Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publish date: 2 April 2026
Pages: 352
Language: English

Subjects: Literary Criticism, Feminist, Social Science, Feminism & Feminist Theory, Popular Culture, Media Studies

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025
A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF 2025

'Essential reading' Irish Independent

'Fascinating and powerfully argued' Daily Telegraph

'A vast, engaging and brilliant historical deep dive into the relationship between pop culture, misogyny and feminism' Stylist

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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.

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'A captivating must-read for anyone who wants to understand how and why misogyny is as powerful a force as ever' KATE MANNE, author of Down Girl

'I folded down every single page' PANDORA SYKES, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?

'A book that will make you think, and want to discuss' Glamour

'Blistering' New York Times

'Riveting' Vogue

'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 Bazaar

'Gilbert is a serious and attentive chronicler of a fraught era' Financial Times