Female Rage Library Cover

She’s Done Playing Nice…

Why Female Rage is the Cultural Moment We’ve Been Waiting For..

[SCROLL TO THE END FOR YOUR COMPLETE FEMALE RAGE LIBRARY: Books, Movies, Songs…]

The nice girl is dead. She died somewhere between Amy Dunne’s GONE GIRL revenge plot and Taylor Swift’s “mad woman”, and honestly? Good riddance.

I feel like female rage has really become the defining cultural force of our generation, and it’s about damn time. From the dystopian rebellion of “The Hunger Games” to the more recent vampiric rage of “Hungerstone,” women in fiction are claiming their right to be furious, and we’re eating it up. As an author, I was so inspired by the movement that I decided to write my own story of female rage and dark feminine energy, which forced me to embrace my own shadows and explore my own rage. The result is The Pyre Song Trilogy, a witchy female rage fantasy about magic and matriarchy, love and loss. As an inivitation into this rabbit hole, I’m giving away the first instalment of the story FOR FREE. Click here to claim your copy.

The Pop Culture Explosion

The likes of Taylor Swift give us permission to embrace our anger with songs like “mad woman,” a haunting track about being pushed too far that became an anthem for women tired of being told to smile through their pain. While there are critics of Swift’s clever ploy to position herself as the “female rage queen”, I have always felt that her evolution from country sweetheart to vengeful storyteller mirrors our collective journey toward owning our rage, and through the years, she has voiced out loud how I feel deep down.

On the shoulders of giants

But of course, there’s been others who came long before her. Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne remains the patron saint of female fury. Elisabeth Moss delivered a masterclass in controlled fury throughout “The Handmaid’s Tale,” with the final season showcasing June’s transformation from victim to vengeful survivor. But long before that, Margaret Atwood’s novel of quiet rage and rebellion became a rallying cry for women who recognised that sometimes destruction is the only path to freedom. Modern pop culture is bow following suit: Villanelle from “Killing Eve” made murder look fashionable. The women of “Big Little Lies” turned their suburban perfection into a weapon. Daenerys Targaryen burned King’s Landing to the ground… I have a whole library of shows, movie and book recommendations for you at the end of this article!

So…why now, anyway?

Our cultural moment of rebellion didn’t emerge in a vacuum. After decades of being told to be grateful, to lean in, to smile through harassment and discrimination, women are collectively saying: “Actually, no.” The #MeToo movement gave us language for our experiences. Economic inequality made it clear that playing by the rules wasn’t working. One of the biggest trending keywords on Pinterest over the past years has been the “Dark Feminine Aesthetic”. I’m sure I’d also find it trending on TikTok… if I cared to look there.

Female rage in fiction and music provides a safe space to explore these feelings. We can’t all burn down the patriarchy literally but we can absolutely live vicariously through characters who refuse to accept less than they deserve. As a storyteller, I take pride in providing a safe stage for my readers to dive deep into their own shadow.

Acknowledging the Complexities of Female Rage

But while celebrating female rage as a cultural force we need to also recognise how differently it’s received depending on who’s expressing it. Black women have historically been labeled “angry” for asserting basic boundaries, which makes their relationship with public fury more precarious. What reads as “fierce” on a white woman might easliy be perceived as more “aggressive” on a Black woman, and that creates a double standard which definitely shapes how rage is being received.

Class also plays a role. Working-class women expressing anger often face dismissal as “trashy” or “emotional,” while wealthy women’s fury gets reframed as “passion” or “standards.” Age matters too: young women’s anger might get dismissed as immaturity, while older women’s rage is written off as bitterness. (We really can’t win, can’t we…?)

Not to mention the disability community, which has long understood how expressing frustration about accessibility or discrimination gets weaponised against them. I read in an article once that women with mental health conditions face the additional burden of having their legitimate anger “pathologised” rather than heard.

We still have a long way to go.

But authors like Tomi Adeyemi, Angie Thomas, and the continuing legacy of Octavia Butler show how marginalised women transform rage into resistance. Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” validates fury as a natural response to violation while also acknowledging the complexity of processing trauma publicly. (more examples below).

The Power of our Collective Fury

Social media has amplified women’s voices in unprecedented ways. The viral success of books like “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” shows how hungry readers are for stories about women who refuse to be diminished. The publishing industry focuses more and more on stories that celebrate female complexity and moral ambiguity. There’s talk that the bookish space might indeed have become “too feminine”. Men are reading less and less (at least modern books), or are basically “turned off” because a large percentage of newly published authors are female (and, let’s be real: white.)

However, while that may be true, I also feel like this is our moment. Let’s f***cking wallow in it for a little while longer. For centuries, the literary world was all about the “Hero’s Journey”. Now is our time, thank you very much. Elizabeth Gilbert once said in an interview that according to Joseph Campbell (the godfather of the Hero’s Journey”) there was no such thing as a heroine’s journey, because “the heroine did not need to go on a journey — she was the home to which the hero returned…” Yeah, nah.

Our appetite for female rage shows that it’s time we reclaim Story. It also shows no signs of slowing. Publishers are green-lighting books with morally complex heroines. Streaming services are investing in shows that centre women’s fury (Thank you, Reese!) The audience is there, waiting, hungry for stories that reflect their own complicated emotions.

I truly think that women are done apologising for taking up space, for demanding better, for refusing to shrink. The nice girl is dead, indeed. And dare I say, what rises in her place is infinitely more interesting: a woman who knows her worth and fights for it. Sign. Me. Up.

Your Complete Female Rage Library:

Essential Reading:

Classic Female Rage:

  • “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – The original descent into madness
  • “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë – Gothic fury and fierce independence
  • “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood – Dystopian resistance and quiet rebellion
  • “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn – The blueprint for modern female vengeance
  • “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty – Suburban secrets and explosive consequences
  • “The Other Woman” by Sandie Jones – Psychological warfare at its finest
  • “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn – Self-destruction as a form of control
  • “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides – Silence as the ultimate weapon
  • “My Education” by Susan Choi – Academic obsession turned dangerous
  • “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Hollywood manipulation and power plays
  • “My Sister, the Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaite – Dark Nigerian satire
  • “Bunny” by Mona Awad – Toxic female friendships and magical realism

Contemporary Rage (2020-2024):

  • “The Change” by Kristen Miller – Big Little Lies meets Practical Magic
  • “Hungerstone” by Kat Dunn – Gothic feminist retelling of Carmilla with vampiric revenge
  • “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab – Centuries of fighting erasure
  • “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Battling patriarchal horror
  • “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus – 1960s sexism meets scientific rebellion
  • “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan – Maternal fury against oppression
  • “The Midnight Girls” by Alicia Jasinska – Dark magic as sisterly vengeance
  • “The Thursday Murder Club” by Richard Osman – Elderly women solving crimes with attitude
  • “Circe” by Madeline Miller – Mythological transformation and power
  • “The Power” by Naomi Alderman – Women gaining literal electrical power
  • “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard – Dystopian class warfare
  • “An Unkindness of Magicians” by Kat Howard – Magic system built on sacrifice and revenge
  • “Catherine House” by Elisabeth Thomas – Gothic academic mystery
  • “The Once and Future Witches” by Alix E. Harrow – Suffragette witches
  • “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon – Epic fantasy with fierce queens
  • “Wilder Girls” by Rory Power – YA body horror and survival
  • “The Female Persuasion” by Meg Wolitzer – Feminist awakening and disillusionment
  • “The Flames That Forged Us” by yours truly:
Click here to get your copy today!

International Voices:

  • “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-joo – Korean feminist rage
  • “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata – Japanese social nonconformity
  • “The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa – Resistance through remembrance
  • “Freshwater” by Akwaeke Emezi – Nigerian spiritual multiplicity and healing
  • “An American Marriage” by Tayari Jones – Systemic injustice and personal betrayal
  • “Purple Hibiscus” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Coming-of-age through family violence

Young Adult Rage:

  • “The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins – Revolutionary anger
  • “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi – Magic as resistance to oppression
  • “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas – Activism born from tragedy
  • “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn – Reclaiming power from exclusionary systems
  • “We Hunt the Flame” by Hafsah Faizal – Arabian fantasy with fierce heroines
  • “Caraval” by Stephanie Meyer – Magical manipulation and sisterly protection

Must-Watch Movies and Shows:

  • “Kill Bill” Vol. 1 & 2 – Uma Thurman’s ultimate revenge saga
  • “Atomic Blonde” – Charlize Theron’s strongest performance, methinks…
  • “Thelma & Louise” – The original female rage road trip
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” – Lisbeth Salander’s calculated vengeance
  • “Promising Young Woman” – Carey Mulligan’s calculated revenge
  • “The Favourite” – Olivia Colman’s weaponized royal power
  • “Midsommar” – Dani’s grief becomes ritualistic vengeance
  • “Sharp Objects” – Amy Adams navigates family trauma
  • “I May Destroy You” – Michaela Coel’s raw trauma exploration
  • “Succession” – Shiv Roy’s calculated ambition
  • “Cruella” – Emma Stone combines rage with just the right touch of madness
  • “Mare of Easttown” – Kate Winslet channels pain into purpose
  • “The Power” – Amazon’s adaptation of women gaining electric abilities
  • “Yellowjackets” – Survival horror meets feminine fury
  • “Killing Eve” – Villanelle’s stylish psychopathy
  • “Big Little Lies” – Suburban perfection as weapon
  • “The Handmaid’s Tale” – Elisabeth Moss’s quiet rebellion
  • “Dead to Me” – Christina Applegate’s grief-fueled friendship
  • “Russian Doll” – Natasha Lyonne’s time-loop anger
  • “Fleabag” – Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s fourth-wall-breaking fury
  • “Lady Bird” – Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age fury
  • “Black Swan” – Natalie Portman’s psychological unraveling
  • “Jennifer’s Body” – Megan Fox’s demonic revenge
  • “Where the Crawdads Sing” – Daisy Edgar-Jones’s isolated marsh girl fights prejudice
  • “Practical Magic” – Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman embrace witchy sisterhood against abusive men
  • “Maleficent” – Angelina Jolie’s betrayed fairy seeks vengeance through dark magic
  • “Carrie” – Stephen King’s rage classic
  • “The Craft” – Witchy teen revenge
  • “Fatal Attraction” – Glenn Close’s obsessive fury
  • “Girl, Interrupted” – an oldie but a goldie – I was surprised to see Elisabeth Moss (Handmaid’s Tale) making her screen debut in this one!

Female Rage Spotify Playlists:

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