Name: Hood Feminism
ISBN: 9781526622716

Mikki Kendall

'It is absolutely brilliant, I think every woman should read it' PANDORA SYKES, THE HIGH LOW 'My wish is that every white woman who calls herself a feminist will read this book in a state of hushed and humble respect ... Essential reading' ELIZABETH GILBERT I'm a feminist. Mostly. I'm an asshole. Mostly. All too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. Meeting basic needs is a feminist issue. Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues. White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? Insightful, incendiary and ultimately hopeful, Hood Feminism is both an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and also clear-eyed assessment of how to save it.

Notes from the Women That White Feminists Forgot

Hood Feminism

ame 

A one-size-fits-all approach to feminism is damaging, because it alienates the very people it is supposed to serve, without ever managing to support them.

Stephanie 

Any system that makes basic human rights contingent on a narrow standard of behavior pits potential victims against each other and only benefits those who would pray on them. 

We talk about stress and illness, but the stress of respectability is unparalleled. You muffle yourself over and over, until the screaming is in your veins, in your high blood pressure and lower life expectancy. And then as you look around, you realize that you didn't even get the respect, the validation, or the comfort that you thought was waiting on the other side. 

We need to let go of respectability politics and understand that whiteness as a construct will never approve of us, and that the approval of white supremacy is nothing that we or any community should be seeking.

We don't have bigotry by accident; it's built and sustained by the same cultural institutions we're taught to revere. 

We have to change how we talk about Blackness, about poverty, about the women who inhabit those spaces where access and opportunity rarely intersect. We have to be ready to listen to the girls and women who are still there, and not just the ones who were able to get out.

Darianne

“This tendency to assume that all women are experiencing the same struggles has led us to where reproductive health imagery centers on cisgender able-bodied women to the exclusion of those who are trans, intersex, or otherwise inhabiting bodies that don’t fit the narrow idea that genitalia dictates gender.” 

“…yet unchecked racism often renders women who should be allies as complicit in the abuse until they are targets too.”

“Trans women of color, who are among the most likely targets of violence, see statistics that reflect their reality co-opted to bolster the idea that all women are facing the same level of danger. Yet support from mainstream white feminists for the issues that directly impact trans women has been at best minimal, and often nonexistent.”

“The labor (physical and emotional) of low-income women is often abused and unappreciated. We are constantly watching them struggle and pretending it is voluntary and not result of a system upheld by a powerful few that is fundamentally anti-Black and patriarchal. “

“First, state your credentials. It’s okay to be a woman, but not a Black woman. Their lived experiences are immaterial and can be dismissed as merely anecdotal. Make it clear that you’re not racist or sexist, you are merely concerned about their plight.”

“We have to change how we talk about Blackness, about poverty, about the women who inhabit those spaces where access and opportunity rarely intersect. We have to be ready to listen to the girls and women who are still there, and not just the one who were able to get out.”

Princess Doe 

This is the best book I’ve read in a long time that provides a great summary and language to the issues of modern/white feminism. Very accessible book on intersectional feminism. Going beyond mere representational politics and addressing the material conditions that subject marginalized women into precarious socio-economic conditions is the only way to improve it.

Angelyn Francis

Good but I just don't personally feel like I learned much from it. It feels like a long, segmented opinion piece, likely influenced by Black feminist/womanist writers. Not much sourcing to inspired writers nor case studies or other articles, so it left the journalist in me wanting.

"A collection of essays taking aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women"--

Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot

Andrea Morales

wow que libro tan denso pero tan increíblemente necesario. i find that i like listening to non fiction books rather than read them, but my hardcover copy of this is stunning!

miss kendall didn't even stutter while writing this, didn't even stop to catch a f*cking breath. and oh my god i am so happy she didn't. while reading this i found lo mucho que me falta por educarme, to become a genuine accomplice rather than an empty ally.
this inspired me to do my best to help all my sisters in feminism and reallyyyy check my privilege even if i think i'm doing the right thing.

"there's nothing feminist about having so many resources at your fingertips and choosing to be ignorant. nothing empowering or enlightening in deciding that intent trumps impact."

Liyah 🤎

While Kendall’s politics and critiques are valid, this does not feel like a book for Black feminists- by which I mean the ideology not feminists who are Black. Also as someone who prefers more academic/analytical/historical writing I was not a fan of how much it read like a personal memoir. That’s just mot my taste. I feel like people positioned Hood Feminism as like a ground breaking theory book or academic text which is why I read it and that’s just not true to me. It’s a memoir supported by statistics but there’s very little analysis. This made it a chore to get through. I’d recommend this to a friend as an introduction to intersectional feminism but honestly I think better books and articles have already been written for that purpose, but if you want something more contemporary and in plain language this could be it. Overall not bad but not great and certainly not for me.

no agrega nada a la conversación y repite algo que en latinoamerica se sabe desde hace años 

andrea valentina 

Nabila Azahra

“Instead of a framework that focuses on helping women get basic needs met, all too often the focus is not on survival but on increasing privilege. For a movement that is meant to represent all women, it often centers on those who already have most of their needs met."

There are a lot of aspects and circumstances that underlay the sex inequality issues and this book tackles pretty much everything of that. From hunger, to education, poverty, and gentrification. A much needed read for everyone.

Hannah Yoon

I read this as an audiobook since Mikki Kendall reads it herself. This is a MUST read, especially for those who have learned and lived out feminist values through the lens of white feminism. 
Hood feminism is feminism that fights for ALL women. The book does a great job of addressing issues such as housing, education, poverty, hunger etc and how we can address them. It also reveals how much feminism has historically overlooked women that aren't white.

Isabella 

i am not surprised with the content since i have read a lot about intersectionality, nevertheless, it is still a phenomenal book and i still learned a lot. so much insights to get from it; very educating. everyone should read and thoroughly understand it since it is a very important book.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books of the current moment.”—Time “A rousing call to action... It should be required reading for everyone.”—Gabrielle Union, author of We’re Going to Need More Wine “A brutally candid and unobstructed portrait of mainstream white feminism.” —Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist A potent and electrifying critique of today’s feminist movement announcing a fresh new voice in black feminism Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminism delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed.

momo-reads

This book taught me some things I didn't know and effectively kicked me in the ass on things I did know and need to do more about.

Very informative and thought-provoking, and directly challenging of the reader in a way that encourages deeper critical thought through self inspection and questioning. This book brings to light a variety of topics in which the mainstream feminist attitude needs to step up and widen their efforts towards truly supporting women, all women, and especially those marginalized women whose struggles are not fixed, focused on, or even considered in typical feminist efforts. Women within these underprivileged communities have done lots of work themselves internally in their communities, but the larger feminist movement (especially white women) must put more effort and care towards learning and listening to the struggles of those oppressed, and asking them what they need. 

Mikki Kendall does an excellent job of also using her own experience and personal logic to help the reader understand concepts in larger society, while also giving examples of every concept she discusses. This is the kind of book I read with a pencil in hand because there was much to be underlined, reread, and emphasized. 

Grace Mekkes-Nyboer

Very informative and thought-provoking, and directly challenging of the reader in a way that encourages deeper critical thought through self inspection and questioning. This book brings to light a variety of topics in which the mainstream feminist attitude needs to step up and widen their efforts towards truly supporting women, all women, and especially those marginalized women whose struggles are not fixed, focused on, or even considered in typical feminist efforts. Women within these underprivileged communities have done lots of work themselves internally in their communities, but the larger feminist movement (especially white women) must put more effort and care towards learning and listening to the struggles of those oppressed, and asking them what they need. 

Mikki Kendall does an excellent job of also using her own experience and personal logic to help the reader understand concepts in larger society, while also giving examples of every concept she discusses. This is the kind of book I read with a pencil in hand because there was much to be underlined, reread, and emphasized. 

Alexa M

so good! kicking myself for not picking this up earlier, this was such a good and insightful read. think everyone who considers themselves a feminist (as you should) should pick this up!

Juliana Matias

I feel very confident in saying this book is going to be the best book I read in January. It was absolutely wonderful and I have devoured it. I started listening to it one evening, and when I next looked at the clock 6 hours had passed, it was 3 in the morning and the book was over. This is high praise, especially for non-fiction titles.

Mikki Kendall takes the time in this book to break down in clear essays some of deeper issues of intersectionality, all integral to the achievement of a more equalitarian society, that the middle-class, mostly white Feminist movement has ignored for years.

As a middle-class, white feminist myself (though I am moving to the US in a couple of months and I wonder if once I get there people will still consider me to be white or if I become a latina for form filling purposes, but that’s neither here nor there), I can see how easily so many of the things she deals with in her books have gone completely ignored by so many of us in our feminist ideals.

But here’s the thing: everything she says makes sense. We can’t talk about reproductive rights if we can’t guarantee that everyone has access not only to healthcare, but also to the support to raise the children they have chosen to have. We can’t talk equality in the workplace if we can’t guarantee food security, and education, which allows all mothers to take their place in it, or if we continue to discriminate against simple things such as accents or so-called eloquence. When we talk about abortion rights, we have to be careful not to make an able-ist argument out of it.

It’s hard to see how often, even unknowingly, we end up oppressing other women (and other people) who are less privileged than us, because of not understanding that being part of one marginalized community doesn’t take away the privileges we have from other facets of our lives.

I honestly feel like I already have to re-read this book. We can’t content ourselves with a fight for equal rights or equal pay until we have tackled the problems of poverty, and racism, and mental health, and ableism, and so many others that threaten to overwhelm people far lower in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Everyone should read this book and do their damnedest to support those people who are already fighting this however we can.

Micah

It is important to be uncomfortable in order to grow and be more inclusive of other people. It is also important to acknowledge the ways in which your seemingly progressive ideas have actively and passively hurt people. Mikki Kendall's introduction for white women of how we uphold white supremacy was at times deeply uncomfortable, but Kendall also doesn't shy away from saying, "You've messed up, and so have I. Don't wallow in your hurt at the expense of inclusion. Try again. Try better."

Sajdah Medina 

2.5 didn’t want to dnf so I skimmed through the last half I didn’t really learn anything new from this book and I’m not sure if I was the target audience tbh

"A collection of essays taking aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women"--Provided by publisher.

Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot

Kadison Cole

Definitely an important read for those who have started to do the work, are well into it, and those who have not. Noting there are moments when the author allows for nuance and other situations does not. Felt like it had more impact as an audiobook read by Mikki. 

(Bre)anne✨

TW to be added later

Definitely an important read for those who have started to do the work, are well into it, and those who have not. Noting there are moments when the author allows for nuance and other situations does not. Felt like it had more impact as an audiobook read by Mikki. 

This book is the definition of intersectionality. The way that it breaks down the need for feminism not just for White women, but for Black and brown women, disabled people, children, and so many more marginalized people is so powerful, yet easy to grasp. One of the best books I've read this year!

Jenna Thornton

A.L.L.

Good read and a quick read too. Lots of good points and food for thought.

Gisela Ayala 

everyone needs to read this. ASAP. I need to gather my thoughts and notes and then I'll say more.

Courteney Taylor

5/5 for sure. Mikki Kendall explains the nuance that exists when discussing race related issues in the United States. She lays out how interconnected several social issues are and how we can't address one without also addressing another. The book should be required reading to better understand issues facing the Black community, particularly Black women, from the voice of a Black woman.

Fraser Simons

Fantastic critique on feminism from a marginalized perspective that is structured and expands on specific issues. For this reason it is hyper specific and helpful, but also, for some, probably a lot less inclusive to people who are not awake of the movement and the jargon used in social Justice spaces. I’m pretty well engrained in it and I had to stop to look up some things because I’m in Canada and had never heard some of the terms used. But it does what it sets out to do very well, imo. You need some foundation, after which the ways in which the movement is failing and has failed its mandate to help marginalized peoples in the past. I found the arguments very well thought out and clear.

Brigid prior 

The content was really good but there were many times that it felt like the author was just listing off facts. I listened to the audiobook and would not recommend as the performance was monotone and flat. That being said, I’d recommend everyone read the first half— the info there is good and since it’s based on her experiences (unlike some of the second half of the book) it was compelling.

Caitlyn Baldwin

This book made me check my privilege. I was not delusional about the inequalities women of color face compared to white women but I have also never been a victim of them either. We live in an era of performative activism and I think that Mikki did an incredible job of detailing how exclusionary waves of feminism have been and still are. As the author states: "Sometimes being a good ally is about opening the door for someone instead of insisting that your voice is the only one that matters". This is a must-read for everyone.

Katie B.

I think this book serves as an excellent beginner to intermediary introduction into the challenges of feminism and race. I firmly believe in teaching yourself to the best of your abilities and listening to voices that have different experiences than your own. And for that I would 100% recommend this to anyone. But as someone who has spent the last decade educating myself on feminism and racism and classism, I valued most hearing the authors personal experiences and her vision as to what an accomplice should be (loved that title btw!). The book was well-researched and written in a way that felt accessible for most. 

Hood Feminism Notes from the Women That White Feminists Forgot