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11corvus11's review against another edition
5.0
This is an exceptional anthology that needs to be read by far more people. It covers so many intersections I yearn for when reading other feminist books. Disability, race, immigration, gender expression, gender nonconformity, sexuality, religion, size, beauty, bodies bodies bodies, and much more. The writing and editing is excellent. I can't recommend this enough and it makes me sad that it doesn't have more reviews and readers.
morvoren's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Can We All Be Feminists, edited by June Eric-Udorie is a series of essays on what it means to be a feminist, if anything, an exploration of identity and intersectionality, and a look at what we have got right, and wrong, over the years.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It reminded me of what feminism means to me, personally, as well as the different forms of it that exist, some of which are unfortunately exclusionary, hierarchical or even ignorant. I think Gabrielle Bellot summed it up well in her essay Borderlands, which to me emphasised the importance of plurality in our movement “We should not assume we are authorities on all aspects of feminism simply because we are authorities on some of them.”
From a political perspective, I found Emer O’Toole’s essay particularly interesting. Ahead of the Irish referendum on abortion, she talks about how the best chance of getting this feminist agenda across is by pretending not to be feminists at all. I thought this raised an interesting point about how we convince the general public of certain demands, and made me question whether in some cases, the means do not have to define the end.
There were certain parts of the book that I didn’t completely agree with, or I would have liked an expansion on. For example, a certain dismissiveness of some achievements of women that are less vital to the movement – I think even small changes can be massive in terms of societal significance. Secondly, a closer look into how gendered stereotypes affect misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis of neurodivergence in girls and women. And, I think addressing the issue of Sojourner Truth being given a southern slave dialect by Francis Gage should be included outside of the notes.
This book demonstrates the importance of intersectionality to our movement. I often see intectionality used as a buzzword, at an individual level. To read this book is to understand the word as it was coined, and to get a wider picture of how struggles connect to one another. Whether it is the patriarchy, colonialism, racism, ableism, xenophobia, or homophobia, these are all oppressive forces that need to be deconstructed together.
I found this book to be a call to not be the feminists who went before us, like certain suffragettes who refused to fight for people of colour to vote, or those that excluded lesbians from the movement in the 60s and 70s. Instead, we should move forward with a feminism that works for all.
chana_aurora's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this book but so often I found myself saying “what is your point” or “hurry up and get to your point”. Some individuals essays were really good and thought provoking while others were kind of dry and boring. Maybe because I was reading this at the same time I was reading “In The Dream House” I just had higher expectations.
kmatthe2's review against another edition
4.0
An important addition to contemporary conversations about intersectional feminism.
half_book_and_co's review against another edition
5.0
4,5/5
Barbara Smith, in an interview in How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017), said : "What we were saying is that we have a right as people who are not just female, who are not solely Black, who are not just lesbians, who are not just working class, or workers - that we are people who embody all of these identities, and we have a right to build and define political theory and practice based upon that reality." That sentiment also finds itself in the new anthology Can We All Be Feminists?: Seventeen Writers on Intersectionality, Identity and Finding the Right Way Forward for Feminism, edited by just twenty-years-old writer and activist June Eric-Udorie. These wonderful essay - by writers such as Gabrielle Bellot, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Afua Hirsch, and many more - tackle a width of topics while the different authors describe their relationships to (Mainstream) feminism, the exclusions they experience(d), and the feminism(s) they aspire to. A prevalent topic is migration and the many experiences which come with it for many of the authors are children of migrants or have migrated themselves, mostly from Carribean, African, and Asian countries to the UK or USA. As with most anthologies, I did not find every text equally satisfying to read. For a book so inclined on putting intersectional analysis front and centre, I was surprised about some rather cis-normative writing on reproductive rights in some texts (while others showed how you can write about the topic without perpetuating the idea that women = vagina and uterus). Also at times, I wished for more links to and deeper engagement with earlier conceptual, theoretical, and activist works (especially going beyond the naming of Kimberly Crenshaw). But these critical points aside, I would highly recommend the book. I feel it might make a great book for many different readers: people who want to get into feminism, people who want to broaden their ideas, and people who will find themselves reflected in this multi-faceted anthology.
Barbara Smith, in an interview in How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017), said : "What we were saying is that we have a right as people who are not just female, who are not solely Black, who are not just lesbians, who are not just working class, or workers - that we are people who embody all of these identities, and we have a right to build and define political theory and practice based upon that reality." That sentiment also finds itself in the new anthology Can We All Be Feminists?: Seventeen Writers on Intersectionality, Identity and Finding the Right Way Forward for Feminism, edited by just twenty-years-old writer and activist June Eric-Udorie. These wonderful essay - by writers such as Gabrielle Bellot, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Afua Hirsch, and many more - tackle a width of topics while the different authors describe their relationships to (Mainstream) feminism, the exclusions they experience(d), and the feminism(s) they aspire to. A prevalent topic is migration and the many experiences which come with it for many of the authors are children of migrants or have migrated themselves, mostly from Carribean, African, and Asian countries to the UK or USA. As with most anthologies, I did not find every text equally satisfying to read. For a book so inclined on putting intersectional analysis front and centre, I was surprised about some rather cis-normative writing on reproductive rights in some texts (while others showed how you can write about the topic without perpetuating the idea that women = vagina and uterus). Also at times, I wished for more links to and deeper engagement with earlier conceptual, theoretical, and activist works (especially going beyond the naming of Kimberly Crenshaw). But these critical points aside, I would highly recommend the book. I feel it might make a great book for many different readers: people who want to get into feminism, people who want to broaden their ideas, and people who will find themselves reflected in this multi-faceted anthology.
annetjeberg's review against another edition
4.0
Can one overdo it? This book is so, SO important. But the problem for me is that I have read so many of these collections of essays lately, and they all were very eye opening, that I think I have hit the spot that I am a bit oversaturated. I just realize more and more that I do not get things. I have never given much thought about fat shaming, for example. And I feel so bad after reading this that I do not seem to get ANYTHING right, which is okay. Change is uncomfortable. But it is so overwhelming at times...
I will pick this one up again though, just need a break for a month or 2.
I will pick this one up again though, just need a break for a month or 2.
donnereads's review against another edition
I liked this anthology a lot! It gave very interesting examples and situations that show how important it is to realise that mainstream feminism is severely lacking. If your feminism isn't intersectional, it isn't feminism. I also thought the quality of the writing was very high from all participants. If you're new to the concept of intersectionality, this book is a great start.