Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

White Tears / Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

10 reviews

kelleykamanda's review

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Incredible, insightful, timely, and accessible- highly recommend 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Gaslighting, Slavery, Racial slurs, Genocide, War, Sexual violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Death

Moderate: Islamophobia and Murder

Minor: Trafficking, Rape, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization

leahkarge's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Trafficking, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Torture, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

lottiegasp's review

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.75

This is a really important book for everyone to read- for white women to dismantle our weaponised white tears, for women of colour to better recognise and articulate the insidious ways that white womanhood and white feminism are used against them, and for people of other genders and any race to become better allies to women of colour against racism.

The book's first section is quite slow as it outlines a lot of history of colonialism, the ways that women of colour in particular were treated and portrayed, and the role that white women played in perpetuating white supremacy. I think it was important context, but it was more challenging so I suggest readers start reading when they have a good amount of headspace to properly digest it. For people who find reading history more challenging, it does become a bit easier to digest in Part 2 as it discusses racism and whiteness in the modern context. If you are white, it is well worth pushing through even if you find it challenging. Some people of colour will know much of the content so it might not be worth retraumatising yourself, however according to some testimonials in the book, it may help you put words to some experiences you've had but not appreciated as so prevalent and insidious.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Colonisation, and Racism

Moderate: Trafficking, Genocide, and Slavery

Minor: Rape and Mass/school shootings

The whole book is about racism and white supremacy, including histories of it and how it plays out in modern society. It would be a challenging read for people of colour, so make sure you are in the right headspace.

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, Gun violence, Torture, Deportation, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Trafficking, and War

savvylit's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book thoroughly highlights and unveils several delusions that are common in the greater (white) culture of the Western world. Primary among them is the idea that white women have been unaware or innocent during some of history's worst atrocities. For instance, Hamad draws on examples from colonial America & Australia to show that white women were not only complicit in genocidal behavior but also strong proponents of it.

That's not to say that White Tears/Brown Scars is purely about betrayals of the past - it most certainly is not. Hamad discusses the past only to bolster the truth at the heart of this book: that even in modern life, a myth of white female innocence is just as common and damaging as ever. Using examples from real individuals, her own experience, and the media, Hamad outlines the ways that white women willfully use their tears and presumed "innocence" to dismiss and damage women of color. Time after time, white women have shown that if they're even mildly criticized for racist behavior, they will become belligerently sad and defensive. By taking a concern and transforming it into a personal attack, the focus of the argument then becomes centered solely on the white woman's feelings. If there's any sort of audience, other folks do their best to assuage the sad white woman. Thus, the initial concerns and distress of the person of color become completely forgotten. This is a collective delusion that gaslights women of color.

When white womanhood and its insidious associations of presumed innocence are continually prioritized and promoted, the "feminist" movement has failed. Hamad proves that equality among women is only achievable once white women are willing to acknowledge their complicity in upholding whiteness. Throughout history, whiteness has been a self-perpetuating power structure built on outright lies. We need to recognize the delusions that we continue to uphold & promote and stop centering white feelings in discussions of race.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Hate crime, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Genocide, Gaslighting, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

jaiari12's review

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Genocide, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Trafficking, and Violence

thenonbinaryc's review

informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Trafficking, Murder, Racial slurs, Genocide, Islamophobia, and Medical trauma

lucy12345's review

challenging informative relaxing medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Misogyny

Moderate: Hate crime, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Death

Minor: Trafficking

wellreadrebel's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Trafficking

caseythereader's review

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Thanks to Catapult for the free copy of this book. 

Taking us from the slave era, when white women fought in court to keep their slaves, through the centuries of colonialism, when they offered a soft face for brutal tactics, to the modern workplace, WHITE TEARS/BROWN SCARS tells a charged story of white women’s active participation in campaigns of oppression. It offers a long overdue validation of the experiences of women of color. (via Goodreads)

If you've read the basic-level antiracism books, WHITE TEARS/BROWN SCARS is your next step.

This book digs into the many shifting ways white women have used their image of being "damsels in distress" order to protect white supremacy and their power over women of color throughout history.

The author is Australian, so while much of the book focuses on American racial issues, there is a wider global perspective many books like this don't have, and it covers the oppression of all racialized people, not just Black Americans.

There are a few ideas at the end of the book that I wish were given more page time, but that's the only quibble I have, that I wish it was longer. 

Content warnings: homophobia, Islamophobia, misogyny, physical abuse, police brutality, racial slurs, racism, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, slavery, trafficking, and xenophobia

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Xenophobia