Gemma Hartley – författare

A bold dive into the emotional labor women have shouldered for far too long—and an impassioned vision for creating a better future for us all.Day in, day out, women anticipate and manage the needs of others. In relationships, we initiate the hard conversations. At home, we shoulder the mental load required to keep our households running. At work, we moderate our tone, explaining patiently and speaking softly. In the world, we step gingerly to keep ourselves safe. We do this largely invisible, draining work whether we want to or not—and we never clock out. No wonder women everywhere are overtaxed, exhausted, and simply fed up.In her ultra-viral article “Women Aren’t Nags—We’re Just Fed Up,” shared by millions of readers, Gemma Hartley gave much-needed voice to the frustration and anger experienced by countless women. Now, in Fed Up, Hartley expands outward from the everyday frustrations of performing thankless emotional labor to illuminate how the expectation to do this work in all arenas—private and public—fuels gender inequality, limits our opportunities, steals our time, and adversely affects the quality of our lives.More than just name the problem, though, Hartley teases apart the cultural messaging that has led us here and asks how we can shift the load. Rejecting easy solutions that don’t ultimately move the needle, Hartley offers a nuanced, insightful guide to striking real balance, for true partnership in every aspect of our lives. Reframing emotional labor not as a problem to be overcome, but as a genderless virtue men and women can all learn to channel in our quest to make a better, more egalitarian world, Fed Up is surprising, intelligent, and empathetic essential reading for every woman who has had enough with feeling fed up.

Gemma Hartley wrote an article in Harper's Bazaar in September 2017 called 'Women Aren't Nags - We're Just Fed Up', which instantly went viral.The piece, and this book, are about 'emotional labour', i.e. the unpaid, often unnoticed effort and work that goes into keeping everyone around you comfortable and happy.The Problem That Had No Name tackles the big issues surrounding emotional labour: the historical underpinnings and roots in feminism, the benefits and burdens of this kind of effort, and the specific contexts where emotional labour plays a major but undervalued role, including relationships, work, sex, parenting, politics and self-care.

No more grin and bear it: how and why we all need to reset the domestic balance. Gemma Hartley is a mother and journalist on a mission: to throw fresh light on the hidden burden of 'emotional labour' (washing, wiping, worrying, soothing, shopping, preparing, planning, cooking, caring), and find out why it is that the bulk of these thankless, hugely time-consuming and frustrating jobs fall to women.Gemma's article: 'Women Aren't Nags; We're Just Fed Up,' was shared by millions of readers, giving voice to a huge number of women whose frustration and anger is mixed with incredulity. Is this really where we're at 50 years post-feminism? Gemma's quest to get to the bottom of the problem and find out how to solve it will take you deep into your own subconscious bias, and sees her challenging the foundations of her own marriage to try to forge a better, more balanced way to live. Fed Up puts forward a thought-provoking, honest and impassioned case that any woman in a relationship should take an unflinching look at her own home life and ask: "How could we do this better?" The answer might just save your sanity, and your relationships.'It's time you got Gemma Hartley's new book on the emotional labour done by women. Fed Up, out now, is a groundbreaking read.' - Lorraine Candy, Editor-in-chief of Style magazine'This book by Gemma Hartley opened my eyes to why, for so long (too long) women have carried the mental load. It's full of advice for women and men on overcoming the relentless arguments and looking at the bigger picture.' - Clemmie Hooper, AKA Mother of Daughters

En banbrytande djupdykning i feminismens mest aktuella ämne.

Efter att den amerikanska journalisten Gemma Hartley skrev en artikel med rubriken ”Women aren’t nags – we’re just fed up” i Harper’s Bazaar 2017, som fick över en miljon delningar, bestämde hon sig för att gå vidare med ämnet och på djupet ringa in fenomenet känslomässigt arbete. Hon märkte nämligen att kvinnor visste precis vad det handlade om medan män inte förstod någonting. 

Jag ska inte städa upp efter honom den här gången, tänker Gemma Hartley när hennes man har låtit en förvaringslåda ligga kvar på golvet i klädkammaren. Ett dygn går, inget händer. Det andra dygnet hämtar Gemma en pall och trycker tillbaka lådan där den hör hemma och när hennes man säger ”du hade bara behövt be mig så hade jag gjort det” kokar det så mycket inom Gemma att hon känner en gränslös ilska.

I Så jävla trött diskuterar hon de arbetsuppgifter som oftast faller på kvinnor och som omgivningen tar för givet: tänka ut presenter till svärföräldrarna, ha koll på allt som händer i barnens skola, veta när det är dags att handla mjölk – det vill säga att organisera uppgifterna i hemmet och göra det känslomässiga jobbet. Trots att det är en sådan självklar del av hur våra relationer upprätthålls – i hemmet, på arbetsplatsen, i samhället i stort – är känslomässigt arbete ett relativt outforskat område.

Gemma Hartley sätter ord på denna tunga börda och kallar det feminismens nya frontlinje.

"Med ett enkelt språk och en stor dos humor sätter Hartley ord på det många kvinnor upplever."BTJ