by Lindy West (Author)
'Lindy West is an essential (and hilarious) voice for women. Her talent and bravery have made the Internet a place I actually want to be.' Lena Dunham
'A thrilling, kick-ass, joyous ROAR of a book.' Caitlin Moran
Guardian columnist Lindy West wasn't always loud. It's difficult to believe she was once a nerdy, terror-stricken teen who wanted nothing more than to be invisible. Fortunately for women everywhere, along the road she found her voice - and how she found it! That cripplingly shy girl, who refused to make a sound, grew up to be one of the loudest, shrillest, most fearless feminazis on the internet, making a living speaking up for what's right instead of what's 'cool'.
In Shrill, Lindy recounts how she went from being the butt of people's jokes, to telling her own brand of jokes - ones that come with a meaningful agenda and aren't at someone else's expense. She reveals the obstacles and misogyny she's had to overcome to make herself heard, in a society that doesn't believe women (especially fat women and feminists) can ever be funny.
A catalyst for conversation, West also addresses some of the most burning issues of popular culture today, taking a frank and provocative look at social injustice, racism, fat-shaming, twitter-trolling and even rape culture, unpicking the bullshit and calling out unpalatable truths with conviction, intelligence and a large dose of her trademark black humour.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Published: 19 May 2016
ISBN 10: 1784295523
ISBN 13: 9781784295523
Lindy West is a Seattle-based writer and performer whose work focuses on pop culture, feminism, social justice, humour and body image. Currently a weekly columnist at the Guardian and culture writer for GQ magazine, she was previously one of the most popular and prolific writers at feminist blog Jezebel.com. Lindy's articles typically generate thousands of shares and retweets. In January 2015 her exposure was magnified by a segment aired on US national radio in which she confronted an internet troll who'd impersonated her dead father. The podcast and ensuing article went viral and were shared more than 85,000 times worldwide, gaining Lindy countless new followers.
As a live performer and commentator, Lindy has made numerous appearances on radio and TV, and regularly speaks at academic events, conferences and literary festivals. In 2013, she won a Social Media Award from NYC's Women's Media Center, was selected for the Nation's top ten feminist articles of the year and New Statesman's top 20 best online pieces of the year, and was profiled by Cosmopolitan magazine.