Published in 2020
336 pages
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 (UK), The American Prospect, Ms. magazine, Salon and Bitch magazine. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
What is this book about?
What would happen if we believed women? A groundbreaking anthology offers a potent rallying cry and theory of change.
Harvey Weinstein. Bill Cosby. Donald Trump. The most famous abusers in modern American history are finally starting to be outed for what they are. Women are speaking up and risking harassment to expose men’s behavior that was previously only whispered about-and more people than ever are starting to believe them. How we respond to this moment could change everything.
In Believe Me, contributors ask and answer the question: What would happen if we believed women? If we believed women about pleasure and reproduction, we would save a staggering amount of public health costs. If we believed survivors who aren’t white or straight, we would strengthen our anti-rape efforts. If we believed black women when they talk about pain, we could save lives.
Including contributions from Moira Donegan, Jamil Smith, Tatiana Maslany, and many more of the most important voices in feminism today, Believe Me is essential reading for the #MeToo era.
