A format paperback with flaps
176 pages
11 February 2021
ISBN 9781911648185
Cover design © House of Thought
Everybody knows a Chauvo-Feminist…
The 2017 #MeToo movement was a flagship moment, a time which empowered women to share their stories of sexual harassment and abuse in a spirit of solidarity and in demand of change. But have some men simply changed tactics?
Acclaimed author Sam Mills investigates the phenomenon of the chauvo-feminist, the man whose public feminism works to advance his career, whilst his private self exhibits age-old chauvinistic tactics. Through testimonies and her own experience, Mills examines the psychological underpinnings of the chauvo-feminist, exploring questions of modern relationships, consent, and emotional abuse and asks how we might move beyond ‘trial by Twitter’ to encourage an honest and productive dialogue between men and women.
Sam Mills is the author of numerous books, including The Quiddity of Will Self (Corsair, 2013), and recent memoir of love, madness and caring The Fragments of My Father (Fourth Estate, 2020).
Praise
‘We’ve all met That Guy. In this searching and provocative essay, Sam Mills neatly skewers the men who publicly spout feminism while treating women badly behind closed doors –– and asks how we can move forward to a happier, more feminist future.’
Samantha Ellis
‘Thought-provoking, on point and abreast of contemporary ideas about the chauvinism of women’s everyday lives. A book for our times.’
Monique Roffey
‘In this lithe and luminous essay, Sam Mills explodes the hypocrisy of many men in the wake of the #MeToo movement . . . Clever, funny, gripping and beautifully written… An exploration not just of the female experience, but of civilisation itself. This is a dazzling, essential book. Men with mutant politics: beware!’
Emma Jane Unsworth
‘Wide-ranging in scope, this thought-provoking pocket essay book is a crucial addition to the canon of contemporary feminist writing.’
Robert Greer
Georgia DC for Bookblast, 21 June 2021: Review | Chauvo-Feminism: On Sex, Power and #MeToo, Sam Mills
Mika Ross-Southall for The Spectator, 24 April 2021: Beware the woke misogynist: Sam Mills warns against men who publicly champion feminism in order to lure women into abusive relationships
Ellspells, 22 April 2021: Review: Chauvo-Feminism by Sam Mills
CP Hunter for The Arts Desk, 29 March 2021: ‘Q&A: Author Sam Mills on the phenomenon of the ‘chauvo-feminist’’
Ordinary Instant Podcast, 1 March 2021: ‘Talking Genuinfluencers & Chauvo-Feminism’
Andrew Gallix for The Irish Times, 27 February 2021: ‘Books in brief: From drone music to fig leaves for misogyny’
Anna Hollingsworth for Shiny New Books, 23 February 2021: ‘Review: Chauvo-Feminism: On Sex, Power and #MeToo by Sam Mills’
New Statesman, 17 February 2021: ‘NS Recommends: New books from Eliot Higgins, Matthew Kneale, Jane Smiley and Sam Mills’
Rebecca Savage for Lucy Writer’s Platform, 15 February 2020: ‘Chauvo-Feminism: men, women, and feminism in the aftermath of #MeToo’
Sam Mills on TalkRADIO, 13 February 2021: Badass Women’s Hour (21.15-21.45)
Jackie Law for neverimitate, 12 February 2021: ‘Book Review: Chauvo-Feminism’
Sam Mills for Stylist, 11 February 2021: ‘Have you met a chauvo-feminist? That’s a man who acts like a feminist but is a chauvinist at heart’
Anna Vaught for 3:AM Magazine, 10 February 2021: ‘Review: Chauvo-Feminism’
Martin Chilton for The Independent, 1 February 2021: ‘Books of the month: From Daisy Buchanan’s Insatiable to Nikesh Shukla’s Brown Baby’
The Indie Insider Newsletter, 23 December 2020: ‘New Year’s Read-olutions: What we’re looking forward to in 2021’
Chiltern Voice Community Radio Book Club 2020, 28 November 2020: Interview with Sam Mills
The Idler: Review of Chauvo-Feminism
An exclusive essay published by The Indigo Press
On #MeToo and who is to blame
Exclusive to The Indigo Press, our authors have written moving, insightful and entertaining works in conjunction with and in celebration of the publication of their books with the press.
Sam’s recommended reading list

Criado Perez highlights how the world is still far from equal for men and women using a wealth of statistics. E.g. women involved in car crashes are nearly 50% more likely to be seriously hurt, (even though men are more likely to crash) because cars are designed around the body of “Reference Man”.

Credited with sparking the second wave of feminism in the US, this book gave voice to a generation of women who felt unhappy and alienated in their narrow roles as mothers and housewives, and helped to liberate women from the domestic sphere.

Lewis examines women who have been key figures in the battle for feminism – rather than reducing them to feisty heroines and cliches, she examines them as rich, multi-dimensional characters who were not necessarily likeable or sympathetic in their pursuit of equality. Lewis argues that, “History is always more interesting when it is difficult. The battles are difficult, and we must be difficult too.”

Woolf’s iconic feminist essay argues that literature and history is a male construct that has been used to marginalise women, and includes her famous argument that ‘A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction’.

The titular essay of this superb collection went viral and prompted the creation of the term ‘mansplaining’ (though Solnit herself is often miscredited with coining the term). The collection also explores violence against women, knowledge and authority and Virginia Woolf.

A witty and perceptive book about what it is to be a man in the 21st century, examining the rigid roles that men are often cast into and the damage this does to men.

A glorious mixture of memoir and cultural history, Elkin’s book explores the Flâneuse – ‘a determined resourceful woman keenly attuned to the creative potential of the city, and the liberating possibilities of a good walk’, examining figures such as George Sands, Agnes Varda and Sophie Calle.

A long form essay based on Adichie’s brilliant TEDx talk, this sums up all the main arguments of contemporary feminism in succinct, poetic, punchy prose.