emma_reading_love's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
I love Hannah McGregor on her podcast Material Girls, so I was looking forward to this book. The blend of personal stories and feminist theories is interesting and compelling. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a nonfiction book to sink your teeth into.
jaredpence's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
This book was an absolute pleasure to listen to. I couldn’t stop. While I enjoyed it immensely and really appreciated the way McGregor demonstrated effectively their identity position and blending of memoir and theory, I’m not always convinced that the theory holds together as well or as effortlessly as McGregor’s confident and thoughtful voice makes it seem.
I LOVE the critiques of academia, but then feel a little unsure about McGregor’s position of privilege from within academia. It is almost as though they are critiquing the very things they are part of and sustain. So that seeming incongruence is just a big question mark for me, as I think it is for McGregor as the tensions are usually addressed and explained.
I LOVE the critiques of academia, but then feel a little unsure about McGregor’s position of privilege from within academia. It is almost as though they are critiquing the very things they are part of and sustain. So that seeming incongruence is just a big question mark for me, as I think it is for McGregor as the tensions are usually addressed and explained.
beccaruthe's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
_micah_'s review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Firstly: I wanted to love this book. Hannah McGregor and I have all the same interests--media criticism, contemplations of the ivory tower, and feelings, feelings, feelings. McGregor's book covers all of these in her essays, wandering through topics such as Little Women, podcasting, intersectional feminism, and an array of visual art.
Please note: Much of what I discuss here are my own notes of disagreement, and have nothing to do with McGregor's craft. Though I felt some of the essays were a bit far-reaching for my taste (put another way, they feel as ADHD as I do) they still bring together a lot of good points about white feminism, they've exposed me to a few great artists whose work I might not have seen otherwise, and include some lovely moments of memoir from her own life. She also discusses topics that might otherwise be considered 'academic' in an approachable way, a tactic I always appreciate, especially with headier topics that a stuffed shirt might call 'historic uses of white feminine sentimentalities in the pre-civil war era' or some other such.
My biggest complaint (if it can even be called as such) is McGregor's lack of activist work and exposure. And yes, this isn't fair to McGregor at all. But when someone discusses movement-building, I prefer ideas about/against strategy to come from people who are actively on the ground, which I repeatedly felt wasn't the case. McGregor fashions an entire essay that disagrees with how "reading alone...is sufficient to transform one's view of the world." Yes. This is true. But the essay also downplays how any kind of widespread media--it doesn't have to be reading--has the capacity to shift social perception, and instead focuses on the ways in which people use books to feel better about themselves. I continually return to my favourite definition of acitivism: "To change the idea of "common sense." So, again, yes: While reading alone (or watching movies or listening to podcasts) does not have the power some might purport, it's also still vital to changing our collective idea of common sense and eventually leading to those actual desired changes.
My other major disagreement was the mention on public callouts of her podcast. McGregor quotes her podcast cohost, Marecelle Korman, who says "[Y]ou're going to screw up and it really sucks, but you won't die from shame, and if you're never willing to hear how to can do better, you'll never do better." This feels like the modern leftist internet in a nutshell (though who knows with the current explosions at twitter and reddit.)
The way this 'do better' often plays out is semi-anonymous users (who might not even be people?) will publicly disagree with you in unkind ways, weaponize the phrase "tone policing" if you ask them to please speak to you like a fellow human, and demand an apology for your lack of awareness of all identities. This is called 'learning.' Never mind that learning generally doesn't happen well in hyperpublic spaces. Never mind how contrary this is to communities that like to think of themselves as inclusive. Never mind that this is very, very similar to what I experienced in a purity-obsessed high-control Christian group.
And while this style of public internet callout has never happened to me personally, but it's a huge part of what's kept me from sharing my opinions more loudly among my peers. So sure, shame won't kill us, but it will make us feel like shit and, on a particularly bad day for some of us, it might escalate to self-harm. All because we didn't use the correct language in discussing our own experiences and thoughts.
So, anyway. I was bummed to read what feel like a leftist modeling moral 'goodness.' but it's also to be expected these days. Hopefully lefty zeitgeist will step further away from it. In the meantime, McGregor's book is still an excellent dive for anyone looking to expand their understanding of feminist scholarship, internet culture and podcasting, and the relatable.
Please note: Much of what I discuss here are my own notes of disagreement, and have nothing to do with McGregor's craft. Though I felt some of the essays were a bit far-reaching for my taste (put another way, they feel as ADHD as I do) they still bring together a lot of good points about white feminism, they've exposed me to a few great artists whose work I might not have seen otherwise, and include some lovely moments of memoir from her own life. She also discusses topics that might otherwise be considered 'academic' in an approachable way, a tactic I always appreciate, especially with headier topics that a stuffed shirt might call 'historic uses of white feminine sentimentalities in the pre-civil war era' or some other such.
My biggest complaint (if it can even be called as such) is McGregor's lack of activist work and exposure. And yes, this isn't fair to McGregor at all. But when someone discusses movement-building, I prefer ideas about/against strategy to come from people who are actively on the ground, which I repeatedly felt wasn't the case. McGregor fashions an entire essay that disagrees with how "reading alone...is sufficient to transform one's view of the world." Yes. This is true. But the essay also downplays how any kind of widespread media--it doesn't have to be reading--has the capacity to shift social perception, and instead focuses on the ways in which people use books to feel better about themselves. I continually return to my favourite definition of acitivism: "To change the idea of "common sense." So, again, yes: While reading alone (or watching movies or listening to podcasts) does not have the power some might purport, it's also still vital to changing our collective idea of common sense and eventually leading to those actual desired changes.
My other major disagreement was the mention on public callouts of her podcast. McGregor quotes her podcast cohost, Marecelle Korman, who says "[Y]ou're going to screw up and it really sucks, but you won't die from shame, and if you're never willing to hear how to can do better, you'll never do better." This feels like the modern leftist internet in a nutshell (though who knows with the current explosions at twitter and reddit.)
The way this 'do better' often plays out is semi-anonymous users (who might not even be people?) will publicly disagree with you in unkind ways, weaponize the phrase "tone policing" if you ask them to please speak to you like a fellow human, and demand an apology for your lack of awareness of all identities. This is called 'learning.' Never mind that learning generally doesn't happen well in hyperpublic spaces. Never mind how contrary this is to communities that like to think of themselves as inclusive. Never mind that this is very, very similar to what I experienced in a purity-obsessed high-control Christian group.
And while this style of public internet callout has never happened to me personally, but it's a huge part of what's kept me from sharing my opinions more loudly among my peers. So sure, shame won't kill us, but it will make us feel like shit and, on a particularly bad day for some of us, it might escalate to self-harm. All because we didn't use the correct language in discussing our own experiences and thoughts.
So, anyway. I was bummed to read what feel like a leftist modeling moral 'goodness.' but it's also to be expected these days. Hopefully lefty zeitgeist will step further away from it. In the meantime, McGregor's book is still an excellent dive for anyone looking to expand their understanding of feminist scholarship, internet culture and podcasting, and the relatable.