"First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Ebury Press"--Title page verso

Prologue: The worst birthday ever -- I start bleeding! -- I become furry! -- I don't know what to call my breasts! -- I am a feminist! -- I need a bra! -- I am fat! -- I encounter some sexism! -- I am in love! -- I go lap-dancing! -- I get married! -- I get into fashion -- Why you should have children -- Why you shouldn't have children -- Role models and what we do with them -- Abortion -- Intervention -- Postscript

Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them? Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother. With rapier wit, Moran slices right to the truth--whether it's about the workplace, strip clubs, love, fat, abortion, popular entertainment, or children--to jump-start a new conversation about feminism. With humor, insight, and verve, How To Be a Woman lays bare the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues not only for women today but also for society itself