Feminist cities across the world
Geographer Leslie Kern wants your city to be feminist. Her 2019 book, Feminist City: A Field Guide, has been published in nine languages (and counting!). Here's a roundup of the many covers and colours of a reimagined city.
The BTL original, published in October 2019. The cover for the Canadian edition came together in collaboration with the wonderful Toronto book designer Ingrid Paulson. We wanted a book that didn’t just speak to the patriarchal design of cities in content, but one that would expose it in form. That’s why the book is small enough to bring along on a subway ride, with flaps for readers to to give the middle finger to anyone projecting the male gaze. To all harassers in public space, we say: “FUCK OFF, I'M READING!"
A painterly lilac colour scheme contrasts with a bristling cityscape on the Turkish translation of Feminist City, published by Sel.
The field guide is available in English outside Canada from Verso Books, a fellow independent radical publisher with offices in London and New York City. In their take, a shadow zig-zags across city steps.
Unrast Verlag's German edition splashes graffiti yellow across a city map.
Argentinian indie publisher Ediciones Godot went for a city map motif too—this one a deep mustard yellow. The same cover appears on the Colombian edition by Icono Editorial.
Over in Spain, Bellaterra Edicions opted for a minimalist design with negative space and illustrated figures marching up the side.
We love the abstract, sunset-coloured graphics by publisher Treccani Libri in Italy.
Oficina Raquel in Brazil went for a bold and blocky look.
More coming soon...
Still in the works, we've got translated editions forthcoming in Korean, French, Russian, and Chinese. We're thrilled to see this title take on a life of its own and leap from country to country, language to language, spreading the promise of new urban futures.
