'Not only a dazzling analysis of the workings of sexism, but a balm for the soul. It will teach you how to survive and how to transform the world' Hannah Dawson

We have to keep saying it because they keep doing it.

Do colleagues roll their eyes in a meeting when you use words like sexism or racism? Do you refuse to laugh at jokes that aren't funny? Have you been called divisive for pointing out a division? Then you are a feminist killjoy, and this handbook is for you.

The term killjoy has been used to dismiss feminism by claiming that it causes misery. But by naming ourselves feminist killjoys, we recover a feminist history, turning it into a source of strength as well as an inspiration.

Drawing on her own stories and those of others, especially Black and brown feminists and queer thinkers, Sara Ahmed combines depth of thought with honesty and intimacy. The Feminist Killjoy Handbook unpicks the lies our culture tells us and provides a form of solidarity and companionship that can be returned to over a lifetime.

"A deliberate intervention written in direct and accessible prose, building and nurturing the community it addresses...at a time when social change is urgently needed, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook provides sharp and usable tools for readers who have been made to feel isolated, insignificant and difficult. It is a generous offering from an important theorist, and highly recommended" - Irish Times

"The pioneering theorist Sara Ahmed's The Feminist Killjoy Handbook ... subverts guidebooks wonderfully" - New Statesman

"Full of memorable zingers ... Ahmed has a rare power for naming what many of us know to be true: her articulation holds the power of clarity" - Vanity Fair

"In this fervent manifesto, Ahmed brings impressive clarity to a field of study often opaque in the hands of others. Admirers of Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts should take note" - Publishers Weekly

"Combines her signature humor—bitingly funny, in this case—with accessible language and theoretical discourse, making this title as appropriate for university courses as it is for self-identified “feminist killjoys,” people who point out sexist comments or don’t laugh at offensive jokes… This book arms readers with a sense of vital energy, often lost due to burnout, compassion fatigue, and microaggressions. Audiences curious about navigating the intersection between feminism and daily life, intellectualism, poetry, and activism will love this title" - Library Journal

"Feminist and social activists are certain to find the book encouraging. A good reminder that the work of activists is often challenging yet important" - Kirkus

"A celebration ... Ahmed, one of the world's leading feminist and queer theorists, is both clever and generous, and has a talent for bringing her readers with her, without ever dumbing down or sugar-coating her politics, love of theory, or lived experience as a queer woman of colour ... Ahmed addresses the challenges of the present and her ongoing project of platforming and protecting the feminist killjoy remains vital and refreshing" - Inside Story

"The iconic feminist Killjoy Sara Ahmed rides her horse, stands her ground, speaks her truth in this mighty little book. Her powerful words blaze a trail of tough love honed-in the saddle of real life. Armed with the gift of her wisdom, a new generation of Black and brown Killjoys will have the weapons to outwit the tyranny of white supremacist heteropatriarchy - subverting its machinations to define our minds and bodies with our collective Killjoy voice" - author of YOUNG, FEMALE AND BLACK

"An incredible queer theorist . . . The compelling way in which Ahmed uses metaphors to describe structural inequalities evidently strikes a chord with people, from the "vandal", to, most famously, the 'feminist killjoy'. The figure of the 'feminist killjoy' takes a fundamental role in everything Ahmed does; wilful in her disruption of problematic narratives and taking up space unapologetically" - Varsity

"Sara Ahmed is an increasingly cited source in how to navigate abuses of power and change working conditions . . . and in how to navigate the realities of what happens after people speak up and speak out. Her approach to feminist theory and institutional critique is pragmatic, with books such as Living a Feminist Life (2017) or her longstanding blog feministkilljoys providing detailed studies of how rhetorics of 'equality' and 'diversity' get dragged through intimate and bureaucratic tangles" - ArtReview

"The Feminist Killjoy Handbook is full of pithy observations, inversions, and diagnoses … greatly empowering" - AAG Review of Books