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jules_reads_books's review against another edition
only had to read the first half for class :)
meghanstinar's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for a critical theory class and really enjoyed it!
jvicious's review against another edition
5.0
This book was challenging to read as someone who is out of practice reading critical theory, but it was a rewarding challenge. Perry is examining identity and personhood entangled with patriarchy and race and capitalism in a way that is multifaceted and deep and thoughtful and, well, vexing. I hope anyone concerned with feminism or otherwise is interested in unraveling patriarchy will read this book. I especially would recommend it to others who found value in Silvia Federici's Caliban and the Witch.
garberdog's review against another edition
1.0
This is a failed attempt to write about patriarchy.
We desperately need more theoretical work addressing patriarchy and how it manifests in myriad forms as bound up with all other forms of oppression. But this book is merely more grist for the academic mill.
Rather than clear, focused arguments, Perry writes long, wandering paragraphs that consist largely of close readings of literature and art (with far too many long block quotes thrown in).
Her definition of patriarchy largely ignores the specificity of men’s oppression of women (which is what most feminists has understood the core of patriarchy to be, even as it intersects with other oppressions). Rather, she defines patriarchy in terms of the relationship between “patriarchs” (who hold property, sovereignty, and personhood) and “non-persons”. This leads to a number of problems with her analysis, including that she routinely dismisses sexism as central to patriarchy.
She also has trouble acknowledging that marginalized men are capable of being patriarchal and oppressing marginalized women and queer people. It’s one thing to acknowledge how wealthy white men are the ultimate beneficiaries of patriarchy, it’s another to discount completely the extent to which other men also perpetuate patriarchy.
Most egregiously, Perry defines domestic violence (a central form of patriarchal oppression) as merely “collateral patriarchy” because it doesn’t meet her sui generis definition. She also clumsily makes an important point about how prisons aren’t a solution to male violence by citing two anti-feminist reactionaries (Janet Halley and Jeannie Suk). Given her proclaimed commitment to women of color feminism, she could have cited any of the numerous actually feminist, radical activists working on addressing gender violence without relying on prisons. These include Mia Mingus, Mariame Kaba, Beth Richie, Andrea Smith, Angela Davis, Ann Russo, and many others. This betrayal of feminism leads her to argue that prisons and the “security state” are more real/serious/damaging forms of patriarchy than male violence against women. To be sure, the criminal justice system is racist, classist, and sexist and needs to be abolished. But it is not MORE important to critique these institutions than to address intimate partner violence.
Perry’s prescription for “liberation feminism” is also unsatisfying. It largely seems to consist of close readings of highly avant garde art and literature, individual practices of “curation” (seemingly of media), and individual ethical commitments in place of larger political ones. It’s a far cry for the radical, collective politics we need to actually overthrow real patriarchy.
If you want to know more about what patriarchy is, you will not find it in this book. Instead, I offer a reading list of texts the address then issues Perry claims to cover in much better ways.
Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federici (Perry cites this book to make a fairly uninspired point about witches representing “monstrosity,” but it’s actually an amazing Marxist feminist account of how modern patriarchy arose).
Maria Lugones, “Heterosexism and the Colonial/Modern Gender System”
Andrea Smith, Conquest
Sarah Deer, The Beginning and the End of Rape
(These three texts address how patriarchy was spread through colonialism)
Beth Richie, Arrested Justice
(Addresses how the anti-violence movement was co-opted by the racist and patriarchal criminal justice system, to the detriment of Black women facing male violence)
The Revolution Starts at home
Beyond Survival
Ann Russo, Feminist Accountability
(These texts are about how to address gender violence without relying on prisons)
Hester Eisenstein, Feminism Seduced
Nancy Fraser, Fortunes of Feminism
(These texts address how feminism has been co-opted by capitalist interests and propose how to resist)
Silvia Federici, Revolution at Point Zero
Lise Vogel, Marxism and the Oppression of Women
Susan Ferguson, Women and Work
Maria Mies, Patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale
(Addresses how capitalism exploits women’s domestic and paid labor, a topic which Perry wholly neglects)
Ariel Salleh, Eco-sufficiency and Global Justice
Vandana Shiva, Staying Alive
Carolyn Merchant, The death of nature
(Addresses how the oppression of women and the domination of the environment are intertwined, topics Perry again ignores)
Teresa Ebert, Ludic Feminism and After
(A Marxist feminist critique of the poststructuralist theories Perry uncritically celebrates, even though it is actually a bourgeois dead end with little use for feminists)
All of these texts are better starting points than Perry’s book. Skip Vexy Thing and read any of these instead.
We desperately need more theoretical work addressing patriarchy and how it manifests in myriad forms as bound up with all other forms of oppression. But this book is merely more grist for the academic mill.
Rather than clear, focused arguments, Perry writes long, wandering paragraphs that consist largely of close readings of literature and art (with far too many long block quotes thrown in).
Her definition of patriarchy largely ignores the specificity of men’s oppression of women (which is what most feminists has understood the core of patriarchy to be, even as it intersects with other oppressions). Rather, she defines patriarchy in terms of the relationship between “patriarchs” (who hold property, sovereignty, and personhood) and “non-persons”. This leads to a number of problems with her analysis, including that she routinely dismisses sexism as central to patriarchy.
She also has trouble acknowledging that marginalized men are capable of being patriarchal and oppressing marginalized women and queer people. It’s one thing to acknowledge how wealthy white men are the ultimate beneficiaries of patriarchy, it’s another to discount completely the extent to which other men also perpetuate patriarchy.
Most egregiously, Perry defines domestic violence (a central form of patriarchal oppression) as merely “collateral patriarchy” because it doesn’t meet her sui generis definition. She also clumsily makes an important point about how prisons aren’t a solution to male violence by citing two anti-feminist reactionaries (Janet Halley and Jeannie Suk). Given her proclaimed commitment to women of color feminism, she could have cited any of the numerous actually feminist, radical activists working on addressing gender violence without relying on prisons. These include Mia Mingus, Mariame Kaba, Beth Richie, Andrea Smith, Angela Davis, Ann Russo, and many others. This betrayal of feminism leads her to argue that prisons and the “security state” are more real/serious/damaging forms of patriarchy than male violence against women. To be sure, the criminal justice system is racist, classist, and sexist and needs to be abolished. But it is not MORE important to critique these institutions than to address intimate partner violence.
Perry’s prescription for “liberation feminism” is also unsatisfying. It largely seems to consist of close readings of highly avant garde art and literature, individual practices of “curation” (seemingly of media), and individual ethical commitments in place of larger political ones. It’s a far cry for the radical, collective politics we need to actually overthrow real patriarchy.
If you want to know more about what patriarchy is, you will not find it in this book. Instead, I offer a reading list of texts the address then issues Perry claims to cover in much better ways.
Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federici (Perry cites this book to make a fairly uninspired point about witches representing “monstrosity,” but it’s actually an amazing Marxist feminist account of how modern patriarchy arose).
Maria Lugones, “Heterosexism and the Colonial/Modern Gender System”
Andrea Smith, Conquest
Sarah Deer, The Beginning and the End of Rape
(These three texts address how patriarchy was spread through colonialism)
Beth Richie, Arrested Justice
(Addresses how the anti-violence movement was co-opted by the racist and patriarchal criminal justice system, to the detriment of Black women facing male violence)
The Revolution Starts at home
Beyond Survival
Ann Russo, Feminist Accountability
(These texts are about how to address gender violence without relying on prisons)
Hester Eisenstein, Feminism Seduced
Nancy Fraser, Fortunes of Feminism
(These texts address how feminism has been co-opted by capitalist interests and propose how to resist)
Silvia Federici, Revolution at Point Zero
Lise Vogel, Marxism and the Oppression of Women
Susan Ferguson, Women and Work
Maria Mies, Patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale
(Addresses how capitalism exploits women’s domestic and paid labor, a topic which Perry wholly neglects)
Ariel Salleh, Eco-sufficiency and Global Justice
Vandana Shiva, Staying Alive
Carolyn Merchant, The death of nature
(Addresses how the oppression of women and the domination of the environment are intertwined, topics Perry again ignores)
Teresa Ebert, Ludic Feminism and After
(A Marxist feminist critique of the poststructuralist theories Perry uncritically celebrates, even though it is actually a bourgeois dead end with little use for feminists)
All of these texts are better starting points than Perry’s book. Skip Vexy Thing and read any of these instead.
crunden's review against another edition
5.0
The relation between the one speaking and the ones spoken for is fractured by economic interests.
An excellent book on personhood, sovereignty, gender, race and much, much more.
An excellent book on personhood, sovereignty, gender, race and much, much more.
aimiller's review
5.0
Just incredible--thought-provoking, and really makes me want to be more attentive to like my entire life. I think if you've read many of the women of color feminists she cites, you might feel like this book isn't saying much new, but it draws all of these lines of thought together in such a slim little volume that is ultimately pretty accessible. (I would say maybe a challenge to undergrads without much experience, but I think they could definitely take to it with interest if it was done carefully.) Just so many good explorations and such a rooted sense of theory and praxis. Really strongly recommend to all folks!
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