Lindy West’s vibrant humour, refreshing candour and unapologetically trenchant attacks on body shamers and trolls have earned her the admiration of Lena Dunham, Ira Glass, and Caitlin Moran. What can each of us take away from the courage of someone who confronts rape jokes, the fat police, and anti-abortionists – and laughs to tell the tale?

Lindy West is a Seattle-based writer and performer whose work focuses on pop culture, feminism, social justice, humour and body image. Currently a weekly columnist at The Guardian and culture writer for GQ, she was previously a prolific writer at feminist blog Jezebel. As a live performer and commentator, Lindy has made numerous appearances on radio and TV, and regularly speaks at academic events, conferences and literary festivals.