Take a photo of a barcode or cover
notesbynnenna 's review for:
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America
by Ijeoma Oluo
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
“Ours is a society where white culture is normalized and universalized, while cultures of color are demonized, exotified, or erased.”
In MEDIOCRE, Oluo writes about the dangers of white male supremacy. She demonstrates how it’s a system that benefits a select few, and does harm to a great number of people, especially women and people of color. She also shows how ingrained it is in our society through various historical examples.
I found this book very accessible. She’s obviously tackling a difficult subject here (I’m sure that the title alone is enough to send some people into a tizzy), and I thought she broke down her argument really well. Her writing style felt like you’re having a conversation with a friend who’s extremely well versed in the subject, and I’m sure the fact that I listened to most of this on audio contributed to that feeling as well.
She shone a light on some bits of history that I wasn’t aware of, including how football originally began as a sport for young, elite white men, to toughen them up. I definitely learned some things and spent some time googling some of the people/events she mentioned.
The part that baffles me is how a more inclusive and diverse society would benefit everyone, and yet some people are just too dedicated to upholding a system of white male patriarchy that instead they work against their own self interests. This was a really excellent and timely read. After reading Oluo’s work for the first time, I’m now even more excited to pick up her previous book, SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE.
“Ours is a society where white culture is normalized and universalized, while cultures of color are demonized, exotified, or erased.”
In MEDIOCRE, Oluo writes about the dangers of white male supremacy. She demonstrates how it’s a system that benefits a select few, and does harm to a great number of people, especially women and people of color. She also shows how ingrained it is in our society through various historical examples.
I found this book very accessible. She’s obviously tackling a difficult subject here (I’m sure that the title alone is enough to send some people into a tizzy), and I thought she broke down her argument really well. Her writing style felt like you’re having a conversation with a friend who’s extremely well versed in the subject, and I’m sure the fact that I listened to most of this on audio contributed to that feeling as well.
She shone a light on some bits of history that I wasn’t aware of, including how football originally began as a sport for young, elite white men, to toughen them up. I definitely learned some things and spent some time googling some of the people/events she mentioned.
The part that baffles me is how a more inclusive and diverse society would benefit everyone, and yet some people are just too dedicated to upholding a system of white male patriarchy that instead they work against their own self interests. This was a really excellent and timely read. After reading Oluo’s work for the first time, I’m now even more excited to pick up her previous book, SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE.