Sex Object

The New York Times bestseller. An NPR Best Book of the Year. “A powerful literary memoir that expertly makes the case for feminism today.” —Harper’s Bazaar

Author and Guardian US columnist Jessica Valenti has been leading the national conversation on gender and politics for over a decade. Now, in a darkly funny and bracing memoir, Valenti explores the toll that sexism takes from the everyday to the existential.

Sex Object explores the painful, funny, embarrassing, and sometimes illegal moments that shaped Valenti’s adolescence and young adulthood in New York City, revealing a much shakier inner life than the confident persona she has cultivated as one of the most recognizable feminists of her generation.

In the tradition of writers like Joan Didion and Mary Karr, this literary memoir is sure to shock those already familiar with Valenti’s work and enthrall those who are just finding it.

“Yes, all men (and everyone else) need to read Sex Object.” —NPR

“Valenti uses the personal to shed light on a universally female political problem. There is an awakening that happens as a woman reading this book.” —Bust

“Brave.” —The Washington Post

“Sex Object is an antidote to the fun and flirty feminism of selfies and self-help.” —The New Republic

“A zesty, zeitgeisty memoir.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“Powerful . . . incredibly readable . . . She wants to take us back to a place of telling stories.” —The Nation

“An entertaining and shocking memoir from a leading feminist writer.” —Booklist

“Valenti writes in impressively honest detail.” —Salon