1: Hannah Ferguson's 'Bite Back'

Why I'd Love to Teach This Book

First cab off the rank in reviews of books I’d like to teach is

Hannah Ferguson

and her phenomenal piece of art ‘Bite Back’. The by-line for this is ‘Feminism, media, politics, and our power to change it all’, but I think this undersells the, dare I say it, power of the book.

Ferguson, mid-twenties is, in many ways, the kind woman I would want my students (I’m an English teacher at an all-girls school) to aspire to be like. Not to mention my daughter.) She is a powerhouse - writer, podcaster, social media superstar - and she’s just getting started.

Why Would I Love to Teach This Book?

1. Her writing style - it is no-nonsense. It is honest, scathing, frank. Confronting even. It’s also, often, hilarious. It is a piece of non-fiction writing that is not only incredibly well-informed, yet also compels you to keep reading, to critique everything think about. Her passion jumps off the page

2. Her relevancy - be it ‘feminism’, whatever that means in 2024 (and I mean that not dismissively, but that I think its used haphazardly by many), be it politics, be it the perilous state of the media landscape in Australia - Ferguson is powerful example to young women of the necessity to be informed and empowered in our world today.

3. It challenges people to think about things differently - me notably. This was one of a half-dozen books I read in 2023 that, despite philosophically agreeing with much of what was written, called me to examine my ignorances, biases, preconceptions, and so the list goes on. It confronted me with the fact that I am naive to much in the world - and that is ok…as long as I am willing to read, listen, and be open to change. If we don’t challenge ourselves, we don’t grow. As Ted Lasso said, “be curious, not judgemental.”

4. The world needs strong(er) women - now more than ever. Women have always been strong, of that there is no doubt. We need women in leadership. We need women to be vocal. I still teach far too many teenagers that do not see themselves in these ways. If we truly want to change this, we need to change we what we teach. I am a teacher of young women, a father of a daughter, and I owe it to them to be promoting literature and non-fiction that shows them role models to aspire to be.

5. Reimagine the ‘media’ unit - having just finished a unit on media that felt a little ho-hum (definitely my fault) and given that so much of the media that I get my students to analyse is horrifically biased and reflective of the worrying state of some corners of journalism, the possibilities with teaching this book are significant. That said, it is timely to the events of the last few years - here’s hoping Hannah Ferguson keeps writing, churning a book out every couple of years.

This is only just scratching the surface of what could be done with this book. At the very least I would highly recommend reading it for yourself. If you’ve done that, follow her baby,

Cheek Media Co.

, or find her podcast with Sarah-Jane Adams (proudly, a former student….) called ‘Big Small Talk’.