Reviews with content warning for Cultural appropriation - White Tears / Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color

Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

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

17 reviews

wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is the kind of nonfiction that I just eat right up. White Tears/Brown Scars was the perfect balance between personal reflections and experiences from the author and intricately and insightfully woven historical examples to illuminate the myriad of harms caused by patriarchy, colonization, capitalism (et al) on Black and POC bodies. Incorporating work by thought leaders such as Edward Said and Audre Lorde, Hamad roots the origins of white patriarchal harm in a way that makes these ideas clear and conceptually approachable for non-academic readers. And quite frankly, I loved that Hamad never shied away from calling attention to the fact that so many WW are more concerned with "not appearing" racist than with being held accountable for the harm they cause in professional, academic, and social settings. I sometimes struggle to digest nonfiction in its audio format, but it is a testament to Hamad's exceptional writing that the information presented is clear, cohesive, and flowed so well.

Content Warnings

nikkipoulin's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color, by Ruby Hamad is a book to read right now if you, like me, put it off for far too long. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mozhan Marnò, and highly recommend it if you enjoy nonfiction on audio. Hamad deftly examines the racist and colonialist narratives used to define Black and brown women as *not women* at worst and *less than white women* at best. She explores the intersections of gender and race that have subjugated non-white women to the lowest realm of inclusion and agency, and she explicitly outlines how white women have made this possible at every juncture.

There were so many moments in this that felt clarifying and relevant to us today. As I’ve struggled to identify *why* some of the rhetoric tossed around the internetright now is so frustrating and exhausting, Hamad gives us the words and context to better understand why and how these bad-faith arguments are used. In a moment that feels particularly timely for us now, she discusses the 2016 backlash against US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib when she spoke out about Hillary Clinton’s condemnation of Palestinians. Hamad pushes us to ask ourselves why we expect Black and brown women to be “team players” when the team explicitly works against them, and emphasizes that there is no sisterhood with white women when white feminism continues to prioritize proximity to white men over the liberation of all people. She shows us how the common arguments we see today (ie “why aren’t you denouncing terrorism” as a counter to advocacy for Palestinian freedom), misdirect and invalidate the oppression of Black and brown people by pivoting to argue that they are their own oppressors. This is not new, but it is pervasive, and Hamad challenges us to recognize these devices and how they’re weaponized to silence people of color.

Ultimately, this was a fast-paced read with a well-constructed thesis that is very relevant to our work and advocacy today.

Notes: this is largely cisnormative, and does not explicitly explore the additional intersections of marginalization experienced by trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming people of color.

Content Warnings

ksuazo94's review

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

brookey8888's review

Go to review page

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

This one was really interesting. It was interesting to see America and American politics and feminism through the eyes of someone from another country. I did learn a lot and I found a lot of this interesting, but so infuriating. I’m glad there is a book about white feminism and how damaging that is. I think this book is good for beginners of feminism/anti racism and for people far along in their journey.

Content Warnings