Emily Gould, author of And the Heart Says Whatever It's hard to read, at times, but also necessary and validating, swashbuckling without being careless, powerful and funny and compelling throughout.” “Sady Doyle has created a chimera of a book: simultaneously a crackling great read full of riveting stories, and a damning indictment of how our culture represses what it can't control. Lauren Duca, author of How to Start a Revolution: Young People and the Future of American Politics I recommend it to anyone interested in remaining sane.”

As we continue the battle for gender equality, her writing grounds the fight in a refreshing dose of sanity.

“Sady Doyle is an absolutely essential voice in this moment of moral panic. (A) superinformed, no-nonsense, and even sometimes funny take on female monstrosity.” a study of the ways women throughout history have been depicted as monsters in order to cement their roles in a patriarchal society. Unflinching, hard-charging feminist criticism.' “A deep dive into misogyny in popular culture. “A triumphant book, one worthy of sitting on the shelf next to-and informing-the many empowering books championing women this year.” “Gifted with humor and insight, Doyle writes as if she’s ready to lead a revolution for women who are tired of being underestimated and mistreated by the men who fear them.” “This book is brilliant as it is frightening. “Some people take a scalpel to the heart of media culture Sady Doyle brings a bone saw, a melon baller, and a machete.” -Andi Zeisler, author of We Were Feminists Once In a dark and dangerous world, Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers asks women to look to monsters for the ferocity we all need to survive. They also speak to the primal threat of a woman who takes back her power. These monsters embody patriarchal fear of women, and illustrate the violence with which men enforce traditionally feminine roles. She illuminates the women who have shaped our nightmares: Serial killer Ed Gein’s “domineering” mother Augusta exorcism casualty Anneliese Michel, who starved herself to death to quell her demons author Mary Shelley, who dreamed her dead child back to life. Sady Doyle, hailed as “smart, funny and fearless” by the Boston Globe, takes readers on a tour of the female dark side, from the biblical Lilith to Dracula’s Lucy Westenra, from the T-Rex in Jurassic Park to the teen witches of The Craft. Men from Aristotle to Freud have insisted that women are freakish creatures, capable of immense destruction. This “witty, engaging analysis” of female monsters in pop culture offers “provocative and incisive” commentary on society’s fear of female rage and power (Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her)

Dead blondes and bad mothers