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A review by trywii
The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls by Kara Dansky
1.0
*For an extended commentary and citations, please view the highlights*
To start, I had gone in assuming the author would go in-depth in the various ways current and former democrat voters feel disenchanted by their politicians- A lack of addressing and changing systematic violence against black communities, no push for universal healthcare, a focus on pushing more money towards war and military spending…just to name a few.
However, the author seems to believe that the one issue- and largest issue- is trans women. Not trans people, because trans men are sparsely mentioned in this book. It’s trans women.
Throughout the book, trans women of any and all backgrounds, mannerisms, political affiliation, etc are pulled through the wringer. Not a single ounce of empathy or humanity is offered, and pity is the only humanizing emotion, but that’s saved for trans men exclusively.
The Heritage Foundation, as a right-wing organization that proudly vocalizes its suppression for women’s rights, is offered more nuance by this book than it does for any trans person mentioned.
Speaking of, the author gladly slams any philanthropy towards LGBT (or just T) orgs, but said *nothing* in regards to the encroachment of The Heritage Foundation and other right-wing groups on nearly every single anti-trans org named throughout. I mention THF specifically because the author applauded them for platforming her, an act of which she doesn’t seem to take a critical eye to as a self-proclaimed feminist.
On the matter humanizing trans women- As if calling them by their non-legal names and interpreting innocent phrases as hyper-sexual isn’t demeaning enough for the author, she also quotes old comedy skits in which trans women are the butt of the joke- they’re called ‘tranny’ and that prostitution is a part of the ‘humor’ in these skits.
Don’t believe me?
“…”For instance, how many times have I accidentally picked up a tranny hooker at a truck-stop?”…In other words, at one point both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had a sense of humor about all of this and weren’t afraid to joke”
I don’t believe there’s anything more deplorable than finding it humorous to call people forced into selling their bodies slurs, but so-called feminist Kara Dansky thinks it’s funny.
Putting aside the book’s content itself for a moment, this book really needed an editor. Several sentences and phrases are repeated verbatim throughout, sometimes within the same subchapter.
A sentence or so briefly describing Magdalen Berns is repeated at least three times, ‘Men are invading women’s prisons, women’s sports, and women’s intimate spaces like bathrooms,’ is used roughly four times, and ‘The problem with Jon Stewart is not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. The problem with Jon Stewart is that he does.’ is used at least three times.
The book also doesn’t have citations, only a few anecdotal footnotes. Meaning if the book says ‘This information from xyz’, half the time the author doesn’t mention where she got the info from, what website, or what the full information actually says. Sometimes she does, but most of the time I had to look things up myself, which is something I’d imagine most readers wouldn’t end up doing in the first place.
I could make a bingo card with all the repeated points that this book has that I’ve found word-for-word in other anti-trans books. It’s tiring how the arguments remain the same.
The book regurgitates the same fear-mongering talking points without offering any long-term solutions for trans people navigating the world. It won’t even acknowledge trans people as an existing phenomena.
The struggles and oppression that trans people faced and continue to face go unnoticed by the author, as it doesn’t seem to occur to her that violent physical and sexual violence, employment and housing discrimination, and other forms of endangering acts happen to trans people as a result of dehumanizing them on all levels.
I’m glad anti-trans books have been taking a nosedive in terms of review numbers, especially ones that feel emboldened to kick down.
To start, I had gone in assuming the author would go in-depth in the various ways current and former democrat voters feel disenchanted by their politicians- A lack of addressing and changing systematic violence against black communities, no push for universal healthcare, a focus on pushing more money towards war and military spending…just to name a few.
However, the author seems to believe that the one issue- and largest issue- is trans women. Not trans people, because trans men are sparsely mentioned in this book. It’s trans women.
Throughout the book, trans women of any and all backgrounds, mannerisms, political affiliation, etc are pulled through the wringer. Not a single ounce of empathy or humanity is offered, and pity is the only humanizing emotion, but that’s saved for trans men exclusively.
The Heritage Foundation, as a right-wing organization that proudly vocalizes its suppression for women’s rights, is offered more nuance by this book than it does for any trans person mentioned.
Speaking of, the author gladly slams any philanthropy towards LGBT (or just T) orgs, but said *nothing* in regards to the encroachment of The Heritage Foundation and other right-wing groups on nearly every single anti-trans org named throughout. I mention THF specifically because the author applauded them for platforming her, an act of which she doesn’t seem to take a critical eye to as a self-proclaimed feminist.
On the matter humanizing trans women- As if calling them by their non-legal names and interpreting innocent phrases as hyper-sexual isn’t demeaning enough for the author, she also quotes old comedy skits in which trans women are the butt of the joke- they’re called ‘tranny’ and that prostitution is a part of the ‘humor’ in these skits.
Don’t believe me?
“…”For instance, how many times have I accidentally picked up a tranny hooker at a truck-stop?”…In other words, at one point both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had a sense of humor about all of this and weren’t afraid to joke”
I don’t believe there’s anything more deplorable than finding it humorous to call people forced into selling their bodies slurs, but so-called feminist Kara Dansky thinks it’s funny.
Putting aside the book’s content itself for a moment, this book really needed an editor. Several sentences and phrases are repeated verbatim throughout, sometimes within the same subchapter.
A sentence or so briefly describing Magdalen Berns is repeated at least three times, ‘Men are invading women’s prisons, women’s sports, and women’s intimate spaces like bathrooms,’ is used roughly four times, and ‘The problem with Jon Stewart is not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. The problem with Jon Stewart is that he does.’ is used at least three times.
The book also doesn’t have citations, only a few anecdotal footnotes. Meaning if the book says ‘This information from xyz’, half the time the author doesn’t mention where she got the info from, what website, or what the full information actually says. Sometimes she does, but most of the time I had to look things up myself, which is something I’d imagine most readers wouldn’t end up doing in the first place.
I could make a bingo card with all the repeated points that this book has that I’ve found word-for-word in other anti-trans books. It’s tiring how the arguments remain the same.
The book regurgitates the same fear-mongering talking points without offering any long-term solutions for trans people navigating the world. It won’t even acknowledge trans people as an existing phenomena.
The struggles and oppression that trans people faced and continue to face go unnoticed by the author, as it doesn’t seem to occur to her that violent physical and sexual violence, employment and housing discrimination, and other forms of endangering acts happen to trans people as a result of dehumanizing them on all levels.
I’m glad anti-trans books have been taking a nosedive in terms of review numbers, especially ones that feel emboldened to kick down.