading this book, but I almost feel five years too young to appreciate it, I would have been grateful for the insight and inclusion of slightly younger fans instead of only ones who are around the authors age.
This book feels catered to a very select group of individuals, it seems to be aimed at current 30 to 32 year olds specifically, most of the fans who've commented in this book also fit into that small age bracket. I was a huge Spice Girls fan so I was looking forward to reading this book, but I almost feel five years too young to appreciate it, I would have been grateful for the insight and inclusion of slightly younger fans instead of only ones who are around the authors age.
November 18, 2018
I sat and read this in one sitting on Sunday (the small perks of a dodgy stomach and a broken phone).
I knew it was going to be great, Lauren is one of the best writers out there right now (it’s a source of endless jealousy) but I didn’t expect the emotional, hilarious, rigorous head-nodding, delicious nostalgic dive into my childhood.
It’s a love letter to the girls we were, the women we are, and the powerful, strong, brave generation below us. And of course, The Spice Girls.
For years mocked for their ‘watered-down’ feminism and silly antics, What Would The Spice Girls Do? takes another look at that, and discusses how in fact they have a lot to thank for today’s feminism.
They weren’t perfect, but perhaps that’s the point? To show us that we don’t have to be perfect. To show us that there’s another way to be female.
I recommend this book to any 90s baby who spent their school break times swapping Spice Girls photographs and practising their dance routines.
(I was Sporty, I wanted to be Baby but at the time wasn’t high enough in our group’s hierarchy. I now wish I’d had the balls to be Ginger.)
I knew it was going to be great, Lauren is one of the best writers out there right now (it’s a source of endless jealousy) but I didn’t expect the emotional, hilarious, rigorous head-nodding, delicious nostalgic dive into my childhood.
It’s a love letter to the girls we were, the women we are, and the powerful, strong, brave generation below us. And of course, The Spice Girls.
For years mocked for their ‘watered-down’ feminism and silly antics, What Would The Spice Girls Do? takes another look at that, and discusses how in fact they have a lot to thank for today’s feminism.
They weren’t perfect, but perhaps that’s the point? To show us that we don’t have to be perfect. To show us that there’s another way to be female.
I recommend this book to any 90s baby who spent their school break times swapping Spice Girls photographs and practising their dance routines.
(I was Sporty, I wanted to be Baby but at the time wasn’t high enough in our group’s hierarchy. I now wish I’d had the balls to be Ginger.)
December 8, 2018
A lovely, happy walk down memory lane of 90s nostalgia! Lauren reminded me of all the great things about Girl Power and uncovered some aspects of the songs, I'd never even noticed. For the sections that are actually on the Spice Girls, their fans and the 1990s - definitely 5*.
The book then gets a little bit political towards the end - the idea that the Spice Girls with their capitalistic empowering individualistic message might be natural Tories is rejected as utterly absurd (despite they themselves saying they were). We're also told that the legacy of the feisty, upfront, action-orientated, in-your-face Spice Girls is the #MeToo movement, promoting anonymously tweeting about abusers. It's a view, I suppose...
The book then gets a little bit political towards the end - the idea that the Spice Girls with their capitalistic empowering individualistic message might be natural Tories is rejected as utterly absurd (despite they themselves saying they were). We're also told that the legacy of the feisty, upfront, action-orientated, in-your-face Spice Girls is the #MeToo movement, promoting anonymously tweeting about abusers. It's a view, I suppose...
June 16, 2020
This is my second time reading this book, I read it last year but didn't review it anywhere and wanted to rectify that because I really enjoyed it.
The Spice Girls meant a lot to me - just this morning my sister tagged me in a memory online from years and years ago where we dressed up the Spice Girls (I was Scary, she was Sporty) - they were my Beatles. I had the T-Shirts, the cassette tapes, the Impulse body spray, the Chupa Chups, the Pepsi promotional single (that someone had to record to a tape for me because I didn't have a CD player), the velvet hair bands with SPICE written on them in that puffy paint, the beaded necklace with GIRL POWER on it, the inflatable dolls that came free with Smash Hits or TOTP - for years I had the little page of the magazine that featured the now infamous nicknames atop pictures of their heads superimposed on top of Spice jars, declaring them to be Scary, Sporty, Posh, Ginger and Baby (a quintet of problematic names that would not stick now). My room was covered in them. We adored them. ADORED them.
Lauren Bravo seemed to have a similar experience - I was nodding along with most of what she wrote. She turned nine in 1997, I turned fourteen. At the time, of course I didn't see them as feminist icons, I just saw them as five independent women living the dream, travelling the world, singing and dancing for a living and looking cool while doing so. But they SPOKE to me. They taught me that girls could be anyone and do anything and that it was fine to be loud, and opinionated, and shouty, because who cares what boys think anyway? Girls stick together, girls support each other, girls can be in charge too. There was no lead singer. They were all the boss.
And that was important. They were important. And I'm so thankful that I had them, even if I wasn't aware at the time how important they actually were. And even if I broke my left ankle in three places in 1998 after falling down a flight of stairs while wearing my knock-off Buffalo trainers.
In this book, Lauren Bravo talks about feminism, imposter syndrom, female friendships, sexism, stereotypes, female anger, while reminiscing about the biggest girl band of the 20th century.
The Spice Girls meant a lot to me - just this morning my sister tagged me in a memory online from years and years ago where we dressed up the Spice Girls (I was Scary, she was Sporty) - they were my Beatles. I had the T-Shirts, the cassette tapes, the Impulse body spray, the Chupa Chups, the Pepsi promotional single (that someone had to record to a tape for me because I didn't have a CD player), the velvet hair bands with SPICE written on them in that puffy paint, the beaded necklace with GIRL POWER on it, the inflatable dolls that came free with Smash Hits or TOTP - for years I had the little page of the magazine that featured the now infamous nicknames atop pictures of their heads superimposed on top of Spice jars, declaring them to be Scary, Sporty, Posh, Ginger and Baby (a quintet of problematic names that would not stick now). My room was covered in them. We adored them. ADORED them.
Lauren Bravo seemed to have a similar experience - I was nodding along with most of what she wrote. She turned nine in 1997, I turned fourteen. At the time, of course I didn't see them as feminist icons, I just saw them as five independent women living the dream, travelling the world, singing and dancing for a living and looking cool while doing so. But they SPOKE to me. They taught me that girls could be anyone and do anything and that it was fine to be loud, and opinionated, and shouty, because who cares what boys think anyway? Girls stick together, girls support each other, girls can be in charge too. There was no lead singer. They were all the boss.
And that was important. They were important. And I'm so thankful that I had them, even if I wasn't aware at the time how important they actually were. And even if I broke my left ankle in three places in 1998 after falling down a flight of stairs while wearing my knock-off Buffalo trainers.
In this book, Lauren Bravo talks about feminism, imposter syndrom, female friendships, sexism, stereotypes, female anger, while reminiscing about the biggest girl band of the 20th century.
January 31, 2021
It’s hard to put into worlds what the spice girls mean to me. I am someone who is constantly told, even to this day, that I’m too common, too loud, too brash, too outspoken, too unladylike, too uneducated... the list goes on. The spice girls are my constant reminder that I can do and be and wear whatever the fuck I want. They are everything. Simple as. Icons.
P.S this book could’ve been empty inside and I’d of still rated it 5 stars just because it had the words spice and girls on the front so don’t take my rating too seriously.
Saying that, it was a really fun, relatable, nostalgic read & I loved every second!!! Off to listen to the album now...
P.S this book could’ve been empty inside and I’d of still rated it 5 stars just because it had the words spice and girls on the front so don’t take my rating too seriously.
Saying that, it was a really fun, relatable, nostalgic read & I loved every second!!! Off to listen to the album now...
April 27, 2020
I love this book. It’s packed full of 90s nostalgia and had me giggling all the way through.
Lauren Bravo is an excellent writer and I can’t wait to pick up her book on fast fashion.
Lauren Bravo is an excellent writer and I can’t wait to pick up her book on fast fashion.
January 26, 2019
Though I was three years too young to love the spice girls at their peak, I loved every sentence of this book. From the writing style to the A+ observations of pop culture, I’m obsessed with everything this author has to say
January 5, 2020
I loved this!!! It was a slice of nostalgia mixed with feminist themes. I also related to every single page 😂
August 14, 2025
Loved, loved, loved this book! Highly entertaining, a beautiful book about the girl millenial.
June 21, 2021
This book was so refreshing to read.
The nostalgia was literally dripping off the pages.
I was an actual infant at the height of the Spicemania. I was legitimately 2 years old. But I do remember singing along to Wannabe while I played the Spice World video game on my Playstation. That being said, I definitely had a different relationship with the Spice Girls than author, Lauren Bravo had.
Regardless of what you know about the Spice Girls, you know the mass hysteria surrounding them was something that was going to be remember. What Would The Spice Girls Do? focuses on how 5 young girls from London ushered in a new wave of Girl Power. Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger, and Posh were teaching young girls that being a girl meant whatever you wanted it to be. It taught girls how to own their decisions, how to find their personalities, and how to be a bad ass female while doing it.
The rush of nostalgia transported me back to my childhood bedroom. It had lime green walls cover with posters from teen magazines, inflatable furniture, a soccer ball in the corner, and my very own phone line. Reading this made me feel like a little kid again. It made me realize how amazing it is felt to create my own persona. It made me realize how far we've come as a society and how willing we are to accept people for who they truly are. It's amazing and beautiful and a lot of it is thanks to groups like the Spice Girls who truly paved the way for the next generation of Girl Power.
This review and tons more can be found at A Reader's Diary!
The nostalgia was literally dripping off the pages.
I was an actual infant at the height of the Spicemania. I was legitimately 2 years old. But I do remember singing along to Wannabe while I played the Spice World video game on my Playstation. That being said, I definitely had a different relationship with the Spice Girls than author, Lauren Bravo had.
Regardless of what you know about the Spice Girls, you know the mass hysteria surrounding them was something that was going to be remember. What Would The Spice Girls Do? focuses on how 5 young girls from London ushered in a new wave of Girl Power. Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger, and Posh were teaching young girls that being a girl meant whatever you wanted it to be. It taught girls how to own their decisions, how to find their personalities, and how to be a bad ass female while doing it.
The rush of nostalgia transported me back to my childhood bedroom. It had lime green walls cover with posters from teen magazines, inflatable furniture, a soccer ball in the corner, and my very own phone line. Reading this made me feel like a little kid again. It made me realize how amazing it is felt to create my own persona. It made me realize how far we've come as a society and how willing we are to accept people for who they truly are. It's amazing and beautiful and a lot of it is thanks to groups like the Spice Girls who truly paved the way for the next generation of Girl Power.
This review and tons more can be found at A Reader's Diary!
January 10, 2021
The whole book is a massive nostalgia trip (even for someone who very openly still loves the Spice Girls in 2021). It reminded me of parts of my own childhood and made me smile at the fond memories. Bravo summed up exactly how it feels to have grown up in the Spice Girls generation and why Girl Power will live on forever within us. I do, however, feel like I have been read to absolute filth... the book explained so many parts of my personality that I now know that I am who I am because of the Spice Girls.
March 27, 2019
Fun to read, but the author was far too sanctimonious for me. She presented herself as the kind of so not racist she actually becomes racist. She did not think Mel B should have been allowed to wear her favorite Spice costumes, leopard prints, because she is half black. Wtf? She had loads of problems with Scary Spice, actually, and all I could do was roll my eyes .
July 13, 2020
3.5 stars
I'm going to say something really stupid here, I didn't think this would be about the spice girls as much as it was. I thought the spice girls talk would just be a gimicky way to talk about feminism, and this book does discuss feminism but it is also very much about the spice girls (shocker I know.)
When the book first started I thought that, whilst I do of course remember the spice girls and their songs do I really care enough to read (or listen to) a book about them? But the book was only 3 hours long so I stuck with it and I was surprised. Once it got going I found it a fun and engaging read.
I'm a little younger than the author so I didn't appreciate the spice girls on quite the same level as she did and I'd never made any connection with them and feminism; running around singing their songs and shouting 'girl power!' may not have made me a junior feminist but I'm sure it didn't hurt either.
Overall whilst this isn't a must read on feminism (and it doesn't pretend to be) but this was an easy, fun read that has given me a new appreciation for the spice girls (and a need to listen to their songs!)
I'm going to say something really stupid here, I didn't think this would be about the spice girls as much as it was. I thought the spice girls talk would just be a gimicky way to talk about feminism, and this book does discuss feminism but it is also very much about the spice girls (shocker I know.)
When the book first started I thought that, whilst I do of course remember the spice girls and their songs do I really care enough to read (or listen to) a book about them? But the book was only 3 hours long so I stuck with it and I was surprised. Once it got going I found it a fun and engaging read.
I'm a little younger than the author so I didn't appreciate the spice girls on quite the same level as she did and I'd never made any connection with them and feminism; running around singing their songs and shouting 'girl power!' may not have made me a junior feminist but I'm sure it didn't hurt either.
Overall whilst this isn't a must read on feminism (and it doesn't pretend to be) but this was an easy, fun read that has given me a new appreciation for the spice girls (and a need to listen to their songs!)
December 6, 2022
This book was a really interesting analysis of the impact the Spice Girls have had on girl power, feminism and what it means to be a woman. I did feel it lacked a lot of critique and was a very biased view, but it was still interesting nonetheless. I have never really been a fan of the Spice Girls, in the way that I love their most famous hits but I don’t really know anything about them, so this was an interesting insight into just how influential they were and I learnt quite a few facts about them. I definitely think the book could have gone further, and delved deeper into the world of feminism but I understand the focus was on the Spice Girls. Overall a good book, but not one I would read again.
December 12, 2025
I saw this book on one of the tables in the library and just read the main title "What Would the Spice Girls Do?". That was all I needed as I was looking for something quick and silly to read.
First of all, it was anything but silly or what I thought this book would be. If I had read the subtitle "How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up", I would have known this. That really tells it all. I found it to be entertaining, fun, and interesting. Bravo makes several good observations and points that I hadn't thought before despite being the Sixth Spice (Boy Spice?).
Fully enjoyable read for what it turned out to be. Oh, and I got teary-eyed at least a couple of times reading this. Damn, I love those Girls! 🩷
First of all, it was anything but silly or what I thought this book would be. If I had read the subtitle "How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up", I would have known this. That really tells it all. I found it to be entertaining, fun, and interesting. Bravo makes several good observations and points that I hadn't thought before despite being the Sixth Spice (Boy Spice?).
Fully enjoyable read for what it turned out to be. Oh, and I got teary-eyed at least a couple of times reading this. Damn, I love those Girls! 🩷
June 13, 2020
I loved this funny, witty and wise nostalgia sploosh of a book! There’s feminism, there’s millenials’ crises and there’s Spice Girls (duh). It’s an easy read, very informal in language and very informative and well-justified in content. I don’t like the term ”must-read” but I would highly recommend this to anyone who’s interested in pop culture, feminism and girls-to-the-front-attitude PLUS THE SPICE GIRLS. A delight to read!
I didn’t like the layout. The Nimbus Sans font wasn’t the easiest to read and the black pages with quotes on a messy font whose name I don’t know, but that sunk into the pages too much, didn’t look nice.
I didn’t like the layout. The Nimbus Sans font wasn’t the easiest to read and the black pages with quotes on a messy font whose name I don’t know, but that sunk into the pages too much, didn’t look nice.
June 6, 2022
The Spice Girls were the first music act I loved and it was the first way I started learning English by myself. I could go on and on about my love for them, but suffice it to say they felt like my own thing and I felt free liking them? I guess being a teenage boy it was almost daunting to admit you liked them in the 90s, somewhat of an omen of how I live my life now.😇
I zig-a-zig-ah every day now.
I zig-a-zig-ah every day now.
July 21, 2022
This was a quick, interesting read, and I thought the author made some really good points. Parts of this did not age well (even if it’s only a few years old!), such as the J. K. Rowling mention towards the end, but overall, I enjoyed this. It really made me consider the cultural impact of the Spice Girls in a new way!
October 3, 2024
“Don’t underestimate pop culture. Don’t underestimate the things girls like. And, while we’re at it; don’t underestimate girls.” 💘
Woah so you’re telling me why I should love the Spice Girls even MORE than I already do?!?!
SUMMARY:
SWEET SWEET 90’S NOSTALGIA + FEMINIST ANALYSIS + A REMINDER TO GO AND LISTEN TO THE WHOLE BACK CATALOGUE OF THE SPICE GIRLS = YES I RECOMMEND
Woah so you’re telling me why I should love the Spice Girls even MORE than I already do?!?!
SUMMARY:
SWEET SWEET 90’S NOSTALGIA + FEMINIST ANALYSIS + A REMINDER TO GO AND LISTEN TO THE WHOLE BACK CATALOGUE OF THE SPICE GIRLS = YES I RECOMMEND
April 10, 2019
Kul och nostalgisk!
August 19, 2019
Not at all groundbreaking. But OMG nostalgia-fest.
January 9, 2020
This is such a fantastic mix of the spice girls and feminism. Made me super nostalgic as well as empowered which is a brilliant mix!
May 7, 2020
It's rare a book completely changes my view of something. This one did.
December 31, 2023
What a joyful celebration of girl power and the very real impact it had on our generation.
January 18, 2019
GRL PWR 🤟🏽
December 23, 2025
This had much more depth than I was expecting—and made me appreciate my childhood (and adulthood) obsession with the Spice Girls even more than I previously had! I now see they had much more of an influence on who I am today than I ever realized (girl power & feminism forever!).
February 6, 2023
Funny bit of 90s nostalgia
April 1, 2021
It took me a lot to finish this. It wasn't bad, but it was too repetitive.
May 1, 2019
"But maybe we can agree that the Spice Girls were, at least, a starter kit. A set of training wheels, and a good strong push to get us moving."
July 3, 2019
Until I read this book, I had never been able to explain quite what the Spice Girls meant to me. Bravo has so brilliantly encapsulated how five young women brought their own brand of girl power to the world stage in a way that stayed with a generation of budding feminists for life. I am forever grateful to those five women and to Bravo for putting to paper my inner-most thoughts and feelings. I thrust this book upon anyone who gives me half a chance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews