Moxie

Research the Riot Grrrls and discuss what that background adds to Moxie’s modeling of modern, fourth-wave feminism. You may wish to analyze the contributions as well as the critique the novel offers on this moment, particularly intersectional issues such as how third-wave feminism and the Riot Grrrls often excluded women of color.

Consider Moxie as a coming-of-age story and discuss how the conventional dramatic arc of a character’s awakening and subsequent quest provides structure to the novel. You might further discuss how the conventions of the epic quest, such as commitment, the solo journey, mentors, guides, foils, and the monstrous opponents, are represented in the novel.

Discuss Vivian’s growing understanding of feminism and social activism as it emerges in the novel. What kind of feminism is the novel arguing for? Use examples from the text to provide critique where you see necessary and make a case for the efficacy of this model of feminism that Moxie provides.

Explore how Vivian’s female friends model different responses to and understanding of the feminism that Vivian is learning and the social conscience she is developing. Discuss how Mathieu gives validity (or not) to different understandings of and identification with feminism.

Some critics of Moxie claim that the girls enact a kind of vigilante justice. Discuss whether Vivian and her friends are vigilantes—enforcing a law without the legal authority to do so—or whether their actions are a valid form of social resistance, or if they fall somewhere along this scale. You may further wish to discuss why a critic would cast the girls’ actions as vigilantism if in fact they are not. What would be the purpose or goal of such representation? What might a Moxie girl say in response?

Explore Vivian’s major relationships in the novel and discuss how changes in these relationships spur her growth and development. You might wish to consider her changing relationship with her mother, her romantic relationship with Seth, the strain on her lifelong friendship with Claudia, and her relationship with her grandparents.

Discuss the novel’s themes of cliques and independence, especially the very natural adolescent fear of standing out or not fitting in. Describe, using textual support, the novel’s argument for what binds healthy groups and what barriers are destructive or harmful.

Analyze the graphics of the zines included in the book (which were created by the author) and discuss the meaning you see behind the images, text, and design. What sort of aesthetic is Moxie going for? How does that aesthetic reflect on Vivian’s character and the feminism movements that form a background to the book?