Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism
by Kathleen Stock
(Fleet, £16.99)

FOR far too long, feminism and other social justice movements have been caught up in postmodern identity politics, wherein lies the abyss. In this timely and important book, Kathleen Stock lays down the gauntlet for a properly materialist approach to the issue of equality for women and sexual minorities.

Stock is an analytic philosopher and “professional” feminist who has herself been on the sharp end of these debates, coming under frequent attack by those who see her work — incorrectly — as transphobic for calling into question the ideas that underlie gender identity theory.

Unlike so many texts in the academic field of feminist studies, Material Girls is written in exceptionally clear and jargon-free prose. It is aimed at a general audience trying to make sense of increasingly fraught public arguments about the social implications of gender identity.