ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Daily Archive: 18/06/2017

Sunday

18

June 2017

0

COMMENTS

ain’t i a woman by bell hooks

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for: Those interested in exploring how feminism has failed at inclusivity, and how U.S. society has failed Black women.

In a nutshell: bell hooks provides a history of how racism, sexism and classism have impacted Black women in the U.S.

Line that sticks with me: “The process begins with the individual woman’s acceptance that American women, without exception, are socialized to be racist, classist, and sexist, in varying degrees, and that labeling ourselves feminists does not change the fact that we must consciously work to rid ourselves of the legacy of negative socialization.”

Why I chose it: I picked this for my office’s equity and social justice book club because I don’t think my feminist reading has included nearly enough of the Black woman’s perspective, and I wanted to be able to discuss this with others.

Review: I’ve somehow managed to never read any bell hooks even though I’m familiar with her importance to feminism. With this great book (which is frustratingly hard to track down in bookstores – I had to resort to ordering online) I feel like I got a more in-depth education on issues that I’ve been trying to learn more about this year.

Starting with slavery, Dr. hooks examines how racism, sexism and classism work together in impacting the experience of Black women in the U.S. For example, she explores how women who were slaves were forced to perform “masculine” tasks, but men who were slaves were not compelled to perform “feminine” tasks, and how society has spent a lot of time examining how slavery impacted the Black male psyche but has spent far less time examining how it impacted — and continues to impact — Black women.

She also looks at how the patriarchy — when combined with racism — has influenced the experience of Black women in society, eschewing the idea that Black women exist in a matriarchy simply because some households are run by women.

In the sections that might be challenging to read for white women who consider themselves feminists, Dr. hooks examines the ways in which white women have pushed black women out of discussions of sexism, seeking to maintain their status within the patriarchy as at least above Black people. She also spends time looking at how society seems to default ‘women’ to mean white women and ‘Black’ to mean Black men, leaving Black women out completely, and what the implications of that are.

I appreciated Dr. hooks’s examination of how so much of feminism (as practices by white feminists) seeks not to overturn the system, but to make gains with the patriarchal, capitalist system that exists in this country. This isn’t particularly imaginative or revolutionary, and can mean that instead of fighting for true freedom, we just end up fighting with each other for material gains. I also appreciate that despite all of this, she doesn’t argue that feminism is only for white women; she sees the real benefits of it, but only when we can really fight for the freedom that feminism should bring about. I’m looking forward to discussing it at work this week.

This is a dense read (at under 200 pages it still took longer than I expected) but definitely worth it.

Sunday

18

June 2017

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – June 18, 2017

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Horrific Executive Action and Legislation

“Khan’s spokesperson dismissed the US President’s comments: “The mayor is busy working with the police, emergency services and the government to coordinate the response to this horrific and cowardly terrorist attack and provide leadership and reassurance to Londoners and visitors to our city. He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police – including armed officers – on the streets.”” Sadiq Khan Says He “Has More Important Things To Do” Than Respond To Donald Trump’s Tweets (by Jim Waterson for Buzzfeed)

“She’s arranged tournaments at Trump golf courses, served as the liaison to the Trump family during his presidential campaign, and even arranged Eric Trump’s wedding. Now President Trump has appointed longtime loyalist Lynne Patton — who has zero housing experience and claims a law degree the school says she never earned — to run the office that oversees federal housing programs in New York.” President Trump chooses inexperienced woman who planned his son Eric’s wedding to run N.Y. federal housing programs (by Greg B. Smith for Daily News)

“The Trump Administration’s Department of Commerce has outraged LGBT groups by removing sexual orientation and gender identity from the list of categories explicitly protected from discrimination in its latest equal employment opportunity statement. After this story was published, the department then said it would re-issue the policy. “The Department of Commerce does not tolerate behavior, harassment, discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability,” read the 2017 Secretarial Policy Statement on Equal Employment Opportunity signed by Secretary Wilbur Ross. “We will also provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.”” Commerce Department Removes Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity From Equal Employment Policy (by David Mack for Buzzfeed News)

“The agency communicated its decision in a letter this week to lawyers representing the girl, an elementary school student in Highland, Ohio. The letter provided no reason or legal justification for withdrawing its 2016 conclusion that the girl’s school wrongly barred her from the girls’ bathroom and failed to address the harassment she endured from classmates and teachers, who repeatedly addressed her with male pronouns and the male name she was given at birth.” Education Dept. closes transgender student cases as it pushes to scale back civil rights investigations (by Emma Brown for Washington Post)

Criminal Punishment System

“Castile’s death garnered widespread attention — and sparked nationwide protests over the use of force by police — after his girlfriend broadcast the shooting’s aftermath on Facebook Live. Several members of the Castile family screamed profanities and cried after the verdict was announced, despite warnings from the judge that everyone in the courtroom should remain composed. “Let me go!” yelled Castile’s mother, Valerie.” Officer who shot Philando Castile found not guilty on all counts (by Ralph Ellis and Bill Kirkos for CNN)

Gun Violence

“Someone will say, “We cannot give in to fear.” To that I say: We already have. We gave in to fear on November 8, 2016, when we sent that man to the White House to put the stamp of the president on the harassment of Muslims. When we sent that man to the White House knowing he sexually abuses women with gleeful abandon. When we sent that man to the White House with his foolish, racist plan to make Mexico build him a wall.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (by Andrea Grimes via Medium)

“You get to grieve how helpless you felt all those miles away, for how inadequate every gesture felt from such a distance. You get to feel all that sadness. This was an act of terror specifically targeting the LGBT community in the midst of Pride Month in Latin Night. You were supposed to get that message. You get to respond to that personal threat with grief and anger for what was meant for you too. #HonorThemWithAction” Equality Florida Commemorates One Year Mark of Pulse Massacre And Continues to #HonorThemWithAction (Brittany at Equality Florida)

Capitalism

“”Walmart should fully comply with the law so that no one is illegally punished for a disability-related absence or for taking care of themselves or a loved one with a serious medical condition,” Dina Bakst, founder and president of A Better Balance, the advocacy group that prepared the report, told the New York Times. Among the complaints A Better Balance received, employees have said they’re afraid to call out sick, they’ve been penalized and even fired after taking sick time, and they face financial ruin as a result.” ‘I just don’t call out sick anymore at all’: New report says Walmart punishes employees for taking sick days (by Rachel Gillett for Business Insider)

“Delta’s decision is misguided. It’s also disingenuous. During the Obama presidency, Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater, along with the Acting Company, a well-regarded classics company that tours nationally, presented a Julius Caesar in which Caesar bore an intentional resemblance to Obama.* Not only was there no controversy, Delta sponsored the tour of the show and continued sponsoring TAC the next season.” It’s Outrageous to Suggest That Any Production of Julius Caesar Could Glamorize Assassination (by Isaac Butler for Slate)