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leelaamanda's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Police brutality, Child death, Classism, Grief, Medical content, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Slavery, and Sexism
Moderate: Infertility, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Violence, Sexual violence, and Infidelity
mookisbooks's review
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Child death, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Slavery
bookfriend8's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Hate crime, Violence, Sexism, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Abortion, Child death, Medical trauma, and Rape
stevia333k's review
5.0
i listened to readings & TTS of this book. it's from 1981 (such as we don't need to refer to fiction to call out paternalism anymore. we have books like "pushout" & "they were her property". that being said the reference to fiction on that point made me realize that history was conflated with whatever white supremacist bourgeois patriarchs allowed.) so some parts are outdated, but a ton of it holds up, partly because a lot of the white supremacist dynamics within feminist movements hadn't changed. like chapter 2 on white women organizing having paternalism problems articulated the problems i'm having right now to a tee, and the other chapters gave me information about corners i need to back out of (3 point turn). this book is considered a foundation for intersectionality & uses the triple jeopardy model. basically this is a book that a lot of the people i listen to have read.
as i was reading this book i was also listening to "rest is resistance" by tricia hersey, which is giving me a lot of insight on abolitionism & preventing burnout & self-forgiveness. i mention this because this book also critiques bourgeois praxis, and that's important because to say the least of it the labor theory of value, business expansion & imperialist expansion mean the wage gap will exist as long as there is capitalism because otherwise employers wouldn't be able to figure out ranking among themselves.
this was such a good book, i wish i had been given this book instead of being offered "ain't i a woman" by bell hooks & "luna" back in elementary school. like seriously, the covers & fictionality scared me on some of those, but omg. like my transfeminism came from me being 2 years old & in reconciling why racism is bad & feminism is good figured out that the genitalia is in fact a policing stereotype as other gender stereotypes, hence girlhood is separate from genitalia, and this book was speaking to that.
Graphic: Blood, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Abortion, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Genocide, Ableism, Classism, Physical abuse, Slavery, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Torture
jaiari12's review
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Death, Sexual violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Abortion, Racism, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Xenophobia, Infertility, and Slavery
Moderate: Ableism and Domestic abuse
brnineworms's review against another edition
4.5
This book is over forty years old now, yet it remains infuriatingly relevant. It’s powerful and incisive – I would recommend reading it if you haven’t already. I can see why Angela Davis is such a celebrated writer, and I’m eager to read her other famous book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, when I get the chance.
Graphic: Classism, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Police brutality, Blood, Child death, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Trafficking
Minor: Colonisation, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, War, Miscarriage, and Alcohol
flowingleaves's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Racism, Misogyny, Classism, and Rape
Moderate: Hate crime, Infertility, Sexual assault, Abortion, Death, Violence, Child death, and Murder
bookgirllife's review against another edition
4.5
The writing was simple but effective and very well researched, adding more substance to arguments I have always known to be true. I listened to an audiobook version alongside my ebook copy, which made it easier to focus on what was being said (but this is no reflection on the easiness of following Davis’ points, rather more to do with my own attention span). I found the structure with which she framed this book to be impactful. I was already deeply moved and invested by the first chapter, which is not always the case for me with non-fiction.
Women, Race & Class follows the history of emancipation of Black people, from slavery all the way through the Civil Rights movement and beyond, highlighting the ties of Black liberation to the women’s rights and socialism. Davis calls to attention how intrinsically all of these societal struggles are linked, and articulates the point so well. She identifies the brutality of slavery, how the fight for Black liberation, in some ways, bore the equal rights movement, and the ways in which white women have let Black people down in centring white supremacy in their demands of equality. Furthermore, Davis discusses the socioeconomic situation of Black people following the emancipation and the history of Black people, particularly Black women, in the labour rights movement. There is no way you will leave this book without something important to think about.
For me, I had never given much meaningful consideration to issues such as involuntary sterilisation and the disproportionate impact it had on people of colour, as well as the Wages for Housework movement and what it would mean for homemakers before. I will certainly be doing some further reading on those topics at some stage. I think it is important to consume literature that challenges the way you think or what you have given thought to. It is through such experiences that we grow as human beings and gain a better understanding of the world we live and how it ended up the way it did.
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Rape
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death and Abortion
clayby's review
4.75
The leaders of the women’s rights movement did not suspect that the enslavement of Black people in the South, the economic exploitation of Northern workers and the social oppression of women might be systematically related.
I've considered myself a feminist for years, yet just this year (2021) Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis was my first foray into feminist theory, and I think I've done myself and the women in my life a great disservice by having not read it sooner. Angela is such a brilliant writer; several times I had to force myself to stop reading so that my partner could catch up to me.
Women, Race & Class begins with slavery in the United States and, with a Marxist lens, takes a look at the abolitionist movements, early feminist groups, the working class movements of the early 20th century, the women's liberation movement in the 1960's, up to the time of the book's writing in the 1970's.
While doing this, Ms. Davis doesn't hold back in her analyses of important figures belonging to the aforementioned movements, something I really appreciated. (I personally feel that people are too eager in their uncritical support of "safe" historical figures.)
I only have one tiny gripe with the book, and it's that I felt it ended somewhat abruptly. Regardless, I really, really recommend you read Women, Race & Class, especially if you're looking to begin your journey into feminist theory.
Moderate: Suicide and Slavery
Minor: Rape, Self harm, and Child death