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Against White Feminism

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Brought to you by Penguin.

An essential, comprehensive account of what white feminism is - and an empowering manifesto for revolution

For readers of Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women and Florence Given's Women Don't Owe You Pretty

Feminism is supposed to be the fight for the freedom and equality of women. And in the past 200 years it has made incredible gains: paving the way for women to advance economically, handing them back control of their own bodies, and advocating for their needs and their experiences.

But not for all women.

Since its very beginning, mainstream feminism has catered to a particular group of women: middle class, cis-gendered, Western, and above all, white. And the exclusion of everyone outside this narrow category is not merely an oversight, a coincidence, a slip. It is baked into the way feminism works.

This must change. White supremacy is killing feminism. Until all of us are free and equal in society, none of us are.

The power to transform it lies with each one of us. It starts with understanding how we got here in the first place.

Eye-opening, timely and impossible to ignore, Against White Feminism traces the connections between feminism and white supremacy from the earliest stirrings of the women's suffrage movement to the 'fourth wave' we see today, demonstrating how an idea based on equality has been corrupted by prejudice and exploitation from the start. Rafia Zakaria issues a powerful call to arms to every reader to build a new kind of feminism which will light the path to true emancipation for all.

'Necessary, warm-hearted and sharp-eyed... [Zakaria] brings compassion, intelligence, and a steady drumbeat of change to redefining feminism... This book is going to light fires everywhere, so if you are prone to combust, get right the hell out of the way' Lit Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2021

© Rafia Zakaria 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Gender Studies Politics & Government Racism & Discrimination Relationships Social Sciences Discrimination Equality Social justice Civil rights Socialism Suffrage Human Rights

Critic reviews

Bracing and compassionate... Make room beside Audre Lorde and Angela Davis on your shelves

A thoughtful and provocative collection calling for a sharper feminism... It is a must-read

(Roxane Gay)
Against White Feminism is the book I have been waiting for. This landmark work will forever change how we view the feminist movement and our place in it (Sonia Faleiro, author of 'The Good Girls')
What does feminism look like when it centers on Black and Brown women? And when it doesn't hold hands with colonialism? Rafia Zakaria makes a clear case for intersectional feminism that puts power in a different place
Zakaria is a warm-hearted and sharp-eyed writer who brings compassion, intelligence and a steady drumbeat of change to redefining feminism... This book is going to light fires everywhere, so if you are prone to combust, get right the hell out of the way
A brilliant, bracing, and deeply necessary text. Showing how feminism had systematically centred white women's voices, and excluded others', this is a polemic that couldn't be more urgent in improving feminism as a movement (Kate Manne, author of 'Down Girl')
Lucid and persuasive... Tackling complex philosophical ideas with clarity and insight, Zakaria builds an impeccable case for the need to rebuild feminism from the ground up. Readers will want to heed this clarion call for change
In this searing takedown, Rafia Zakaria expertly puts into words what so many women of colour feel and endure. An exhilarating and brilliantly researched read that doubles up as a long overdue call to action. Unputdownable, required reading for people of all genders, generations and races (Zahra Hankir, editor of 'Our Women on the Ground')

Complacent, well-intentioned feminism isn't good enough... 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 eloquently reveals the smug assumptions behind white western feminism [and] demonstrates quite brilliantly the hypocrisy of middle and upper class white feminists who conveniently ignore and exploit the power advantages traceable to centuries of imperialism. This book is a wake-up call for white feminists (Remi Adekoya, author of 'Biracial Britain')
All stars
Most relevant
this is a discomforting read for a white feminist (but it's shown me I'm a feminist who's white). Anyone who's struggling to understand why women of colour turn away from feminism, who don't fully grasp intersectionality, who have big feelings about FGM ... listen to this. The ending is hopeful

timely, important, uncomfortable

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An incredibly incisive text on the way sexism, racism and capitalism intersect to hurt all of us. Whiteness is a concept we can and should divest from and this book gives the most well-researched and all-encompassing account of why and how we as feminists must divest from it if we ever hope to achieve our goals, that I’ve ever read.

Must read for anyone invested in gender equality

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Very helpful analysis, particularly the insights on topics of honour killing and 'choice' feminism. It has made me reflect on feminism in a whole new way, thank you.

Makes me see feminism through a new lens

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This book is incredibly thought provoking and explores issues race and feminism in an honest and open way. As a white person who considers herself a feminist, I found this really insightful and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be more aware of how we (as a collective human race) can do better in striving for equality for all.

a real eye opener

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As a white feminist, I was blind spotted in my opinion, to "others' Against White Feminism is an eye opener.

Inciteful, thoughtful, eyeopeing.

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