Reproductive AutonomyBooks

UnHerd columnist Mary Harrington introduces 'reactionary feminism,' critiquing modern feminism as serving only elite professional women. She argues technological progress commodifies women's bodies and reproductive abilities, calling for a fundamental reassessment of what 'progress' means for most women.

Former AFP Seoul correspondent Hawon Jung provides a firsthand account from the frontlines of South Korea's feminist movement, documenting how tens of thousands of Korean women sparked a MeToo wave, ended abortion bans, fought spycam crimes, and shattered Western stereotypes of 'docile' Asian women. Named one of The Economist's Best Books of 2023.

Through the personal experiences of historian Felicia Kornbluh's mother and neighbor, this book reveals the untold story of two grassroots movements in New York that transformed American reproductive rights politics - the fight to decriminalize abortion and the struggle against sterilization abuse.

Mieko Kawakami's 'Breasts and Eggs' is a monumental work of contemporary Japanese literature that challenges traditional feminine norms. The novel follows three women: Natsu, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko's daughter Midoriko. Through their intersecting lives, Kawakami explores questions of female agency, bodily autonomy, reproductive ethics, and the societal pressures placed on women's bodies in modern Japan.

The Emmy Award-winning television series source material, the gold standard of feminist speculative fiction. The story follows Offred, a fertile woman forced to survive as a member of the servant class in a dystopian near-future, where they are used as reproductive tools for the ruling class. In an era when women's reproductive rights remain politically sensitive, Atwood's groundbreaking novel remains profoundly relevant more than 30 years later.

A radical feminist masterwork proposing that technological revolution in reproductive control is key to women's liberation, offering a feminist transformation of Marxism.