Reviews with content warning for Torture - Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

Fantastic Important and a Necessary read. This was me learning and understanding a different perspective therefore I cannot comment on it in the same way I could a non fiction book.

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knicke's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

This is a review for the audiobook narrated by Adenrele Ojo. Ojo does a fantastic job of narrating this text. As for hooks, she provides a very comprehensive, touching, and deeply insightful look into black feminism — making this text widely accessible. The biggest criticism I would have of “Ain’t I a Woman” is where hooks’ locates power. At times it seems she locates power in the mind of individuals and other times she seems to place it in structure. I found this to cause some passages to contradict others. And while I don’t think this is an issue that all texts focused on intersectionality needs to address — I do think that hooks’ critique and analysis of social change and social movements necessitates a more direct engagement with her epistemological and ontological assumptions. Still, this is a great text and certainly worth the read (or in my case, listen)!

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stillmuseum's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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ashleycmms's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative medium-paced

3.5

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erenreads12's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Very little I can fault about this book. Ain't I A Woman is a core feminist text for a reason. Challenging, difficult and absolutely essential for the feminist reader.

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fleurjlbooth's review

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challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Ain’t I a Woman is fantastic. I hope it is already, but if it’s not, this book needs to be part of every conversation about feminism, every Women’s Studies class. In Ain’t I a Woman, hooks discusses the history of Black women in America. From objectification to dehumanization to cultural and gender divisions… hooks shares a side of history that gets buried beneath racism, sexism, and self-interest.

This book is not written for white women. Ain’t I a Woman can be enlightening for white women, but it is a call for Black women to keep fighting for what they believe in and keep their hope. The ending paragraphs say it best – those who are racist, sexist, or elitist aren’t truly feminist. Much of the feminist agenda has been driven in selfishness rather than the desire to dismantle the system and rebuild something new and better. Ain’t I a Woman was first published in 1981 – but 40 years later, it is still disappointingly relevant.

This book is an absolute must read for anyone who wants to call themself a feminist. It challenges the movement as it has been known and calls for true solidarity, welcoming, discourse, and definitive change. These days, we call it “intersectional feminism” but even that is not enough. Conversations about sexism need to include conversations about racism, elitism, ableism, antisemitism, ageism... all of it. Every prejudice, ever seed of hate. Between intricately crafted essays about Black women’s experience during slavery to the constant betrayals of both Black men and white women of Black women.

I can’t say it better than bell hooks. She doesn’t care about hurting anyone’s feelings because change is too important for that. I hope folks read this one, and after they read it, they analyze their own activism and motivation. It’s a powerful work, well-researched and well-spoken.

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aegireads's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

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