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Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption
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About This Book
Upper-middle-class white women have long been heralded as "experts" on feminism. They have presided over multinational feminist organizations and written much of what we consider the feminist canon, espousing sexual liberation and satisfaction, LGBTQ inclusion, and racial solidarity, all while branding the language of the movement itself in whiteness and speaking over Black and Brown women in an effort to uphold privilege and perceived cultural superiority. An American Muslim woman, attorney, and political philosopher, Rafia Zakaria champions a reconstruction of feminism in Against White Feminism, centering women of color in this transformative overview and counter-manifesto to white feminism's global, long-standing affinity with colonial, patriarchal, and white supremacist ideals. Covering such ground as the legacy of the British feminist imperialist savior complex and "the colonial thesis that all reform comes from the West" to the condescension of the white feminist–led "aid industrial complex" and the conflation of sexual liberation as the "sum total of empowerment," Zakaria follows in the tradition of intersectional feminist forebears Kimberlé Crenshaw, Adrienne Rich, and Audre Lorde. Zakaria ultimately refutes and reimagines the apolitical aspirations of white feminist empowerment in this staggering, radical critique, with Black and Brown feminist thought at the forefront.
Reviews
"Zakaria makes a lucid and persuasive argument that feminism must address its 'problematic genealogies' of whiteness ..."
"A worthy contribution to feminist and activist studies."
"We sense that Zakaria is writing not only of what she perceives as the 'tiny attention spans of white women,' but also, and unfortunately, for them."
"These are not new suggestions but, given the state of things, they bear repeating ..."
"While Zakaria's argument is not the only one of its kind, her examination of current examples from politics and pop culture furnishes crucial evidence of the continued colonization of feminism by white women, and she helps to bring this conversation into mainstream view."
"Against White Feminism at times feels too sweeping in its critique to be constructive, but the heart of what this book demands — a feminism that is less self-satisfied and secure in its power, more curious about the differences in women's experiences, and more generous and expansive in its reach — is worth fighting for."
"Zakaria lays out the damage white feminism has wrought in clear, unflinching terms and urges readers to commit to a feminism that is truly collective and global."
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