“Moxie,” published in December of 2015, was written by Jennifer Matthieu. It is a young adult book with a strong feminist theme that was later turned into a film by Amy Poehler for the popular streaming platform Netflix. The book highlights important issues such as sexism, abuse, and unfair dress codes.
The book’s main character, Vivian, more commonly known as Viv, is a student at East Rockport High where the sexist members of the football team can do no wrong. After a debacle in class involving a member of the football team, Mitchell, and the new girl, Lucy, Viv gets fed up with the unfair standards at her school.
She soon gets inspiration from an old 90’s feminist movement known as the Riot Grrrls whose main goal was to inspire women and fight back against the double standards. She creates a zine called “Moxie” and goes on to inspire a change within her small town.
This book was very inspiring to me. I initially watched the movie when it first came out in 2021, but when I found out there was also a book, I grabbed it and instantly began reading.
The main character, Viv, accurately portrays what many teenage girls experience in school. She is not shy, but she is not very outgoing or boisterous either, she maintains acceptable grades which is enough to graduate, and most importantly she does not like to be judged based on her gender.
The message that this book sends to its audience is not only to young girls, but to all women who have been silenced before, telling them to fight back against the sexist standards. Young men will also learn not to disrespect females or pressure them into fitting into unrealistic standards from media like this as well.
In a Screen Queens interview, Jennifer Mathieu states that she was inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement back in her adolescence. “My mostly lifelong- really as a teenager- interest in feminism and gender equality, as well as a long time love of zines and Riot Grrrl, which was a feminist punk movement in the 90’s.”
I would definitely read it again, and I feel it hits upon some very important topics and themes that people should talk about more than they do.