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A review by ivanainthecity
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
5.0
“[T]o be aware of what is happening in this world is to be in an almost perpetual state of rage. Everyone should be angry about injustice, not just those experiencing it.”
Almost ran out of tabs reading Mikki Kendall’s HOOD FEMINISM. It’s that good. Kendall highlights the importance of advocating for ALL women, not just those who are ~polite,~ heterosexual, cis, & white. She tells us that EVERYTHING that affects women—from hunger, to education, to racism, to fetishization, to parenthood—is a feminist issue. Feminist issues are often reduced to a few like equal pay and reproductive rights. While these might be important, they ignore the fact that ~leaning in~ is not as easy for BIPOC women & that not all women have vaginas. These also ignore that survival can be extremely difficult for women in marginalized communities. Feminism as a whole forgets that “there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others... white women can oppress women of color, straight women can oppress lesbian women, cis women can oppress trans women, & those identities are not discrete; they often can & do overlap. So too do the ways in which women can help or harm each other under the guise of feminism.”
Some reflections:
(1) “Respectability narratives discourage us from addressing the needs of sex workers, incarcerated women, or anyone else who has had to make hard life choices. No woman has to be respectable to be valuable.” We saw this when Megan Thee Stallion got shot last Sept & social media ignored it. We also saw that hatred last week with the murder of 6 Asian women who worked at massage parlors.
(2) “When we encourage victims to turn to the police, but ignore that the second most common form of police misconduct is sexual assault, how are we helping victims feel safer?” This point to me was the most intriguing, as I’m still learning about abolitionism. Kendall mentions carceral feminism & its detrimental effects on women who fight back. In addition to locking up many Black & Brown folks, the criminal justice system often re-traumatizes women. Kendall wants us to reimagine what justice w/out police would look like for women & BIPOC communities.
Almost ran out of tabs reading Mikki Kendall’s HOOD FEMINISM. It’s that good. Kendall highlights the importance of advocating for ALL women, not just those who are ~polite,~ heterosexual, cis, & white. She tells us that EVERYTHING that affects women—from hunger, to education, to racism, to fetishization, to parenthood—is a feminist issue. Feminist issues are often reduced to a few like equal pay and reproductive rights. While these might be important, they ignore the fact that ~leaning in~ is not as easy for BIPOC women & that not all women have vaginas. These also ignore that survival can be extremely difficult for women in marginalized communities. Feminism as a whole forgets that “there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others... white women can oppress women of color, straight women can oppress lesbian women, cis women can oppress trans women, & those identities are not discrete; they often can & do overlap. So too do the ways in which women can help or harm each other under the guise of feminism.”
Some reflections:
(1) “Respectability narratives discourage us from addressing the needs of sex workers, incarcerated women, or anyone else who has had to make hard life choices. No woman has to be respectable to be valuable.” We saw this when Megan Thee Stallion got shot last Sept & social media ignored it. We also saw that hatred last week with the murder of 6 Asian women who worked at massage parlors.
(2) “When we encourage victims to turn to the police, but ignore that the second most common form of police misconduct is sexual assault, how are we helping victims feel safer?” This point to me was the most intriguing, as I’m still learning about abolitionism. Kendall mentions carceral feminism & its detrimental effects on women who fight back. In addition to locking up many Black & Brown folks, the criminal justice system often re-traumatizes women. Kendall wants us to reimagine what justice w/out police would look like for women & BIPOC communities.