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annayareads's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
I think that more commercial feminism books aren't that interesting to me. If I read this in high school, it probably would have changed my brain chemistry. However, I'm much further along in my feminist journey, so I'm not as impacted by this book. Also, I'm not very interested in books that speak to white people. Hood Feminism doesn't only speak to white feminists (thank goodness), but in the parts where it does, I was less engaged. Overall, I did feel seen by a lot of Kendall's words, but I wasn't blown away.
Perhaps this is my anti-military/anti-imperialism bias peeking through, but I thought the military kind of gets away with very little criticism. Kendall mentions her time in the military, and she doesn't paint a completely positive image. Nevertheless, she doesn't criticize the military half as much as she does the police. That is a MAJOR flaw to me. The US military is an ontological evil in my view. It pollutes, murders, assaults, etc. around the world. They're the international police. I cannot understand cricizing the police but not doing the same for the military. I do think you have a responsibility to loudly and consistently condemn the military if you've been a part of it. Especially now.
Finally, this is a relatively minor grievance, but in the essay "The Fetishization of Fierce," Kendall pretty uncritically allows Beyoncé's feminism to inhabit the label of "fierce." Of course, she goes on to dismantle the racial implications of that word and how white feminists wield it. I have no issues with that analysis. I DO have issues with calling Beyoncé's feminism "fierce" without at least a sentence saying her feminism is actually just girlboss capitalism packaged for a Black audience. Never would I call Beyoncé's feminism "fierce" because never (to my knowledge) has she done anything radical.
Perhaps this is my anti-military/anti-imperialism bias peeking through, but I thought the military kind of gets away with very little criticism. Kendall mentions her time in the military, and she doesn't paint a completely positive image. Nevertheless, she doesn't criticize the military half as much as she does the police. That is a MAJOR flaw to me. The US military is an ontological evil in my view. It pollutes, murders, assaults, etc. around the world. They're the international police. I cannot understand cricizing the police but not doing the same for the military. I do think you have a responsibility to loudly and consistently condemn the military if you've been a part of it. Especially now.
Finally, this is a relatively minor grievance, but in the essay "The Fetishization of Fierce," Kendall pretty uncritically allows Beyoncé's feminism to inhabit the label of "fierce." Of course, she goes on to dismantle the racial implications of that word and how white feminists wield it. I have no issues with that analysis. I DO have issues with calling Beyoncé's feminism "fierce" without at least a sentence saying her feminism is actually just girlboss capitalism packaged for a Black audience. Never would I call Beyoncé's feminism "fierce" because never (to my knowledge) has she done anything radical.