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A review by ihateprozac
Watch Us Rise by Ellen Hagan, Renée Watson
4.0
I am so here for teen girls taking down the patriarchy and calling out the everyday misogyny and racism in their schools! I highlighted so many passages in this book and my lordt I wish I had it growing up!
I am especially here for books that allow room to make mistakes on your feminist journey. Being an intersectional feminist doesn’t happen overnight, and setting this at a social justice-focused school allows the authors to examine how limiting and damaging white feminism and performative feminism can be.
This was a great read overall, but I admittedly felt that Jasmine’s chapters were far stronger than Chelsea’s due to how she articulates fat girl struggles. She calls out microaggressions against fat people that your friends don’t even realise they’re committing, down to your friends forcing you shopping at clothing stores without realising you can’t fit anything, or not ordering the right size shirts for your ~*good cause*~.
I liked that Chelsea was flawed and realised she needs to listen more, but her white feminism was lowkey irritating at times. She often came across as a White Saviour and took up all the oxygen in the room, instead of using her platform to elevate other voices in the discussion. The story touched on white/performative feminism, but it needed some finessing around how Chelsea listens to and elevates POC and fat people.
I also wished there’d been a bit more discourse around queer people, disabled people, trans women, and non-binary people. There’s a fleeting mention from another character, but it’s mostly glossed over. (Gimme a sequel please!)
4 stars. I remain a Renee Watson stan!
I am especially here for books that allow room to make mistakes on your feminist journey. Being an intersectional feminist doesn’t happen overnight, and setting this at a social justice-focused school allows the authors to examine how limiting and damaging white feminism and performative feminism can be.
This was a great read overall, but I admittedly felt that Jasmine’s chapters were far stronger than Chelsea’s due to how she articulates fat girl struggles. She calls out microaggressions against fat people that your friends don’t even realise they’re committing, down to your friends forcing you shopping at clothing stores without realising you can’t fit anything, or not ordering the right size shirts for your ~*good cause*~.
I liked that Chelsea was flawed and realised she needs to listen more, but her white feminism was lowkey irritating at times. She often came across as a White Saviour and took up all the oxygen in the room, instead of using her platform to elevate other voices in the discussion. The story touched on white/performative feminism, but it needed some finessing around how Chelsea listens to and elevates POC and fat people.
I also wished there’d been a bit more discourse around queer people, disabled people, trans women, and non-binary people. There’s a fleeting mention from another character, but it’s mostly glossed over. (Gimme a sequel please!)
4 stars. I remain a Renee Watson stan!