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A review by carriepond
Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing from Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others on Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism by June Eric-Udorie
4.0
It took me awhile to get through this collection; there was so much to digest in each essay that I would only read one or two a day. This is a great primer for those interested in thinking intersectionally, but the essays are not easy-to-digest instruction manuals for how to include x type of woman in feminism. Rather, the essays address the various ways mainstream feminism fails to address issues affecting a variety of women because their experiences don't reflect the experiences of white, cis, hetero, and middle-class/wealthy women. It's a great collection to lead to self-reflection on our own blind spots and ways we could be better.
I really enjoyed most of these essays. The first few drug along for me because they seemed to try to tackle too much and were hard for me to really get into. Particular favorites were: "Borderlands" by the trans writer Gabrielle Bellot, Evette Dionne's "Intersectionality and the Black Lives Matter Movement," and "A Hundred Small Rebellions," about Eishar Kaur's experience as a Punjabi women in the UK. Also: "Ends, Means, and Subterfuge in Feminist Activism" in which Emer O'Toole's discussion of the referendum in Ireland to grant women the right to abortion and her discussion of the dire consequences of a lack of access to abortion in Ireland felt very timely in light of the current anti-abortion full court press by state legislatures here in the US. Also loved Aisha Gani's "Representation as a Feminist Act," Brit Bennett's "Body and Blood," and Mariya Karimjee's "Brown on the Outside."
I really enjoyed most of these essays. The first few drug along for me because they seemed to try to tackle too much and were hard for me to really get into. Particular favorites were: "Borderlands" by the trans writer Gabrielle Bellot, Evette Dionne's "Intersectionality and the Black Lives Matter Movement," and "A Hundred Small Rebellions," about Eishar Kaur's experience as a Punjabi women in the UK. Also: "Ends, Means, and Subterfuge in Feminist Activism" in which Emer O'Toole's discussion of the referendum in Ireland to grant women the right to abortion and her discussion of the dire consequences of a lack of access to abortion in Ireland felt very timely in light of the current anti-abortion full court press by state legislatures here in the US. Also loved Aisha Gani's "Representation as a Feminist Act," Brit Bennett's "Body and Blood," and Mariya Karimjee's "Brown on the Outside."