A review by jtllnt
Confidence Culture by Rosalind Gill, Shani Orgad

challenging informative slow-paced

3.25

very thought-provoking and articulated sentiments i've felt in a way that really resonated. through detailed examination of confidence culture in body image, work, relationships, motherhood, and transnationally, i came to understand the problem with confidence culture not to be the language of confidence but its disconnection from context and the implications of this. i liked the characterization in the end of confidence being mobilized as a device to manage increased precarity in response to the continued neoliberalization of society. however i felt like the neoliberalism element was only explored on a surface level (talking about individualizing structural problems) and there could have been more of a discussion of the way capitalism is intimately connected to confidence culture and benefits. the ways that the authors attempted to incorporate a more ~intersectional~ perspective felt clunky and could have used some editing. they also lost me at the confidence without borders chapter and it felt like they were really pushing a narrative there.