"An invaluable case for truth-telling in an age of chaos and lies." --Emily Nussbaum
"[Penny] bravely keeps thinking and talking and learning and trying to make the world better." --Caitlin Moran
Smart and provocative, witty and uncompromising, this collection of Laurie Penny's celebrated essays establishes her as one of the most important and vibrant political voices of our time. Bitch Doctrine takes an unflinching look at the definitive issues of our age, from the shock of Donald Trump's election and the victories of the far right to online harassment and the transgender rights movement.
Penny is lyrical and passionate in her desire to confront injustice, and she's writing at the raw edge of a revolution-hungry zeitgeist, a time when it has never been more vital to actively question and fiercely dispute all forms of complacency, including social norms. This darkly comic, often biting yet empathic, revelatory collection will inform, challenge, and engage, and give readers hope and tools for change.
"Prolific feminist writer Laurie Penny is mad as hell in her new collection, Bitch Doctrine. . . Expect essays on how the Trump administration is f---ing with us, how marginalized people are in danger in our current political climate, or how the inequality of women is never-ending. But what's to relish most is Penny's distinct voice and snarky takes that have made her previous works--including six books and countless viral articles--so popular." - W Magazine, "10 Hottest New Books"
"Sometimes enraging, sometimes enchanting, often both at once . . . A raw, bright, urgent voice . . . Like Caitlin Moran, another compulsive and essentially self-taught writer, she went to places others didn't and brought back things they had missed." - The Guardian
"The feminist writer Laurie Penny gives us short essays on everything from the trials of being trolled to why exactly she calls herself polyamorous and genderqueer . . . Precise and rational . . . Provocative." - Vogue
"In this essay collection, Penny uses wit and sharp reporting to challenge the rise of the populist far-right." - Elle
"A writer and polemicist, a bad-ass, contrary, angry, bisexual troublemaker who is never happier than when she's upsetting someone, or preferably everyone . . . We need her." - The Times
"Bitch Doctrine is a powerful and fiercely funny series of articles laying out a radical vision of a kinder world. It's a book that argues not only for justice and equality but for humor, for WiFi, for Battlestar Galactica and sugary tea and the pleasure of nuzzling your face in a dog's neck. According to Penny, revolution and joyful diversion are not mutually exclusive. We can have our cake and our Cake Boss, too." - The Village Voice
"Forget Sex and the City, Penny doesn't give a damn about the politics of waxing or how small your pants are. She's more interested in analysing the battles we face around gender under late capitalism . . . We are dealing with a new world order." - The Observer
"Each essay glimmers with 'aha!' moments of realization and sparks with 'right on!' sparks of solidarity. From the rise of Donald Trump and the retrograde policies of a new administration to the turmoil created by Brexit, Penny provides a rational but righteous voice in the midst of swirling anger, confusion, idolatry, and sanctimony. Zestfully indignant, resolute, and implacable, Penny’s bold and brave commitment assures women of all generations that they have a tenacious ally, persistent observer, and feisty advocate in the always raging, never-resolved culture wars." - starred review, Booklist
"Intelligent and defiant, Penny probes the current anti-feminist backlash while exploring zones of social discomfort, all in the name of 'imagining a society beyond patriarchy.' Polemical writing at its thoughtful best." - Kirkus Reviews
"If you are paying attention to today's social movements you're going to like this book a lot . . . Laurie Penny is a smart, nuanced thinker." - Book Riot
"Penny is one of the first feminist writers to grow up within, and so instinctively understand, both the possibilities and the dangers of this relatively new cyber world." - New Statesman
"How Penny responds to both praise and criticism offers an invaluable model for being vocal about politics on the Internet, especially as a woman." - The Pacific Standard
"If you've followed Penny's work, you'll know that the thing that sets her apart from other enraged columnists is her empathy. She understands exactly what her opponents are thinking, and why, precisely, they are full of shit. This is a delight of a book. Penny's essays are righteous ones." - Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother
"Funny, angry, clear and true. Laurie Penny takes no prisoners--she'd rather free 'em." - Joss Whedon
"Laurie Penny is the tits. Witty and brazen, a force for both decency and revolution, she's a swashbuckling rhetorician, a daring reporter and an all-around fabulous broad. Bitch Doctrineprovides an invaluable case for truth-telling in an age of chaos and lies." - Emily Nussbaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker film critic
"Laurie Penny has focused the unflinching gaze of the writer onto the reality of crisis." - Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism
Laurie Penny is a writer and journalist. Her work appears in Vice, the Guardian and many other publications. She is a columnist and Contributing Editor at the New Statesman and Editor-at-Large at The New Inquiry. She was the youngest person to be shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for political writing on her blog "Penny Red." She lives in London.
laurie-penny.com / @PennyRed