Header by Rory Midhani
Happy holigays, you bra-burning, man-hating feminists! (That’s a myth, but it’s one I’ve never stopped being proud of.) Need some stuff to bulk up your gift list this season? Tired of buying stuff from last year’s Feminist Gift Guide in an effort to improve yourself? Hoping to find some really fashionable forms of misandry? YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.
Feminist Shirts (For Wearing with Pride)
There’s no better way to wear the “feminist” label with pride than by actually wearing it, preferably on something heather grey. So!
Pro-Choice / Pro-Feminism / Pro-Pugs Tank Top
This is totally on my actual list, but I’m still looking into changing it up to make it more about Eli.
SLUT Definition Tank Top
In case anyone forgot that behind your amazing sex life is a feminism in practice. Hopefully.
Pro-Choice / Pro-Feminism / Pro-Cats Crewneck Tee
I think you want this probably, right?
Ruth BADASS Ginsburg Baseball Tee
Because being notorious isn’t always enough.
This Is What A Feminist Looks Like Crewneck Tee
A really fashionable take on a classic.
Misandrist V-Neck Tee
This one goes without saying, right? This is like, the second-most genius thing we ever brought you, next to the Scissoring Sweatshirt.
Containers for Male Tears and One More Gift for Misandrists
This entire section is dedicated to Laneia.
Stainless Steel Male Tears Water Bottle
For pouring on your friends after a good game or using at the gym when guys try to pick you up.
Male Tears Diner Mug
A classic. A timeless, amazing, totally perfect for me classic.
Male Tears Mug with Tear Font
For the cutesy misandrist.
Male Tears Mug with Crying Face
For those of us who like the sight of a crying man in the morning.
Dead Men Don’t Catcall Tote Bag
They tell no lies, they tell no tales, and they’ll never tell you to smile again. Let this bag do all the talking next time you walk down the street.
Pillows and a Print for Your Safe Space
When I made last year’s guide, I totally missed out on the chance to throw some really adorable feminist throw pillows in it. I live with this shame every day, so I went on a search for the cutest and most clever ones on the whole wide Internet for you. And on the way, I found a work of art you should own.
Feminist Heart Throw Pillow
The tattoo I should already have, only softer.
Gender Binary Sux Heart Candy Throw Pillow
You can say that again, sista.
Feminist Killjoy Candy Heart Throw Pillow
I feel like this is really on-brand for me.
Bitches Get Stuff Done Print
An iconic quote smashed onto the same work of art as a typewriter illustration. I’m kind of missing out on what’s not to love here.
Feminist Killjoy Throw Pillow
A cutting piece.
Feminist Candy Hearts Throw Pillow
If you can’t decide on a candy hearts pillow, just buy the one that has them all on it at once. That’s the kind of decision-making that’s made my life easier.
For Preserving Herstory
It turns out the New York Times sells some really iconic photos from the women’s rights movement, which is making me geek the fuck out.
Suffragists and a Saint
Taken at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in NYC in 1921, one year after women won suffrage.
Suffragists Parade Down Fifth Avenue
Those placards held the signatures of over one million New York women who demanded the vote.
Women’s Baseball League
There is so much to love here.
Women’s Union Float
I mostly just think this is a great photo of a lot of great things happening at once.
Rebel Girls is a column about women’s studies, the feminist movement, and the historical intersections of both of them. It’s kind of like taking a class, but better – because you don’t have to wear pants. To contact your professor privately, email carmen at autostraddle dot com. Ask questions about the lesson in the comments!
I’m almost certain that my partner is going to buy every single item and redecorate our entire flat.
You must have an awesome partner with impeccable taste :)
I will have all the throw pillows, pleaseandthankyou!
I don’t understand why that “Dead men can’t…” meme is picking up traction, I keep seeing it everywhere. It’s not okay, stop pretending it’s okay, fellow fems. Violence or even just a jokey threat of violence is not the answer. Gah. I know, such a buzzkill, right?
Get the killjoy pillow!
That was a bit rude, don’t you think?
I read it as a joke.
I’m not a pacifist, personally. If those misogynist a-holes can dish it out, then so can I.
Dead men can’t learn. Dead feminists can’t twist feminism. It’s a shit meme.
Not a buzzkill… an intelligent reply.
I enjoy some ironic misandry but the “dead men” thing seems a step too far to me.
I need every male tears vessel in the world, every last one.
robin this is why we’re probably soul twins
Ok, but what subtly feminist as fuck gift do I get for a nine year old? This year, my gifts for my little cousins (in my pretty conservative Christian family) are coming from my partner and me. And while I’m pretty happy that the two year old is into Doc McStuffins (despite all the pink and purple Doc’s drenched in), the nine year old is into things that I am NOT about to buy her. I want to get her something similarly lady power-y but subtle so her parents will actually give my gift to her. Ideas? She’s pretty precocious, girly but still rough and tumble.
Lumberjanes?
YES!
Chemistry, magnet or some other experiment-y set?
Has she read any Tamora Pierce yet? I started reading Song of the Lioness when I was about 9 and had read all of her books by the time I was done junior high, the first few of the Song in particular are very age appropriate, and are about a 10-year old girl who longs to become a knight! They are awesome adventure/school stories besides the seriously feminist undercurrent running throughout.
Seconding anything Tamora Pierce but especially Alanna for a nine-year-old. I’d also say that the Circle of Magic books are solid books for that age group and they are about finding FAMILY and ACCEPTANCE (and also magic) and have a cast of awesome ladies.
The Circle of Magic books actually have a queer lady couple. Lark and Rosemary who are the kids’ foster mothers/ mentors are totally queer and in love. It’s subtle, but it’s canon.
In the Circle Opens Dana falls in love with a woman too and her friends are concerned that she is keeping secrets from them but when they find out they are really excited for her and have basically the best possible reaction, “why did you hide this? How could you think we would do anything but love you, treat this any differently than if it was a man?, especially after we grew up with Lark and Rosemary.”
As a heads up, many conservative Christian parents are definitely NOT okay with their daughters reading Tamora Pierce because her world has a Pagan-influenced religion and characters have sex outside of marriage. (I learned this because, as a child, I got into some hot water for an underground Tamora Pierce smuggling ring among the girls of my Christian middle school…..) It is really sad that some kids have to miss out on those books, but depending on how conservative the parents are, if you want to be sure that the gift would actually get to her, it may not be the best bet. I do remember that most of the girls in my class were allowed to read Robin McKinley (The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown) and Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted, and I think a lot more books since I was a kid) which have similar girl-power + fantasy-adventure themes.
“I got into some hot water for an underground Tamora Pierce smuggling ring”
This is the greatest sentence I have ever read
“(I learned this because, as a child, I got into some hot water for an underground Tamora Pierce smuggling ring among the girls of my Christian middle school…..)”
You are the best human.
I’m so glad that I’m not the only person here who’s gotten into a bit of trouble for smuggling books into their Christian middle school. I got into a similar predicament with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I think the part where I encouraged classmates to bring them to school with different book covers to hide them from the teacher was the part that pushed her over the edge…
Goldieblox?
Check out A Mighty Girl for all kinds of good stuff for female role models. :) Also feeling the Tamora Pierce love.
Came here to say this! I love A Mighty Girl *almost* enough to want to have kids right now, just so I can fill their brains with all that amazing stuff.
I like heather grey, I’m glad it seems to be an official colour of feminism.
I am currently feeling very tempted to get a t-shirt that expresses my feelings towards choice, feminism and cats and then wear it to the pub nights where I sometimes bump into the more sexist guys who work at my school…
I like that you included a Herstory piece, but you didn’t show any pics of the women of color who were involved in the suffrage movement. In the future, can you please add a racially representative element to the gift guide so all of us queers can feel represented? Thanks!
Does the NYT sell any of those pics, though?
http://www.eparks.com/store/product/33609/Notable-Black-Women-Card-Game/
Also supports the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, or does when you start from their link.
I’d a been surprised if the Times had a historic photo with black feminists given the media’s biases, then and now. (They don’t, FYI, as I’m considering torturing a cousin with one of these photos for her dorm room.)
How cool, thanks for sharing!
(I asked about the NYT because I’m guessing AS is getting affiliate kickbacks from these links so they might be limited in that way.)
yep, dina! boom. i went over to the nyt site to see if they had women’s history pics, and randomly picked some. as awesome as some of the stuff on the internet is, we don’t make money off of all of it, and that’s a damn shame. that being said, i totally see the desire for more diverse stuff as valid and will make sure if/when i do a feminist gift guide next time around to keep it in mind!
Thanks for confirming my suspicion! I know you all work SO SO hard, so you deserve all the money you can get! <3
My cat and I really want that pro-choice/pro-feminism shirt to counteract the pink billboard that went up above my apartment with a giant picture of a smiling baby on it, greeting me with its propaganda every time I come home. (It changes every few weeks. A month ago, it was an ad for kale or chia naked juice.)
Also, “this is what a feminist looks like” stickers are great to put on your mirrors. :) (Though I didn’t see any for sale here.)
The sticker thing is a great idea! That would be a great way to start and end a day, seeing your face captioned with that.
Drooooool!!! Want.them.all especially the Bitches Get Stuff Done cushion :p
Want that slut tank top. Might have to make it myself….
The pillow links aren’t working :(
THEY SOLD OUT. WE BROKE THE INTERNET!
The pillows are also sold at Look Human :)
I don’t know if you realized this, but one of the suffragist posters was from the National American Woman Suffrage Association which was a racist suffragist movement. It was actually hinted at on the poster if I am not mistaken “a fearless indomitable womanhood, a fearless indomitable race”. I am pretty sure in that poster race is not describing the presidential race or any political race, but rather the white race.
TAKE MY MONEY