Sex and Dissent

Advance Praise for Sex and Dissent

“Sex and Dissent, by Meaghan Beatley, is an eye-opening, compulsively readable primer about contemporary feminist resistance movements in Argentina, Chile, Spain and Mexico, where brave women activists have fought to bring change in societies with long-embedded traditions of gendered violence. At a time when political leaders like Donald Trump and Javier Milei are using their positions to reinforce many of the old misogynies, the stories told by Beatley offer inspiring examples of redemptive action taken by women who have faced some of the worst cruelties that men are capable of. Sex and Dissent is an important book for our time — please read it.”
—Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che: A Revolutionary Life

“Meaghan Beatley’s Sex and Dissent is a revelatory account of recent feminist protest and activism in four Spanish-speaking countries, where the courage and actions of the women who spoke up, spoke out, and changed laws shines through in incisive investigative reporting and prose that gets to the beating heart of the matter. At a time of great backlash and regression, North American women should indeed look to Latin America for a new way forward — one that recognizes the sickness of systems in creating and extending gendered violence.”
—Sarah Weinman, author of Without Consent

“Sex and Dissent is a clear-eyed, rigorous, and consistently fascinating exploration of feminist movements, spanning both intimate portraits of activists and sweeping accounts of transformative social movements. This book gave me heart in this exceedingly difficult political moment — there’s so much to learn from, and be inspired by, here.”
—Rachel Monroe, author of Savage Appetites

“What an extraordinary book this is! Meaghan Beatley has the rare ability to combine deep and rigorous reporting with elegant storytelling and profound analytical smarts. Sex and Dissent is a sobering and inspiring work, grounded in history, bursting with heart.”
—Ben Ehrenreich, author of The Way to the Spring

“Meaghan Beatley takes us on an ambitious tour of Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Spain to first devastate with stories of brutal violence against women and then inspire with stories of feminist organizing and solidarity. Essential reading while women’s rights are under attack in the U.S. and elsewhere, for those who wish to learn from the Latin American feminists notching legal, cultural, and political wins under seemingly impossible circumstances.”
—Rachel Nolan, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Until I Find You

“Written in elegant, celebratory prose and grounded in meticulous reporting, this book vividly brings Latin American feminist movements to life. It is high time for these stories of struggles and breakthroughs to travel North and inspire US audiences or anyone who cares about democracy.”
—Mariane Pearl, author of A Mighty Heart