Heya!
It's nice to see this thread revived!
OK, so I'm going to post one that almost goes without saying or may seem a bit obvious... All the same, it really, truly is a must read for women interested in gender issues, women's rights, feminism, etc... and even women's history.
Simone De Beauvoir
The Second Sex (first published in France in 1949)
It's divided into the following sections/chapters:
1) Destiny
-The Data of Biology
-The Psychoanalytic Point of View
-The Point of View of Histrorical Materialism
2) History
- The Nomads
- Early Tillers of the Soil
- Patriarchal Times and Classical Antiquity
- Through the Middle Ages to 18th Century France
3) Myths
-Dreams, Fears, Idols
-The Myth of 'Woman' in Five Authors
-Montherlant: or the Bread of Disgust
-D.H. Lawrence or Phallic Pride
-Claudel and the Handmaid of the Lord
-Breton or Poetry
-Stendhal or the Romantic or Reality
-Summary
-Myth and Reality
4) The Formative Years
-Childhood
-The Young Girl
-Sexual Initiation
-The Lesbian
5) Situation
-The Married Woman
-The Mother
- Social Life
- Prostitutes and Hetairas
- From Maturity to Old Age
- Woman's Situation and Character
6) Justifications
- The Narcissist
- The Woman in Love
- The Mystic
7) Toward Liberation
- The Independent Woman
It's a very complex and somewhat difficult book to read... but her writing style is actually very readable in many instances. It's just such a smart book. It is of course also a bit "out dated" or "of its time." But, still, it's brilliant enough to inspire awe in many parts. She was also bold enough and forward enough to include a chapter about lesbians, which simply as a gesture (and especially given De Beauvoir's time period) is something I appreciate.