15th April, 7:30pm - Sophie Gilbert, Girl On Girl: How Pop Culture Turned A Generation Of Women Against Themselves

Backstory, 71 Balham High Rd, SW12 9AP

Sophie Gilbert, staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers culture, is joining us to celebrate the paperback release of Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned A Generation of Women Against Themselves.  Sophie is Winner of the 2024 National Magazine Award for Reviews and Criticism and finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism.

About the book:

A New York Times Notable Book of 2025 and 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

Cosmetic surgeries are at an all-time high, Ozempic is bringing back 'heroin chic' and the manosphere is on the rise - after four waves of feminism, what went wrong?  Despite decades of progress, modern womanhood feels more challenging than ever. 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. 

Tickets Available:

Ticket only - £15 (This ticket does not include a copy of the book. You can decide to buy a copy on the night, but this will be charged in addition, at the full price of the book.)

Ticket & book  (RRP £12.99) - £22 (To collect on the night.)