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legs_n_chins's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.0
I think the most important thing I reminded myself of while reading was that this is reflective more than it is academic. I did initially think it would be more academic, and while it is incredibly informative, the author makes it very clear right at the start and in places in most chapters that this is coming from a place of personal reflection and lived experience. It is, therefore, in the most neutral but undeniable way, a biased book. That doesn’t mean it’s to be dismissed or considered somehow less valid, in fact I think the bias is the reason to read it. A woman of color, born in a non-white dominate country, speaking on her experiences within the feminist movement of the white western world is exactly the kind of voice I think we need. And I really respect that the author concluded this book by saying that she publishes her work to invite critique as her voice is not the only one that should be listened to within the movement.
My own critique hinges on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people as barely more than a passing mention. Understandably, as this author makes no mention of identifying as queer, she may not have experience in this community and as this is a reflective text on her own experiences, it doesn’t often factor into her writing. But I do think this is a continued problem that should be addressed. Queer people need to be included in the feminist movement, and the author says this often, but never goes any deeper than that. What’s more, and what’s most disturbing for me personally, is that she doesn’t seem to fully accept and embrace all people within the LGBTQ+ community.
In chapter 5, when discussing the rise of sexual liberation and hyper-sexuality as an inherent marker of the new feminist, the author engages in some very acephobic language and views. It’s notable that throughout the book she only ever uses LGBTQI as the acronym, leaving off the A entirely. As an asexual person, this was very uncomfortable and hurtful, and still did not prepare me for how she spoke about asexuality within the chapter. Zakaria first places the word asexual within quotes, as she often does when presenting new theoretical terminology in the text. She goes on to use asexuality as a “lens” through which to view the new hyper-sexual feminist movement, reducing asexuality — I felt — down to an idea or theoretical principle and completely divorcing it from an actual lived experience and identity shared by a wide variety of people who experience asexuality in a wide variety of ways. To me, it read as extremely invalidating and dismissive and downright exclusionary. It wouldn’t be out of place in the ace-exclusionary sections of the queer community nor in the acephobic areas of the straight community that consider us “broken.” It was triggering enough that I almost DNF’d. I’m ultimately glad I pushed through, but I hate that it reinforces extremely hurtful rhetoric around asexuality that continues to cause harm within our community.
Overall, I found the book to be very informative and helped me not only articulate some of my own experiences, but also look at some of my own biases from growing up in a white dominant country. As someone who is not white and does not identify as a woman, I am still very well aware that I’ve fallen into patterns of white feminism and sometimes upholding that status quo because it’s easy and safe. I really appreciated being given space to explore those things within myself by listening to another woman’s experience. Toward the end, Zakaria outlines a potential way forward and reminds us that solidarity exists in recognizing, accepting, and working with everyone’s differences. I like her explanation of it, and it’s backed by many of the points she makes in the book. I want to think there is hope toward the path Zakaria describes, and I hope that the shifting of my own viewpoint in reflection of this text is a step in that direction.
My own critique hinges on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people as barely more than a passing mention. Understandably, as this author makes no mention of identifying as queer, she may not have experience in this community and as this is a reflective text on her own experiences, it doesn’t often factor into her writing. But I do think this is a continued problem that should be addressed. Queer people need to be included in the feminist movement, and the author says this often, but never goes any deeper than that. What’s more, and what’s most disturbing for me personally, is that she doesn’t seem to fully accept and embrace all people within the LGBTQ+ community.
In chapter 5, when discussing the rise of sexual liberation and hyper-sexuality as an inherent marker of the new feminist, the author engages in some very acephobic language and views. It’s notable that throughout the book she only ever uses LGBTQI as the acronym, leaving off the A entirely. As an asexual person, this was very uncomfortable and hurtful, and still did not prepare me for how she spoke about asexuality within the chapter. Zakaria first places the word asexual within quotes, as she often does when presenting new theoretical terminology in the text. She goes on to use asexuality as a “lens” through which to view the new hyper-sexual feminist movement, reducing asexuality — I felt — down to an idea or theoretical principle and completely divorcing it from an actual lived experience and identity shared by a wide variety of people who experience asexuality in a wide variety of ways. To me, it read as extremely invalidating and dismissive and downright exclusionary. It wouldn’t be out of place in the ace-exclusionary sections of the queer community nor in the acephobic areas of the straight community that consider us “broken.” It was triggering enough that I almost DNF’d. I’m ultimately glad I pushed through, but I hate that it reinforces extremely hurtful rhetoric around asexuality that continues to cause harm within our community.
Overall, I found the book to be very informative and helped me not only articulate some of my own experiences, but also look at some of my own biases from growing up in a white dominant country. As someone who is not white and does not identify as a woman, I am still very well aware that I’ve fallen into patterns of white feminism and sometimes upholding that status quo because it’s easy and safe. I really appreciated being given space to explore those things within myself by listening to another woman’s experience. Toward the end, Zakaria outlines a potential way forward and reminds us that solidarity exists in recognizing, accepting, and working with everyone’s differences. I like her explanation of it, and it’s backed by many of the points she makes in the book. I want to think there is hope toward the path Zakaria describes, and I hope that the shifting of my own viewpoint in reflection of this text is a step in that direction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child death and War
therecoveringbookworm's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Racism
Moderate: War, Domestic abuse, and Islamophobia
peachani's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Islamophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Classism, Police brutality, and Violence
Minor: War, Cultural appropriation, Sexual content, Transphobia, Bullying, and Child abuse
samdalefox's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I read this as an audiobook, it transferred to the medium well but I think I'll be buying this and re-reading/referring to a physical copy.
The core concepts of 'Against White Feminism' are not new. To well-read intersectional feminists, if you've read Audre Lorde, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Gayatri Spivak, you'll be familiar with the arguments made here. Several of the examples are already mentioned in other lay books such as the clean stove initiative; a case study already detailed in 'invisible wome'n by Caroline Criado-Perez. However, Zakaria brings her own personal experience to the narrative, and illustrates the arguments with examples focussing on the middle east and south asian countries, some of which were new to me (highlighted below). As such, I learnt many new things as well as hearing the already known and I would recommend all feminists reading it. I would also recommend it, perhaps even more so, to people new to intersectional feminism. Zakaria does an excellent job covering a huge amount of history and theory, whilst keeping the language and arguments largely accessible to likely shocked, defensive, white people.
The whole premise of the book is to describe white feminism, highlight its oppressive flaws, and explain the encompassing benefits of moving towards intersectional feminism. In order to do this white people must decenter and depiviledge ourselves and actively support and promote Black and POC people in the movement. Zakaria ever so briefly touches upon whether Black and POC should dissociate themselves entirely from the movement and have their own exclusive feminism, but ultimately argues for solidarity among all. A triumph of a book, I hope it reaches many people.
White feminist definition:
The core concepts of 'Against White Feminism' are not new. To well-read intersectional feminists, if you've read Audre Lorde, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Gayatri Spivak, you'll be familiar with the arguments made here. Several of the examples are already mentioned in other lay books such as the clean stove initiative; a case study already detailed in 'invisible wome'n by Caroline Criado-Perez. However, Zakaria brings her own personal experience to the narrative, and illustrates the arguments with examples focussing on the middle east and south asian countries, some of which were new to me (highlighted below). As such, I learnt many new things as well as hearing the already known and I would recommend all feminists reading it. I would also recommend it, perhaps even more so, to people new to intersectional feminism. Zakaria does an excellent job covering a huge amount of history and theory, whilst keeping the language and arguments largely accessible to likely shocked, defensive, white people.
The whole premise of the book is to describe white feminism, highlight its oppressive flaws, and explain the encompassing benefits of moving towards intersectional feminism. In order to do this white people must decenter and depiviledge ourselves and actively support and promote Black and POC people in the movement. Zakaria ever so briefly touches upon whether Black and POC should dissociate themselves entirely from the movement and have their own exclusive feminism, but ultimately argues for solidarity among all. A triumph of a book, I hope it reaches many people.
White feminist definition:
A person [of any race] who..." fails to consider the role that whiteness and the racial privilege attached to it have played… in universalizing white feminist concerns, agendas, and beliefs as being those of all feminists."
Bits I particularly liked
- I particuarly loved the numerous case studies made within British colonialism of India
- The explanation of compulsorary sexuality and comparison to eastern countries' cultures
- The entire chapter on FGM and 'honour killings'
- Emphasising Nancy Fraser, that redistribution is more important and impactful that recognition
- We need sisterhood and solidarity, not exploitation of intimate spaces for individualistic gain
Bits I think could be improved
- Class anylases. Zakaria absolutely does perform class anayses throughout. She looks at warfare, white women becoming the oppressor of 'others' in order achieve dominance parity with white men, levels of poverty and access to opportunities, capitalism affecting women through compulsorary sexuality and consumerism etc. But for me the clarity of thought came late in the book and seemed secondary. The class system and capitalism is the generating force behind these things, I strongly believe it should be identified clearly as the primary oppressing structure from which all others are interconnected upon, included white feminism. "Individualism in a very crucial sense is a building block of capitalism". (Produce women as economic producers and consumers, capitalists try to depoliticise as much as possible, and push into meaningless competition instead of solidarity), this should have been indentified clearly in the introduction, not stated 90% of the way through.
New bits for me
- Gayatri Spivak's subaltern essay - a landmark writing I haven't read
- Rebellion rather than resilience is recognised in white feminism
- 'Sultana's dream' - Indian separatism feminist fiction
- The origins of the definition of 'Empowerment'
- Gita Sen - notable Indian feminist scholar
- 'Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an' - Asma Barlas
- The Hindu legal system before British colonialism/imperialism
- Doctrine of qisas in Sharia (Islamic) law
- 'Choice feminism' actually gives me pause for thought. I had never considered the negative implications before. I'm still not sure I fully understand the argument againist it, so I will reread the chapter. I wish Zakaria had actually given examples of which ones (choices) we should critique in order to champion POC. From inference, perhaps challenging centering sex positive capitalism?
Favourite quotes:
"Documentation of experience is also valuable as an affirmation of humanity, solidarity, and collective experience. Which are important kinds of self care for women or colour and other marginalised women"
"It is not enough for alternative narratives for women of colour simply to exist, they must actually alter the content and course of the movement for gender parity. And before this can happen, white women must reckon with just how much white privilege has influenced feminist movements and continues to influence the agenda of Feminism today"
"Part of the problem is... the universal authoritative voice, usually white make subjectivity masquerading as non racial, non gendered, objectivity, is merely transferred to those who but for gender, share many if the same cultural economic and social characteristics. In other words, white women take on the voices of white men and that is considered progress".
"It is still so tempting for white women to interpret their own assent as a matter of pure mertit and their own quest for parity the most urgent priority."
"It is most often easier to inhabit the systems that we find ourselves in than to dismantle them due to their inequity"
"I cannot hide my anger to spare you guilt or hurt feelings... It trivialises our efforts....Guilt is not a response to anger, it is a response to ones own actions or lack of action"
"The change that we need, that feminism needs, is transformational change. The analysis of how and where to make that change must be intersectional. Considering race and class and gender, and the redress must be redistributive and recognitive."
"White feminists must accept that true solidarity, where all races if women interact at a level of parity, means accomodating and valuing many different kinds of knowledge and expertise first and foremost the kind that comes from lived experience. Accomplishing equality will require lifting up woken who are not slick with jargon rhetoric and venerating their contributions as much as those who know how to package themselves appealingly".
"To stand for something inherently means that some will choose not to stand with you. This is essential for the Constitution of a movement. Not a harbinger of its inadequacy."
"Without community, there is no liberation...but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist." - Audre Lorde
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Sexism, War, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Classism
honeyvoiced's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and War
Minor: Rape and Suicide
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