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A review by briannareadsbooks
Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets by Feminista Jones
3.0
This collection speaks a lot about Black feminism in the age of social media, where Tumblr posts and Twitter hashtags are a new and valid method of resistance and political organization. This book also mainly focuses on the author's view of the new digital age of Black feminism. I didn't expect either of these things when diving into the book. The title "Reclaiming Our Space" made me feel as if I'd be reading a book about the diversity of Black feminism from a variety of different Black feminists and the different ways that they "reclaim our space." But while we briefly hear about other feminists' point of views, it usually spins back around to Jones' opinions quickly. This is not a bad thing. It's simply that I just expected to hear the unique opinions of many different women.
Unfortunately, the first few chapters lacked a point for me. I'd finish each chapter without feeling like I'd learned much and I'd frequently think "Okay, but what's the point?" Fortunately, the last few chapters interested me a lot more and reminded me more of anthology feminist writings that I much prefer. One thing that I didn't enjoy much was the fact that Feminista Jones mentioned being a queer Black woman at times, but very rarely talked about the "queer" part. It sort of fell flat and was missing from her narrative. I look forward to reading more of Feminista Jones, but unfortunately, this wasn't my favourite collection of feminist essays. One of the best things I took from this read is how beneficial social media is in making a change in the world. It made me appreciate the simple act of creating hashtags and spreading awareness via our Twitter and Instagram feeds so much more! It's so special to see how activism is changing over time, and even though our methods are changing, we are all still banding together to fight for similar things.
Unfortunately, the first few chapters lacked a point for me. I'd finish each chapter without feeling like I'd learned much and I'd frequently think "Okay, but what's the point?" Fortunately, the last few chapters interested me a lot more and reminded me more of anthology feminist writings that I much prefer. One thing that I didn't enjoy much was the fact that Feminista Jones mentioned being a queer Black woman at times, but very rarely talked about the "queer" part. It sort of fell flat and was missing from her narrative. I look forward to reading more of Feminista Jones, but unfortunately, this wasn't my favourite collection of feminist essays. One of the best things I took from this read is how beneficial social media is in making a change in the world. It made me appreciate the simple act of creating hashtags and spreading awareness via our Twitter and Instagram feeds so much more! It's so special to see how activism is changing over time, and even though our methods are changing, we are all still banding together to fight for similar things.