The Female Man

By Joanna Russ,

Book cover of The Female Man

Book description

A landmark book in the fields of science fiction and feminism.

Four women living in parallel worlds, each with a different gender landscape. When they begin to travel to each other's worlds each woman's preconceptions on gender and what it means to be a woman are challenged.

Acclaimed as one…


Shepherd is reader supported. We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through links on our website. (learn more)

Why read it?

1 author picked The Female Man as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Female Man gives the reader a slice of the 1970s up close and personal from the perspective of young women who don’t fit it, who don’t want to be used as an object, who both come from and see into a different way of life. A challenging read, but as one of my students said when you get finished, you have so much to talk about you could talk for days. Russ, too, is somewhat overlooked today, which is a shame because she was brilliant, funny, and angry, really, really angry and somehow, I appreciate the depth of that…

Want books like The Female Man?

Our community of 7,000+ authors has personally recommended 10 books like The Female Man.

Browse books like The Female Man

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in gender roles, feminism, and culture?

7,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about gender roles, feminism, and culture.

Gender Roles Explore 84 books about gender roles
Feminism Explore 235 books about feminism
Culture Explore 69 books about culture