Scan barcode
kfergy's review against another edition
4.5
In a note to other reviews mentioning references: The reference system is entirely appropriate for the style of book; if you're less familiar with academic work, it may seem jarring to tell the difference between a fact or reference and then meditations and interpretations of these references, but taking your time and close (but not deep) reading should help. A thesis or dissertation would be both closely and deeply read by the opponent committee, but for a book written for a broad audience, it's less about interpreting the sources and their use but rather appreciating their presence in the text (sounds like bullshit, but nearly every non-fiction read is recognizing the expertise of the author and following them on the journey).
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
stevia333k's review
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Deportation
peachmoni's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Violence, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Cultural appropriation, and War
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
2.5
Some of these essays are phenomenal and extremely eye-opening. The chapters on tokenist solidarity within women's organizations in the USA, the impression of NGOs' "solving" problems without consulting the people impacted, and the imperialist/capitalist hegemonic forces of whiteness in (for example) military dramas are... painful, in a good way.
But then there's the Female Genital Mutilation chapter, which Zakaria tries to euphemistically obfuscate by calling it Female Genital Cutting and saying it is often performed voluntarily. Here, Zakaria can't adequately state her opinions on the practice, at one point saying it's not really a problem and then another time saying how Black women have overwhelmingly rallied around reducing the practice prior to/without white NGOs' involvement. She also references a study that compares opinions of breast augmentation to FGM - saying it's not to conflate the two, then immediately does so anyway, almost implying a defense of extreme cultural relativism. Then there are her multiple assumptions (such as the very beginning of the book) that white women around her cannot have possibly experienced what she has, which provides the exact kind of identity-assumptions Zakaria eviscerates when applied to women of color.
There's also the "sex positivity" chapter, in which there's an important kernel of truth in how sex-as-empowerment is so strongly pushed among women. But Zakaria completely misdefines "sex positivity" to the extent I was pretty surprised it got through the publisher. Sex positivity is *not*, as she claims, the idea of talking openly about having sex or lots of sex as feminist empowerment. Sex positivity in all literature is defined as the ability to make personal decisions about sex based on one's own virtues free of coercion - be it from partners or social constructs. This is such a glaring omission that it undercuts the real importance of the rest of the text.
These aren't the only examples of this kind of inconsistency, but they are the most glaring ones - an inconsistency and implied inability to argue against it without defending whiteness that is similar to "White Fragility", though the latter is far more egregious.
Still, I cannot say I was bored by this book - and it certainly gave me plenty of things to consider and critique both toward white feminism and the answers provided here.
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Transphobia and Murder
mscalls's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
booksmellers's review against another edition
4.0
In Against White Feminism, Zakaria highlights how feminism has continuously ignored the needs of women of color. She effortlessly blends examples from her own life and connects them to white feminist movements throughout history and the present day. Zakaria has obviously done her homework and is well-spoken on the topic. I think this is an important work for any feminist to read.
Zakaria states her thoughts clearly and includes many examples to make her point. I have found myself taking my time to read through each chapter because it's a lot to digest. There are a lot of different ideas in this book (and some new ideas to me, although they're probably not new to non-white folk) and it's also helped me view the world and womanhood from a different perspective. I'm interested to read more non-white feminist theory, specifically Muslim feminist theory, and I'd like to learn more about the time periods and historical references she made throughout the book.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry