Description
Book Synopsis'Sheryl Sandberg was right: the single most important career decision a woman makes is her choice of life partner. Brooks ignites that conversation for a new generation.' JAMILA RIZVI
'Being the maximum version of yourself is a political act in a world where women continue to shrink themselves to build up or appease the men in front of them.'
Today's young women are told we can be anything, so we search for a love to back us, not hold us back. We want the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kind of love, not Prince William and Kate. Yet, while we unapologetically own our careers and lives and Bumble accounts, we're still unsure whether men truly accept-let alone desire-the women we have become. We are told to lean in at work, but wait for him to call. To ask for the pay rise, but not his number. We are ambitious at work but confused in love.
Women's dating behaviour does not yet reflect the gender-equal partnerships we desire and dating literature has remained so focused on helping us lock down a partner, it has ignored what independent women actually want from men: more.
The First Move is an insightful body of social research and a critique of our dating culture, interwoven with a young woman's call to finding contemporary love. Writer Emily J. Brooks explores women's socialisation, real negotiation, and the unwavering benefits of equality in our romantic relationships. When women demand a love that backs us, it lifts up the rest of our lives-so it is time for us to step into our power.
Trade Review'Sheryl Sandberg was right: the single most important career decision a woman makes is her choice of life partner. Brooksi gnites that conversation for a new generation.' JAMILA RIZVI
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
Chapter 1: The rise of RBG and R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Chapter 2: Removing the roadblocks
Chapter 3: You can make the first move, but not three
Chapter 4: Get the bill
Chapter 5: You're too cool
Chapter 6: Know what you want, and talk about it
Chapter 7: Your checklist isn't your checklist
Chapter 8: Stop looking for him instead of yourself
Chapter 9: He's just not into you, or it's not about you
Chapter 10: Don't let Aunty Carol and the pity face get to you
Chapter 11: Have your own shit, and keep doing it
Chapter 12: Diversify your love
Chapter 13: New game, new wins
Chapter 14: Plan S(ingle)
Acknowledgements
Notes
Further reading and references
Index
