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A review by wetdirtreads
Talkin' Up to the White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism by Aileen Moreton-Robinson
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be…unrelenting. Luckily, I don’t have to describe it in one word. I have 2200 characters to work with.
I loved this book, aggressively. And when I say aggressively, I mean: this book got me riled the fuck up. This book makes me feel things that I can only compare to watching The Real Housewives of Sydney. As in, the instalment of Real Housewives that was cancelled after the first season because it went too far – something I didn’t think was possible for the franchise.
I’m obviously being facetious here, but there is some truth to it! AMR is unflinching. She brings to this book an audacity that is often only permitted for, say…filthy rich white women who can start shit for the sake of entertainment without ever having to worry about the repercussions.
But AMR’s passion could never be mistaken for that of a filthy rich white woman. Her unapologetically direct writing epitomises Blackfulla storytelling. It is unmistakable, refreshing, and healing. It is palpably grounded in cultural Law, knowledge, and relationality, meaning she never lets you forget who and what she’s writing for.
Of course, saying I could ‘only compare’ this book to watching RHoS was also a load of shit. I think every Blackfulla knows the feeling of watching a staunch, sovereign Blak woman put the colony and its agents in their place. It is an intoxicating combination of excitement, fear, love, and pride. That’s what I felt during every damn word of this book.
One small caveat: I write this as someone who both studied and taught Indigenous Cultures and Histories in a tertiary setting. I acknowledge that this book is very dense, and that my capacity to understand it doesn’t make inaccessible academic writing okay.
I try not to speak in absolutes, but social media isn’t particularly conducive to nuance. I think this is a big both/and situation – this book is incredible, and, simultaneously, the fact that it’s not accessible for many of the mob who it speaks of and for is an issue that needs to be highlighted.
(Review originally posted on instagram)
I loved this book, aggressively. And when I say aggressively, I mean: this book got me riled the fuck up. This book makes me feel things that I can only compare to watching The Real Housewives of Sydney. As in, the instalment of Real Housewives that was cancelled after the first season because it went too far – something I didn’t think was possible for the franchise.
I’m obviously being facetious here, but there is some truth to it! AMR is unflinching. She brings to this book an audacity that is often only permitted for, say…filthy rich white women who can start shit for the sake of entertainment without ever having to worry about the repercussions.
But AMR’s passion could never be mistaken for that of a filthy rich white woman. Her unapologetically direct writing epitomises Blackfulla storytelling. It is unmistakable, refreshing, and healing. It is palpably grounded in cultural Law, knowledge, and relationality, meaning she never lets you forget who and what she’s writing for.
Of course, saying I could ‘only compare’ this book to watching RHoS was also a load of shit. I think every Blackfulla knows the feeling of watching a staunch, sovereign Blak woman put the colony and its agents in their place. It is an intoxicating combination of excitement, fear, love, and pride. That’s what I felt during every damn word of this book.
One small caveat: I write this as someone who both studied and taught Indigenous Cultures and Histories in a tertiary setting. I acknowledge that this book is very dense, and that my capacity to understand it doesn’t make inaccessible academic writing okay.
I try not to speak in absolutes, but social media isn’t particularly conducive to nuance. I think this is a big both/and situation – this book is incredible, and, simultaneously, the fact that it’s not accessible for many of the mob who it speaks of and for is an issue that needs to be highlighted.
(Review originally posted on instagram)