Bloomsbury Home
Celebrate International Women's Day 2022
We're celebrating the achievements of women and their efforts to drive change, both in academia and beyond, with a curated list of must-read books for International Women's Day!
Until the end of the month, you can get 25% off the books below by entering the discount code WOMEN22UK at checkout.*
Plus, we've compiled a selection of materials including author podcasts, blog posts, and free to access resources from some of our digital platforms. Keep scrolling to discover free content on and by women.
* The prices shown below are our site-wide sale of 10% off. Please enter code WOMEN22UK to get the full 25%. The discount is set to expire midnight (BST) 31st March 2022 and is only valid on books featured in our International Women's Day promotion (including pre-orders). We regret that we are currently unable to deliver to EU territories, but eBooks are still available to EU customers and are included in this discount promotion.
Recommended reading for International Women's Day
Listen to the Bloomsbury Academic Podcast
Tune into our podcast to hear conversations with some of our authors and experts, including:
Kendra R. Parker on leading science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler
Rafia Zakaria on the veil as a personal, complex and cultural object
Ciara Cremin on why the future must be feminine
Carol J. Adams on the sexual politics of meat
and so many more here, or wherever you get your podcasts...
Recommended reading for International Women's Day
Read open access books
We have 250+ books available to read open access on Bloomsbury Collections. Some of our recommendations for International Women's Day include:
Indigenous Women's Voices, edited by tebrakunna country, Emma Lee & Jen Evans
Women Warriors and National Heroes, edited by Boyd Cothran, Joan Judge & Adrian Shubert
Feminist Moments, edited by Susan Bruce & Katherine Smits
Women's Activism and "Second Wave" Feminism, edited by Barbara Molony & Jennifer Nelson
Recommended reading for International Women's Day
Find out more about our authors and their research
Nina Jankowicz, author of How to Lose the Information War and How to Be a Woman Online, discusses how the internet is failing moms-to-be for Wired Magazine.
Tara T. Green, author of Love, Activism and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, discusses Black women and pleasure in her Ms. Magazine profile of Alice Dunbar-Nelson.
Read an excerpt from Summer Brennan's High Heel on the Literary Hub website to find out why nobody wins in the age-old debate over high heels.
#MeToo and Literary Studies contributors, Somia R. Bibi & Nidhi Shrivastava, take over the Bloomsbury Literary Studies blog to discuss the limitations of the #MeToo movement in the South Asian subcontinent and diaspora.
Recommended reading for International Women's Day
Access free digital resources
Women and Sport
- How does the past continue to influence the opportunities available to women in sport? Access Ellen J. Staurowsky's chapter on Women's Sport Through the Lens of History >>
- Find out more about the female athlete paradox and women's sport in the 21st century. Access Ellen J. Staurowsky's chapter from Women and Sport >>
Women and Film
- Why are female superheroes often super-sexualised, white, heterosexual, upper middle class and able-bodied? Access Carolyn Cocca's chapter from Superwomen on why representation matters >>
- Take a closer look at an 'African American woman's film' genealogy of Julie Dash's Four Women. Access So Mayer's chapter from Women Artists, Feminism and the Moving Image >>
Women and Music
- Find out more about the strong female presence throughout the history of the Beatles, from influential mothers, aunts and cousins, to "controversial" wives and a contingent of devout female fans. Access the introduction to Christine Feldman-Barrett's A Women's History of the Beatles >>
Women in Philosophy
- Find out more about the queen of existentialism, Simone de Beauvoir, one of the 20th century's most famous philosophers. Access Marguerite La Caze's chapter on existentialism, feminism and sexuality from The Bloomsbury Companion to Existentialism >>
- Find out more about French feminist philosopher, Luce Irigaray, whose philosophical work focused on sexual difference. Access this conversation between Luce Irigaray and Elizabeth Grosz on the power and significance of sexual difference >>
Women in History
- The model of woman as healer has a very long lineage. Discover the various roles played by women in the process of healthcare in the ancient Western world. Access this chapter on medicine and disease from A Cultural History of Women in Antiquity >>
- The Japanese military was responsible for the sexual enslavement of thousands of women and girls during the China and Pacific wars. Access this chapter from The Japanese Comfort Women and Sexual Slavery During the China and Pacific Wars to find out more about survivors and the contemporary justice movement >>
Women and Queenship
- Find out more about the powerful women of the Middle Ages, and the study of queenship. Access this introduction to the lives of royal women from The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of the Global Middle Ages >>
- Tamar the Great ruled the medieval kingdom of Georgia at the height of its political power and cultural influence. Previously neglected in historical works, scholars have recently begun to investigate her reign. Access this chapter from The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of the Global Middle Ages to find out more about her historical context and significance >>