"A sharp, powerful exploration of how media and culture shaped a generation of girls. And the women they became. Essential, eye-opening reading."
In Girl on Girl, Sophie Gilbert delivers a powerful, clear-eyed interrogation of how culture, particularly the visual and media landscape of the 1990s and 2000s, shaped a generation of women. Drawing from art, pop culture, and her own personal narrative, Gilbert invites readers to re-examine the stories we absorbed about what it meant to be a girl. And what those stories cost us.
This is part memoir, part cultural history, and part feminist manifesto. Gilbert deftly explores how young women were taught to see themselves. Not as subjects, but as objects to be consumed, ranked, and judged. From the "lad mag" era to the tabloid frenzy that devoured Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and others, she exposes the performative, often punishing lens through which girlhood was. And still is viewed.
What sets this book apart is Gilbert’s refusal to look away. She confronts the complicity of media (and her own role within it as a journalist), and doesn’t shy away from the shame, confusion, and internalised misogyny so many women will recognise. Her writing is incisive yet deeply empathetic, weaving analysis with personal reflection in a way that is both intelligent and intimate.
For readers who came of age in the pre-social media era, this book will feel like someone finally naming the unease that simmered under the surface of glossy magazines, makeover shows, and paparazzi flashbulbs. For younger readers, Girl on Girl offers crucial context to understand how the current landscape, from influencer culture to deep fake misogyny, is rooted in what came before.
Ultimately, this is a book about visibility: how girls were seen, how they learned to see themselves, and how we might begin to reclaim that narrative. It’s a timely, resonant, and necessary read.
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
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*A TIMES PAPERBACK BESTSELLER**FOYLES NON-FICTION APRIL BOOK OF THE MONTH*A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF 2025AN AUDIBLE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025'Fascinating and powerfully argued' Daily Telegraph'Blistering' New York Times'Riveting' Vogue'Gilbert is a serious and attentive chronicler of a fraught era' Financial Times'Essential reading' Irish Independent***Cosmetic surgeries are at an all-time high, Ozempic is bringing back 'heroin chic' and the manosphere on the rise - after four waves of feminism, what went wrong?Despite decades of progress, modern womanhood feels more challenging than ever. Atlantic critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert reveals how today's misogyny emerged from another turbulent era: the late 90s and early 2000s.Spanning the past thirty years of pop culture - from Madonna to Taylor Swift, #GirlBoss to OnlyFans, Real Housewives to trad-wives - Girl on Girl shows how every form of media, heavily influenced by the rise of porn, has warped women's relationships with themselves and others.We cannot move forward without fully reckoning with the ways pop culture has defined us - this book shows us how.***'A captivating must-read' KATE MANNE'I folded down every single page' PANDORA SYKES'Vast, engaging and brilliant' Stylist'A book that will make you think, and want to discuss' Glamour'Add this book to the list of titles that urgently provide context and answers to the hell storm that is [vaguely waves around] everything going on right now' Harper's BazaarREADER REVIEWS'I loved this book.
Girl on Girl features in the following genres: Non-Fiction Books of the Month, Star Books, Biographies & Autobiographies, History, Feminism and feminist theory, Popular culture, Media studies: TV and society
Paperback, Hardback. £11.69, down from the £12.99 cover price. In Stock.
Girl on Girl was written by Sophie Gilbert and published by John Murray an imprint of John Murray Press
Girl on Girl has 352 pages
£11.69, reduced from £12.99. In Stock.
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