Unspeakable Things : Sex, Lies and Revolution

Shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize 2014

Laurie Penny, one of our most prominent young voices of feminism and dissent, presents a trenchant report on our society today--and our society tomorrow, as she is willing to fight to see it.

Smart, clear-eyed, and irreverent, Unspeakable Things is a fresh look at gender and power in the twenty-first century, which asks difficult questions about dissent and desire, money and masculinity, sexual violence, menial work, mental health, queer politics, and the Internet.

Celebrated journalist and activist Laurie Penny draws on a broad history of feminist thought and her own experience in radical subcultures in America and Britain to take on cultural phenomena from the Occupy movement to online dating, give her unique spin on economic justice and freedom of speech, and provide candid personal insight to rally the defensive against eating disorders, sexual assault, and internet trolls. Unspeakable Things is a book that is eye-opening not only in the critique it provides, but also in the revolutionary alternatives it imagines.

“[Penny's] work on protest movements, sex, and desire has been at the forefront of feminist writing of the last few years.” —Bitch

“Laurie Penny is already a respected commentator . . . She balances sophisticated theorising with the anecdotal . . . An exceptional writer with a shark-bite wit.” —The Independent on Meat Market

“Incisive… A fascinating read.” —Feministing.com on Meat Market

“Penny writes in raw, engaging prose about how blogging was a liberation from her troublesome teenage body, about the joys of being a geek, and--most interestingly--about what it is like to be on the receiving end of sexist abuse . . . A worthwhile and provocative read.” —The Observer on Cybersexism