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Girl on Girl

How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves

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About this listen

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

'Essential reading' Irish Independent

'Fascinating and powerfully argued' Daily Telegraph

'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

Cosmetic surgeries are at an all-time high, Ozempic is bringing back 'heroin chic' and TikTok trad-wives are on the rise - after four waves of feminism, what went wrong?

Despite decades of progress, the gains of the feminist movement feel more fragile than ever. But as Atlantic critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert points out, this is not a unique moment. Feminism felt just as fragmented in the early 2000s, when the momentum of third-wave feminists and riot grrrls was squashed by lad culture and the commodification of Girl Power.

Casting her eye across pop culture of the past thirty years - from Madonna, the Spice Girls and the Kardashians, to MySpace, #GirlBoss and Real Housewives - Sophie Gilbert reveals a toxic pattern of progress and misogynistic backlash. Girl on Girl shows how every form of media, heavily influenced by the rise of porn, has shaped and warped women's relationships with themselves and other women.

We cannot move forward without fully reckoning with the ways pop culture has defined us - this book shows us how.

'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

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

'Blistering' NEW YORK TIMES©2025 Sophie Gilbert Best of 2025 Gender Studies Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences

Critic reviews

Landmark feminist non-fiction
A sharp, insightful analysis of how media and pop culture have shaped how women view themselves and each other
Gilbert unmasks the collective regression that continues to influence our views on misogyny, feminism and womanhood today
Gilbert is one of my favorite writers and thinkers, particularly on the subjects of gender and womanhood-and her debut book, which dissects three decades of pop culture through a feminist lens, is sure to be one of the standouts of the year
A carefully buttressed and sharply written analysis that takes into account a dizzying number of cultural products and characters . . . Truly, Gilbert deserves a medal - not only for her observations and conclusions, but for navigating the sludge she had to wade through to get there. Essential cultural criticism (Starred review)
With panache, wit, and brilliance, Sophie Gilbert's GIRL ON GIRL offers compelling analyses of how mass culture has diluted and tainted feminism, even managing to turn women against each other and ourselves. 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)
A riveting, incisive, rousing exploration of millennial culture that reveals the cyclical pattern of political movements, the insidious nature of backlash, and the importance of understanding how we got here, so that we can move forward. Sophie Gilbert is one of our most important cultural critics and I'll read everything she ever writes (Melissa Febos, author of Body Work and Girlhood)
In exploring the years that saw millennial feminism curdle into a wan tool of capitalism (lean in, girlboss!), the book is somehow very entertaining and even energizing, transforming a dismal history into something like a rallying cry
Triumphant . . . a tour de force of cultural criticism
A deep dive into pop culture's pernicious obsession with female youth. An incisive spotlight that lays bare the trap of postfeminism. A fascinating, compelling, and maddening look at the guise of female sexuality in the new millennium-how it became a dominant yet misperceived source of power for women and, of course, how it was and continues to be used against us (Anna Marie Tendler, New York Times bestselling author of Men Have Called Her Crazy)
Reading Girl on Girl feels like revisiting your memories with your brilliant protective older sister making sense of them for you. Her cultural criticism is as coolly sophisticated as it is deeply personal, making you feel like she's reading your mind. It's alarming to see so clearly how cruel the aughts were to young women. But the great payoff is, finally, self awareness (Hanna Rosin, author of The End of Men)
All stars
Most relevant
An absolutely devastating account of what it’s like to have lived through the 90’s and into the modern world. An eye opener for what it means to be a woman in the modern world. Excellent

Amazing.

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Really interesting look into the way that women were treated in 80s,90s,00s,10s media. Would recommend

Interesting perspective

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I think all men like me who grew up in the 90s and 00s would benefit from listening to this excellent audiobook. The author has done an incredible job of untangling the myriad ways in which men's and women's attitudes were subtly and not-so-subtly shaped by the pop culture of the era. A must-read to help us understand who we are and avoid repeating (or expanding on) the mistakes of the past.

Essential listening

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I usually won’t pick up an audiobook if it’s read by the author because they tend to lack the narration skills of professional actors (flat narration, lots of wet mouth sounds, lots of huge breaths, weird word emphasis) - I just generally avoid. But Sophie’s narration of Girl On Girl is a real exception. She reads so thoughtfully, has such a nice calming voice, and paces herself well. I didn’t mind this at all.

This was a really informative and nostalgic listen - the 00s feels so near but also so far, and this trip down memory lane was bittersweet. Feminism has come on so far in some ways… but in others..?

One of my best listens this year.

Loved.

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Fascinating critique of the ways our culture dehumanises and discriminates against women. An important read.

So insightful I want to read it again!

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