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A review by jessmcsweeney
White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck
5.0
This book is 100% required reading for anyone who's ever called themselves a feminist, specifically white women and people who've ever asserted their own privilege or a view of feminism as reaching some metaphorical corporate peak. I've already seen some reviews on here about the use of the word "white" and I'm like . . . that's the whole point. If you've ever considered intersectionality within feminism "divisive," you need this book and it will change your life.
I took a ton of notes reading this, and my biggest takeaways were around the problems of white feminism as:
- An individual pursuit rather than a collective one (ascending within the existing capitalist power structure and gaining access to resources, rather than examining what basic resources and human rights aren't afforded to marginalized groups).
- A product to be sold in a capitalist structure (selling #TheFutureIsFemale gear but again, ignoring systemic issues)
- Performative - what does "smash the patriarchy" really mean if we are measuring our success by patriarchal standards of wealth and power? Why do we assume any one single female CEO is automatically feminist? Why is one token hire "enough"?
Beck explored those points (and SO many others!) with tons of historical research, case studies, and pop cultural examples via contemporary articles. There's also a lot of practical advice about how communal organizing is the key to a more impactful and inclusive feminism. My favorite piece came in a later section of the book about how the things that were once radical are now commonplace, and how that alters our view of change as being possible within the status quo of this company or this structure. In reality, change comes from "things that will get you in trouble."
I could not recommend this book more - it's excellently researched, uncomfortable, and damning. I barely touched on all of the gems within and hope you'll pick it up! I will also note I'm not a huge nonfiction reader but really loved this.
I took a ton of notes reading this, and my biggest takeaways were around the problems of white feminism as:
- An individual pursuit rather than a collective one (ascending within the existing capitalist power structure and gaining access to resources, rather than examining what basic resources and human rights aren't afforded to marginalized groups).
- A product to be sold in a capitalist structure (selling #TheFutureIsFemale gear but again, ignoring systemic issues)
- Performative - what does "smash the patriarchy" really mean if we are measuring our success by patriarchal standards of wealth and power? Why do we assume any one single female CEO is automatically feminist? Why is one token hire "enough"?
Beck explored those points (and SO many others!) with tons of historical research, case studies, and pop cultural examples via contemporary articles. There's also a lot of practical advice about how communal organizing is the key to a more impactful and inclusive feminism. My favorite piece came in a later section of the book about how the things that were once radical are now commonplace, and how that alters our view of change as being possible within the status quo of this company or this structure. In reality, change comes from "things that will get you in trouble."
I could not recommend this book more - it's excellently researched, uncomfortable, and damning. I barely touched on all of the gems within and hope you'll pick it up! I will also note I'm not a huge nonfiction reader but really loved this.