The Big Feminist But: Comics about Women, Men and the IFs, ANDs & BUTs of Feminism

The title of this book drew me in and I had to read it. I found it humorous that at first I mis-read the title - The Big Feminist Butt and thought it referred to those who dis'd the idea of gender equality. LOLThe editors provide a wonderful brief history of the feminist movement in the forward followed by the anthology of 41 collected viewpoints, perspectives and ideas around the notion of feminism. No consistent definition appeared within the collection which is okay because the richness of the anthology are the various views represented and how through the variety we get a sense of the themes or topics relevant to the discussion.I found myself 'sorting' topics as I read to see what themes were covered, what themes were left out. I wanted the book to close with a summary of themes the editors noted - simply because this would have given another data point from which to compare/contrast and consider what was here...and what wasn't....addition of this would have created a more conversational feel. Overall though, I appreciate the 'snapshot' feel of this as though we're privy to understanding feminism as a topic through the eyes of a focus group. I love that aspect of this project!True confessions - cartoons are not my favorite genre. I don't know why, even as a kid, I really didn't like cartoons. Something I noticed as I read was the variety of formats and approaches within the anthology - for those who have background and/or interest in cartoons this would be an added bonus of this book!

Arrived in the condition it said it was gonna arrive in. Love this book!

I bought this thinking it was a poetry book I was very mistaken

When I first saw this book, with its pink cover and the woman facing away, clearly not caring what anyone thought of her unapologetic rear end, I thought it might be a sequel to "Titters", the 1970s anthology of humor by women. I thought "The Big Feminist Butt" was going to be an anthology of rather lower humor by women.Actually, this anthology of feminist comics is not entirely by women, and why should it be? A lot of men are feminists. I am.It is entirely good, though, featuring comics in a wide variety of styles, but all sharing the characteristics of being about feminism and of being well-written and well-drawn. I did not find a clunker in the lot.The title refers to the big feminist "but" (one "t"), as in, "I'm not a feminist BUT I believe in equal pay for equal work and equal seniority" and "I am a feminist BUT I am not going to work while my children are little."The big feminist "but" is a big problem. We need to get rid of it, and replace it with the sweet little feminist "so", as in,"I believe in equal pay for equal work, SO I am a feminist."and"I am a feminist SO I make no apologies for staying home while my kids are little."

I did want to write this more, but there was so much in here that not only wasn't done very well, but seemed to be only tangentially related to feminism. In fact, the end of the story includes a comic by the curator bemoaning collections where there's a general lack of quality, partially due to the rigid focus of the collection, while ironically releasing an anthology which does the same. For example, the first main comic, Pillowtalk, seems to have NOTHING to do with feminism! It's just a couple in bed, griping about one coughing and making random statements. It's useless in the context of feminism.Honestly, the bits I wound up liking the most were the single-picture cartoons reminiscent of the New Yorker.I did particularly like "How to Make a Man Out of Tinfoil," which examines the way that misogyny harms not only women, but also men who don't conform to gender stereotypes. "Queer, Eh?" was also a standout, taking a look at gender identity itself, with the narrator explaining their development of their non-identifying gender.So, So, overall, this book is a few really good stories about feminism, but packaged with a bunch of filler. Go in expecting some of it to breeze by you as you read, waiting for the bits that will draw you in, and you'll be well prepared.

Not a bad read, however, it is really short. You can easily finish this collection in about an hour.

Female and male comic book artists tell generally autobiographical stories that touch on feminism, gender and sexual politics. The title comes from people who say “I’m not a feminist but …” or “I’m a feminist but…” Funny, interesting, sexy, smart and thought-provoking. Bechdel test: Pass. Grade: AKindle experience: It read well on my Kindle Fire HDX 8.9". It was not like some graphic novels that zoom on a panel and you swipe to move to the next panel. That's probably because every story was told in a different format with differently sized panels. So instead, it basically zooms on a quarter of a page, and swiping takes you to the next quarter. Most of the time it worked for each story, sometimes not. But at least you could zoom and swipe. All in all, the Kindle experience was very good.

My heart was so full of joy reading this book. Lots of short comics means there are many stories, themes and views. It was deeply comforting to hear difficult experiences I've had reflected in someone's creative work.