Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century by Amia Srinivasan

23 reviews

epellicci's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.0

The Right to Sex is incredibly thoughtfully written. Encouraging of it's readers to really sit with the content and reflect, I felt I would have made the perfect buddy read as there was so much to unpack within each essay. I adored the way that Srinivasan was so rarely definitive - encouraging broad thinking, and sitting with new idea's regardless of your initial impressions. The book is a perfect exploration of perspective and a timely reminder to look outside of your echo chamber.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Racial slurs

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Super interesting, loads of Good points and takes I hadn' thought of yet. Didn't necessarily agree with everything 100% but still really respect the opinions and arguments put forward here. Really impressed with the level of nuance and intersectionality, all while maintaining to take a firm stand even on controversial viewpoints. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of an abolitionist debate and shining a light on internalised misogyny under the guise of sexual liberation or empowerment. Radical!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Police brutality

Minor: Lesbophobia, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

chiaralzr's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

This book was great. Amia Srinivasan made excellent arguments on a variety of complex topics regarding women's liberation. Recommended!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Gun violence, Classism, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, Transphobia, Racism, and Rape

z0eok's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual violence

ka_cam's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

Solid book for those interested in some foundational feminist history with musings on the current era. The most interesting convos that this started for me were around the themes of desire, socialization, and politics.  I also enjoyed the Coda section of her responses to critiques of one of the (previously published) essays- her engagement with and replies to critiques were more novel than some of the other points around feminism and sexuality, which will be familiar to anyone who is part of or following conversations in the left around feminism, consent, sex work, and carceral feminism/state/capitalism/etc. Might be more of a shift/new info for someone who identifies as ‘liberal’ and less so for a ‘leftist.’ I think a deeper dive into the ethics or, in lieu of more examination, clearer propositions and ideas (to avoid the term ‘conclusions’) may have bumped the rating up for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Racism

demo's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Hate crime, Transphobia, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Abortion

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

Wow this is such an interesting and informative book!

CWs: sexual violence, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual content, sexism, misogyny, racism, classism, domestic abuse. Moderate: violence, adult/minor relationship, transphobia/transmisia, xenophobia, police brutality, homophobia/homomisia, murder, hate crime. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Classism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Xenophobia, Police brutality, Homophobia, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Violence, and Transphobia

joe_dmh's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Classism, Police brutality, and Homophobia

sammies_shelf's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, and Racism

sedgewren's review against another edition

challenging funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

A formidable collection of essays that explore and critique the current state of gender relations without shying away from the nuances and contradictions within the modern feminist movement.

These essays were perfect for me: they were intellectual without being inaccessible; witty without skipping the nuance; contemporary and relevant but grounded in intersectional feminist history. Amia Srinivasan is a fantastic writer and thinker, and I'm glad she is getting the recognition she deserves!

My favourite part of the book was how lightly she treads in her essay The Right to Sex, then how ruthless she is in Coda: The Politics of Desire where she cuts down others' inconsistent/misrepresentative critiques of her essay. She spits absolute fire throughout!

Some critiques I have of her essays (I'll write them down here because this is the easiest way I have of accessing them!)

Although it's slightly out of the scope of the book, I wish she would explore in more detail the suggested remedies to the issues at hand, e.g. using sexual imagination to combat the negative effects of pornography; how we can know when our desire is "choosing for itself" and not "what politics has chosen for us"; how we can give power to the most powerless of women.

Another specific critique I have of Srinivasan's juxtaposition of sex work with slavery (she uses them to say that abolishing slavery as an institution will stop slavery, but abolishing sex work in the law will not stop it) is that slavery actually still happens, and you could potentially argue that their conditions are worse than if it were institutionalised. I still agree with Srinivasan's leaning towards making conditions better for sex workers by decriminalising it, but I don't think those two institutions are as different as she makes them seem.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence