Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Women, Race, & Class by Angela Y. Davis

29 reviews

scribblesandsuch's review

challenging informative reflective sad slow-paced

A tough read but a valuable one

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Genocide, Death, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, and Hate crime

reverie_and_books's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Women, Race and Class by Angela Y. Davis - Review (🇬🇧)

Abolitionists and suffragettes - did they go hand in hand or were they more foes than friends? Written in 1981, this short book contains some insightful history lessons that help explain US politics today. Davis writes straightforward, no nonsense, with many citations and context information. 

One insight is how white women supported the abolition of slavery, demanded women's suffrage to do so, and then turned their backs once the power balance started shifting. 

Another are the consequences of said abolition and actions took: former slave owners had trouble to keep the margin up. But there was a new law which relied on convicts. Guess who was convicted for nothing and everything and put under even worse conditions as prior to the abolition? Mostly Black men. 

Yet another insight concerns the bourgeoisie and bored white housewives who fought for women's rights but totally disregarded the horrendous working conditions of the labour class.

And there are quite a few more things to take away, for me anyway. Davis essays are about the common human behavior of seeking power and status and – once gained – step on those who were formerly fighting alongside them. It’s seriously f*cked up.

Intersectionality is the key word here. The idea: If people thought more about the combination of different kinds of discrimination, structural jigsaw pieces would fall together more easily. Davis takes gender, race and class, but there’s certainly more. 

I highly recommend this read, especially if you care about history and it’s part in political currents. I’ve read books about women’s rights and racism before, but separately. This was eye-opening on another level.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Sexual assault

basicbookstagrammer's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Rape, Slavery, Classism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Murder, Abortion, and Racial slurs

brnineworms's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.5

Women, Race & Class features frank discussion of, as the title suggests, sexism, racism, and classism. It can get pretty brutal at times, focusing for the most part on the conditions of slavery (particularly for enslaved women) and on the fight(s) for equality immediately after the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Davis examines the unique oppression experienced by Black women on account of both their gender and their race, and the ensuing need for intersectional politics. She highlights the solidarity between abolitionists and early feminists, but she also examines instances where solidarity was lacking to say the least – feminists buying in to horrifically racist accusations that Black men are almost all sexual predators, for example. I previously wasn’t aware that the Republican Party had weaponised women’s suffrage against Black enfranchisement, appropriating what should have been a push for social justice as a Trojan horse for racist propaganda and policies. It doesn’t surprise me, of course, but historical details like that are worth learning and learning from.

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

kenz73's review

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Rape, Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse

flowingleaves's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Women, Race, and Class is, in my opinion, a very important book that everyone who is passionate about the topic should read, and then reread. Davis' writing is fascinating and the book is extremely insightful. An absolutely gripping, informative book that I highly recommend to just about everyone. 

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Content Warnings

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

justinareads's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

aelunny's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

I knew I was in for a good book and I'm so grateful for the timing of when I read this. It's incredibly well written and is a page turner (I may have lost the physical book under my bed for 3 months but it really only took me two days of reading). This book is an important resource for understanding intersectionality and questioning the capitalist, and self driven lens we have been subjected to look through within this society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Classism, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Hate crime, Racism, Colonisation, Infertility, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Xenophobia

lauraspeechly's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Genocide, Hate crime, Sexism, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia

madelonpaige's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault