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? 

Girl on Girl has provided a well of thought for listeners of Novara Media’s own If I Speak podcast, with Sophie Gilbert appearing as a guest to discuss the pornification of pop culture during the ’90s and ’00s and later inspiring discussions on the topic of motherhood. Special ones look no further! Your post-pod reading list is here.

Despite decades of progress, the gains of the feminist movement feel more fragile than ever. In Girl on Girl, the Atlantic critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert points out that this is far from 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.