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47 reviews for:
Nice White Ladies: The Truth about White Supremacy, Our Role in It, and How We Can Help Dismantle It
Jessie Daniels
4.14 AVERAGE
47 reviews for:
Nice White Ladies: The Truth about White Supremacy, Our Role in It, and How We Can Help Dismantle It
Jessie Daniels
4.14 AVERAGE
zephoria's review against another edition
5.0
This book is part memoir, part cultural commentary, designed to invite the reader to grapple with the legacy and presence of whiteness, especially in the US context. Daniels weaves together her own experiences (as the grandchild of a Klansman who was taught countless racist messages) and cases of historical and contemporary incidents of “nice white ladies” to show the reinforcing logics of whiteness. She also leverages an array of scholarly thinking to analyze these dynamics, but her analysis is written in a manner that is truly accessible and compelling to any reader. (Scholars can read the notes at the end of the book.) This book is constructively discomforting such that readers (especially those born white) come away seeing clearly how systems of oppression are maintained even by those seeking to do good. Perhaps her most scathing critique is directed at those involved in feminist movements that are white-dominated. But this is not a book designed to make white readers feel guilty but, rather, to invite them on a journey for transformation. I came away from the book wanting to spend time reflecting deeply about my own history and what I can do to help dismantle the caustic systems that Daniels astutely reveals.
ntsteinbach's review against another edition
Absolute must read. Uncomfortable, painful, broken-open insight.
The calls to action at the end are the pinnacle.
The calls to action at the end are the pinnacle.
becki_bee's review against another edition
5.0
This book gave me a lot to think about. I *am* a Nice White Lady. The premise of the book is that we, as white women, tend to see ourselves as somewhat oppressed in comparison to white men, but that we have privilege because of our whiteness that we at best- don't recognize, and at worst- perpetuate and protect for our own benefit, to the detriment of marginalized others. The book was filled with individual stories taken from news articles in conjunction with pertinent data, alongside (to a lesser degree) the author's own personal experience.
Sometimes reading a book like this can be overwhelming. I was glad that the Conclusion chapter listed several points of action. The "Notes" section contained more resources and interesting information. I may not be in full agreement on every single conclusion from this author, but I will definitely continue to think about her words, and will continue to draw from other voices in this arena.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for such a thought provoking read. #NiceWhiteLadies
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Transparency- My most honest rating for this book is 4 stars. It's very important info, and well written, but it was a bit dry in some places, and some arguments felt a little circular. I'm annoyed, though, with raters who gave this book 1 or 2 stars with no review. My only guess is that either they didn't read the book, or they didn't like what the book had to say about "nice white ladies". I bumped my review up one star to try to counter those reviews.
Sometimes reading a book like this can be overwhelming. I was glad that the Conclusion chapter listed several points of action. The "Notes" section contained more resources and interesting information. I may not be in full agreement on every single conclusion from this author, but I will definitely continue to think about her words, and will continue to draw from other voices in this arena.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for such a thought provoking read. #NiceWhiteLadies
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Transparency- My most honest rating for this book is 4 stars. It's very important info, and well written, but it was a bit dry in some places, and some arguments felt a little circular. I'm annoyed, though, with raters who gave this book 1 or 2 stars with no review. My only guess is that either they didn't read the book, or they didn't like what the book had to say about "nice white ladies". I bumped my review up one star to try to counter those reviews.
lille_in_the_ville's review
3.0
How you feel about this book will depend a lot on your own personal history and "positionality" and also where you are on your journey when you find it.
Daniels does a good job of exploring the many ways that white women have played a key role in white supremacy and the ways that our modern trends and lifestyles continue to create harm for BIPOC/LGBT+ folk. Like many white women, some parts of it triggered anger as I read and it was good to sit with that feeling and explore my own reactions to her points.
At times, I felt that she generalized too much from her own history and emotional reactions to it. And at other times I found her depiction of modern white womanhood unrecognizable: although I realize that popular trends mean that a lot of people are subscribing to them, not everyone watches Law & Order after hot yoga class while scrolling Goop and the latest Kardashian gossip.
The relatively brief conclusion was the most valuable part of the book for me, with concrete challenges and goals for white women to reassess what values they are living and take action to work toward justice. I wish this could have made up half the book, going into more detail and stories of how we can do better.
Overall, none of what's here should be news at this point, but we all start where we are and maybe this is the next book you need to read.
Daniels does a good job of exploring the many ways that white women have played a key role in white supremacy and the ways that our modern trends and lifestyles continue to create harm for BIPOC/LGBT+ folk. Like many white women, some parts of it triggered anger as I read and it was good to sit with that feeling and explore my own reactions to her points.
At times, I felt that she generalized too much from her own history and emotional reactions to it. And at other times I found her depiction of modern white womanhood unrecognizable: although I realize that popular trends mean that a lot of people are subscribing to them, not everyone watches Law & Order after hot yoga class while scrolling Goop and the latest Kardashian gossip.
The relatively brief conclusion was the most valuable part of the book for me, with concrete challenges and goals for white women to reassess what values they are living and take action to work toward justice. I wish this could have made up half the book, going into more detail and stories of how we can do better.
Overall, none of what's here should be news at this point, but we all start where we are and maybe this is the next book you need to read.
palebea's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Important accessible academic read. I do take issue with the, "well nothing new here" but I do think the compilation of the information is newer. The arguments are known but discussed in different ways and pulled together in different ways.
jrosenstein's review against another edition
4.0
Daniels does a really good job of taking academic theories and making them accessible to a broad audience. Her honesty about her own life and trauma grounds her arguments in very real lived experience and adds a lot of resonance. For me her thesis was not new but I kept reading quotes to my husband because she does such a good job of presenting facts and examples that really cut to the heart of an issue. I also found her explanation that many people experience "whiteness as emptiness" to be very cogent and it helped me clarify my own relationship to whiteness as a white Jew.
As with many of these books about becoming anti racist, the "what to do about it" section is the weakest because it is so hard and complex. I think a lot of readers might want, as I did, more concrete suggestions, but that's the whole problem. As Daniels points out, for white women like us becoming antiracist is a lifelong process.
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As with many of these books about becoming anti racist, the "what to do about it" section is the weakest because it is so hard and complex. I think a lot of readers might want, as I did, more concrete suggestions, but that's the whole problem. As Daniels points out, for white women like us becoming antiracist is a lifelong process.
As