Scan barcode
astoldbyangela's review
4.0
i got this as an ARC from a library event a few years ago and finally finished it! i really loved the unique format but i think i would have liked it more if it was somewhat put into chapters. they explain at the end why they didn’t do this, but i don’t really think it worked that well for me because my brain was constantly switching between non-fiction and fiction and poetry and photography and it was a bit tiring sometimes to try and figure out where an author was coming from. all in all, i really enjoyed it and would love to see more anthologies like this that dig deep and incorporate art, complex thinking, etc.
gripyfish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
allisonplus's review
3.0
This anthology brings forward many different types of and viewpoints to describe their various thoughts on a feminist utopia. Some I adored and some totally missed the mark for me but I appreciated the diverse range of backgrounds it brought to the table.
"We wouldn't even need the term 'universal design' because, in my utopia, the drive to build a world for all bodies wouldn't need a special term. It would just be life."
"And that for me is the utopia project--it's to keep pushing the feminist question of what truths are missing, who's not sitting at the table, whose concerns are not being articulated, whose interests aren't being represented, and whose truths aren't being told or acknowledged."
"In my feminist utopia, I am human and my name is not 'baby'."
"We now know that while exercising one's voice in the context of a society that seeks to silence it is undoubtedly vital, this uproar can't exist alone."
"That doesn't mean the love is any less valuable, any less meaningful, any less life changing, any less heart shaping--but you break up because that's how a lot of happy relationships work."
"You should never silence someone by putting your mouth on their mouth. It's not a great way to get consent; it's not a great way to honor what someone's trying to say."
"Acknowledging people with extraordinary mental and emotional perspectives as not only valid but also valuable members of society, not despite but because of their exceptional mental and emotional conditions, is a key element of an ideal feminist society. Support, not suppression, should be the principle on which we base our mental health care. The culture of the feminist utopia must be one in which people experiencing extraordinary mental states can both survive and thrive."
"States of mine that don't conform to the normative standard of happiness are seen as undesirable and unacceptable because they are at odds with the great lie of capitalism: that life is nothing but the individual pursuit of happiness and that the measure of that happiness is money. Any state of mine that is out of line with the agreed-on principle that happiness is the human default is seen as a sickness that must be cured, just as any person who exists in a manner inconsistent with the bourgeois status quo is a blight on society at best and a terrorist at worst."
"The free girl with love being her birthright, liberation being her mission, and self-realization being her quest is my vision for an ideal society. The free girl will down down a crowded street in the daytime--unnoticed...she is not merely included; she is actually centered. She is centered because there are no gatekeepers to womanhood. It belongs to her, and no one can police her out. She is centered because solidarity is an act, not a label. She will never tiptoe toward sisterhood. She is centered because our feminism is solidly built on the belief that our freedom lies in her being free. And she will expect nothing less from us because she is everything."
"We wouldn't even need the term 'universal design' because, in my utopia, the drive to build a world for all bodies wouldn't need a special term. It would just be life."
"And that for me is the utopia project--it's to keep pushing the feminist question of what truths are missing, who's not sitting at the table, whose concerns are not being articulated, whose interests aren't being represented, and whose truths aren't being told or acknowledged."
"In my feminist utopia, I am human and my name is not 'baby'."
"We now know that while exercising one's voice in the context of a society that seeks to silence it is undoubtedly vital, this uproar can't exist alone."
"That doesn't mean the love is any less valuable, any less meaningful, any less life changing, any less heart shaping--but you break up because that's how a lot of happy relationships work."
"You should never silence someone by putting your mouth on their mouth. It's not a great way to get consent; it's not a great way to honor what someone's trying to say."
"Acknowledging people with extraordinary mental and emotional perspectives as not only valid but also valuable members of society, not despite but because of their exceptional mental and emotional conditions, is a key element of an ideal feminist society. Support, not suppression, should be the principle on which we base our mental health care. The culture of the feminist utopia must be one in which people experiencing extraordinary mental states can both survive and thrive."
"States of mine that don't conform to the normative standard of happiness are seen as undesirable and unacceptable because they are at odds with the great lie of capitalism: that life is nothing but the individual pursuit of happiness and that the measure of that happiness is money. Any state of mine that is out of line with the agreed-on principle that happiness is the human default is seen as a sickness that must be cured, just as any person who exists in a manner inconsistent with the bourgeois status quo is a blight on society at best and a terrorist at worst."
"The free girl with love being her birthright, liberation being her mission, and self-realization being her quest is my vision for an ideal society. The free girl will down down a crowded street in the daytime--unnoticed...she is not merely included; she is actually centered. She is centered because there are no gatekeepers to womanhood. It belongs to her, and no one can police her out. She is centered because solidarity is an act, not a label. She will never tiptoe toward sisterhood. She is centered because our feminism is solidly built on the belief that our freedom lies in her being free. And she will expect nothing less from us because she is everything."
kiora's review
4.0
I didn't like everything in this book, but I did think it was interesting. Mostly because right before I happened upon it I was trying to figure out what I would create for a perfect setting if I could choose anything I wanted; I was having trouble thinking of something that would cover everything I wanted it to. This helped me get started.
wcsheffer's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this collection of essays, fiction, interviews, poetry, and art. Some much more than others. Several 'visions' moved me to tears. I think the interviews tended to be the most compelling. The book would be a great bedside tome to pick up when you want to read something inspiring. A little dry to read cover-to-cover but still enjoyable. Gets the juices flowing about what ones ideal world looks like. Have to take out A LOT of sticky notes before I return it to the library.
aemy's review
Some visions are stronger than others ("Seven Rituals From the Feminist Utopia: Prebirth to Postdeath" by Yumi Sakaguwa and "Justice" by Mariame Kaba and Bianca Diaz were my particular favorites), but I would definitely recommend checking it out to reorient yourself to not only addressing what's wrong in the world but to building a world that is good.
urn's review
2.0
Meh. Wildly uneven. Also I was expecting fiction/sci-fi and instead got a bunch of essays that read like printed out tumblr posts. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I was after. Kinda feel like you can save yourself the $ and just develop a good blog roll?
mjn's review
3.0
unique, disjointed, creative, disagreeable, painful, thought-provoking essays, poems, illustrations, interviews, and experiments. some pieces which especially stood out to me (as inspiring and challenging) were created by: Yumi Sakugawa, Harsh Crowd, Abigail Carney, Erin Matson, Suey Park, Charlotte Lieberman, Chloe Angyal, Judy Rebick, Eileen McFarland, Madeleine Schwartz, Ellen Bravo, William Schlesinger, Ileana Jimenez, Victoria Law, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Katie J.M. Baker.