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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
5 reviews
mondovertigo's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Racism
faythd's review against another edition
fast-paced
1.0
This book is trash. An upper-middle class white lady pretends to be poor for one month at a time, has a car and a get-out-of-trouble free card. Need a prescription? Call up your private doctor. Low on rent money? Dip into your savings. On top of that, while she pretends to be poor, she really, really judges the poor people around her, especially women. She makes classist, racist, ableist, and fatphobic comments left and right. I wasn't expecting this to be good but I dug in to read a banned book that had topical appeal; I ended up rage-reading it, taking notes on every messed up thing this lady said. Only a few useful bits of information were sprinkled in. And - this was like "poor 101" in the same way that the Barbie movie is "feminism 101." For somone who can relate to being financially unstable, none of this is news. This is written for wealthy people who are also looking down on poor people. This book is gross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Classism, Racism, and Ableism
satsumaorange's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.25
I read the shortened article version of this piece in my Intro to Sociology class in university, and I'm glad I went back to read the full-length thing.
I'm inclined to give Ehrenreich more credit than some other reviewers have. It's important to remember that this piece was written more than two decades ago, and since then, our cultural understanding of the issue has become more nuanced and intersectional. At the time, general attitudes towards the poor really WERE as Ehrenreich describes: 'they should just get a job and then they'll be fine' (me paraphrasing). I think this book still has some worthwhile points to make, as long as the reader keeps in mind the cultural context of the time and the background of the author.
However, I still couldn't shake a feeling of voyeuristic shame as I read through this book. Ehrenreich frequently acknowledges her advantages in the experiment, and it's clear she intended to be "self-aware" about it, but I was still uncomfortable by the end. She acknowledges her advantages, yes, but then describes all the ways she thought she would be mentally and physically superior to her working-class coworkers. It comes across as a bit egotistical at times, and I wish she had exercised a bit more humility in writing this piece.
At the end of the day, I think this book is still relevant, especially to people who are somewhat ignorant to the state of the world outside their economic class. It's sort of like a "baby's first inequality" to those of us who have moved past the basics of social justice. Maybe recommend it to your open-minded libertarian father and see what he thinks.
I'm inclined to give Ehrenreich more credit than some other reviewers have. It's important to remember that this piece was written more than two decades ago, and since then, our cultural understanding of the issue has become more nuanced and intersectional. At the time, general attitudes towards the poor really WERE as Ehrenreich describes: 'they should just get a job and then they'll be fine' (me paraphrasing). I think this book still has some worthwhile points to make, as long as the reader keeps in mind the cultural context of the time and the background of the author.
However, I still couldn't shake a feeling of voyeuristic shame as I read through this book. Ehrenreich frequently acknowledges her advantages in the experiment, and it's clear she intended to be "self-aware" about it, but I was still uncomfortable by the end. She acknowledges her advantages, yes, but then describes all the ways she thought she would be mentally and physically superior to her working-class coworkers. It comes across as a bit egotistical at times, and I wish she had exercised a bit more humility in writing this piece.
At the end of the day, I think this book is still relevant, especially to people who are somewhat ignorant to the state of the world outside their economic class. It's sort of like a "baby's first inequality" to those of us who have moved past the basics of social justice. Maybe recommend it to your open-minded libertarian father and see what he thinks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Minor: Racism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
abby23's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.75
Ehrenreich manages to make her point about the plight of low-wage workers, the people she lived and worked with to write this book, while still maintaining a truly incomprehensible sense of superiority over them due to her PhD and workout routines.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism and Classism
beckbrl's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
1.5
Whew. The only redeeming pat of this book is the last chapter. The author’s condescending tone and racist undertones made most of the book eyeroll-worthy and best and, at times, downright offensive. In the final chapter, where she makes her case about the working poor and the pathetic state of the US’ systems that should, theoretically, aim to keep people alive and productive, there are several salient points about the separation of the middle class and above from the lowest 20%, and some of that sadly may remain the same or worse 20 years on.
Overall, there are better reads covering this same ground. Try Maid or Nomadland.
Overall, there are better reads covering this same ground. Try Maid or Nomadland.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
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