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jassmine's review against another edition
4.0
I'm kind of freaking out, because I'm starting my Masters (in gender studies) in a month. So... I'm reading a lot of feminist books. ... I read this one on audio, so I don't really remember as much as I would like to. (I listened to a biggest chunk while cleaning our kitchen... I'm enjoying the beautiful irony of listening to feminist ideas while doing chores way too much...)
1.First of all, I need to appreciate the unbelievable amount of work that had to go into this book. The scape is unbelievable. The amount of cultures and countries mentioned is massive. Delap usually uses some US/British/other well known persons/events/etc. to mirror the lesser known parts of the movement(s) all around the world. Which might seem as undermining the point of the book, but I actually found it very useful as solid points to take hold of her meanings.
2.Delap is pretty good (as far as I can tell) at calling out the specific feminists for their biases, but she occasionally fails. She opens the book with [a:Adichie|19992417|Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1628721308p2/19992417.jpg] without mentioning that she is gender critical/trans-exclusionary feminist. She also once uses the term "born women" for describing cis-women (which isn't ideal) and closes the book with saying that the clashing currents of feminisms are good for the movement - with which I can generally agree, but when put in practice means that trans-exclusionary feminism is bringing something good to the movements with which I can't agree. To be completely clear, I don't think that Delap is transphobic in any way, she is openly supportive of trans rights in this work, she just isn't as mindful of the subject as I would have liked - especially since she is (as far as I can tell) diligent when it comes to racism and colonialism. (No one is perfect. It's fine. I just wanted to leave it out there. Edit: A lot of other reviewers are commenting on this, some of them calling her transphobic, which I think isn't entirely fair, but she didn't really do her homework on the subject properly.)
3.The whole book is of course very selective - in its themes and the people it chooses to represent, but Delap reflects on that and I can't possibly see how it could have been done differently. There were sections I wasn't the biggest fan of - the celebration of tampons (? this seems very American, idk) and eventually sea sponges, like... no, thank you. The menstrual products are an important feminist theme, but the take here felt a bit useless. I liked the mention of use of tampons in art/fashion though because I didn't hear about that before.
4. This book also gave me some interesting thoughts on calling someone "feminist" vs. "an ally". It firmly stands on the position that men can be feminists too - with which I theoretically agree, but sometimes in practice... it seems, just strange (I don't know). The idea of calling oneself a feminist ally while dealing with issues that really don't affect me is kind of appealing to me... (Have to thought more on that...
I am absolutely sure I wanted to mention some more of my brain farts, but I can't remember now, so... I'm just going to post this and edit it in later, because this review is a mess anyway
1.First of all, I need to appreciate the unbelievable amount of work that had to go into this book. The scape is unbelievable. The amount of cultures and countries mentioned is massive. Delap usually uses some US/British/other well known persons/events/etc. to mirror the lesser known parts of the movement(s) all around the world. Which might seem as undermining the point of the book, but I actually found it very useful as solid points to take hold of her meanings.
2.Delap is pretty good (as far as I can tell) at calling out the specific feminists for their biases, but she occasionally fails. She opens the book with [a:Adichie|19992417|Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1628721308p2/19992417.jpg] without mentioning that she is gender critical/trans-exclusionary feminist. She also once uses the term "born women" for describing cis-women (which isn't ideal) and closes the book with saying that the clashing currents of feminisms are good for the movement - with which I can generally agree, but when put in practice means that trans-exclusionary feminism is bringing something good to the movements with which I can't agree. To be completely clear, I don't think that Delap is transphobic in any way, she is openly supportive of trans rights in this work, she just isn't as mindful of the subject as I would have liked - especially since she is (as far as I can tell) diligent when it comes to racism and colonialism. (No one is perfect. It's fine. I just wanted to leave it out there. Edit: A lot of other reviewers are commenting on this, some of them calling her transphobic, which I think isn't entirely fair, but she didn't really do her homework on the subject properly.)
3.The whole book is of course very selective - in its themes and the people it chooses to represent, but Delap reflects on that and I can't possibly see how it could have been done differently. There were sections I wasn't the biggest fan of - the celebration of tampons (? this seems very American, idk) and eventually sea sponges, like... no, thank you. The menstrual products are an important feminist theme, but the take here felt a bit useless. I liked the mention of use of tampons in art/fashion though because I didn't hear about that before.
4. This book also gave me some interesting thoughts on calling someone "feminist" vs. "an ally". It firmly stands on the position that men can be feminists too - with which I theoretically agree, but sometimes in practice... it seems, just strange (I don't know). The idea of calling oneself a feminist ally while dealing with issues that really don't affect me is kind of appealing to me... (Have to thought more on that...
I am absolutely sure I wanted to mention some more of my brain farts, but I can't remember now, so... I'm just going to post this and edit it in later, because this review is a mess anyway
barel93's review against another edition
3.0
I grew to appreciate this more as I read it and changed my expectations. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, although I would have liked something with more fire to it.
"Feminism: A Global History" provided an introduction to the feminist and liberation work undertaken by women from Brazil to Japan, highlighting histories that are often ignored by mainstream histories of feminism in the West. I can also appreciate it for solidifying that there are aspects of history that keep repeating themselves. For instance, I didn't know that feminists in Chicago had tried to institute a single-sex "co-working" space (to borrow a contemporary phrase) in the 1960s that bore a striking resemblance to The Wing, from its mission statement, to its practices that foregrounded a feminism that was out of touch with the needs of poor women and women of color.
In principle, I agree with Delap's argument that the fight for women's liberation has never been ideologically cohesive and had to adapt to the needs of individual actors over time and space. But something about this book felt toothless to me. Part of it is this need to address every single issue under the sun, the many caveats, the talk about how men had helped women too (though there were few examples of that in the book). It made it feel too safe for a book that focused on women risking their very lives to bring about radical change.
Plus, in focusing only on women's actions and agency within the narrow constraints of a patriarchal and capitalist system, it failed to address in any meaningful way the systemic issue and power dynamics that informed women's options and actions. And while it is true that women had different demands for equality and liberation given their specific circumstances, Delap's refusal to provide an ideological framework for feminism leaves a burning question unanswered: why focus on women specifically? I know this sounds rather convoluted, or circular in its reasoning, but any discussion of feminism that doesn't address that is bound to feel weak.
Delap addresses this in her conclusion, but to me this book seemed to be less about the diverging demands of women over spaces and time, and more about the way feminist ideas travel and how women have managed to inspire and help each other despite living far apart-both in spatial and temporal terms. Considering how little work there is on the intellectual history of feminist thought, this feels like a missed opportunity.
Not an unenjoyable book. But it felt both too broad for someone who might know some of the topics it addresses in depth, and a bit overwhelming with new names and contexts if you are not used to it.
"Feminism: A Global History" provided an introduction to the feminist and liberation work undertaken by women from Brazil to Japan, highlighting histories that are often ignored by mainstream histories of feminism in the West. I can also appreciate it for solidifying that there are aspects of history that keep repeating themselves. For instance, I didn't know that feminists in Chicago had tried to institute a single-sex "co-working" space (to borrow a contemporary phrase) in the 1960s that bore a striking resemblance to The Wing, from its mission statement, to its practices that foregrounded a feminism that was out of touch with the needs of poor women and women of color.
In principle, I agree with Delap's argument that the fight for women's liberation has never been ideologically cohesive and had to adapt to the needs of individual actors over time and space. But something about this book felt toothless to me. Part of it is this need to address every single issue under the sun, the many caveats, the talk about how men had helped women too (though there were few examples of that in the book). It made it feel too safe for a book that focused on women risking their very lives to bring about radical change.
Plus, in focusing only on women's actions and agency within the narrow constraints of a patriarchal and capitalist system, it failed to address in any meaningful way the systemic issue and power dynamics that informed women's options and actions. And while it is true that women had different demands for equality and liberation given their specific circumstances, Delap's refusal to provide an ideological framework for feminism leaves a burning question unanswered: why focus on women specifically? I know this sounds rather convoluted, or circular in its reasoning, but any discussion of feminism that doesn't address that is bound to feel weak.
Delap addresses this in her conclusion, but to me this book seemed to be less about the diverging demands of women over spaces and time, and more about the way feminist ideas travel and how women have managed to inspire and help each other despite living far apart-both in spatial and temporal terms. Considering how little work there is on the intellectual history of feminist thought, this feels like a missed opportunity.
Not an unenjoyable book. But it felt both too broad for someone who might know some of the topics it addresses in depth, and a bit overwhelming with new names and contexts if you are not used to it.
meggsmithx's review against another edition
3.0
read this towards my degree, it contains some really helpful insights into feminist ideology through acts, historical writing and popular culture.
lottie1803's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
elsalfreda's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
berrycedar's review against another edition
5.0
A book on feminism that is not racist, colonial apologist, transphobic or anti socialist. Yes, highly recommend.