Name: Feminism for Real
ISBN: 9781926888491

Jessica Yee

"Against a backdrop exposing a 500+ year legacy of colonization and oppression, Feminism for real explores what has led us to the existence of 'feminism', who gets to decide what it is, and why"--P. [4] of cover.

Deconstructing the Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism

Feminism for Real

Maggie Gordon

Originally read: 2011 (Original rating: 5 stars)

I recently re-read Feminism FOR REAL for a book club that I am in. It was a rather interesting experience returning to this book after six years. When I first read it, the book spoke to me in a powerful way. I was an angry young woman struggling to find my place in law school, and the rage and criticism in the book were a mirror of a lot of the things that I was feeling at the time. I am older now, still in academia, and while I don't want to suggest that the academy is all hugs and fairy dust, my feelings have changed with time and experience. Many of my criticisms, as well as those from the book, are too simplistic. There was often a lack of differentiation between undergrad classes which come with their own difficulties given their size and the large array of people that they must target, and graduate courses which are much more a part of the academy itself. Some of the authors' negative experiences arose from the fact that they were at smaller institutions with fewer resources (and smaller feminist faculties) rather than the academy itself. The article that criticized an institution's refusal to allow a student to write a zine-based thesis lacked a critical look at why that might be or how others have succeeded in writing very atypical theses in an academic setting (yes, this is a fairly academic complaint, but wide reaching criticisms require a bit more than personal anecdote imo).

I do not want to suggest that I don't sympathise with the feelings of all the authors. As I said, I was once an angry, young academic as well. I think a lot of these struggles are a very common part of navigating the academy, and there are certainly many criticisms with foundations in very real problems of discrimination. But... this book is an essay collection about personal feelings and experiences and should be understood in this light. 

I would like to add that the essay about classism in university is still the story of my life, and it remains something I hold dear to my heart as an example of writing that proves that my experiences aren't all just in my head. If the book does that for other people, it's a valuable read.

Feminism for Real Deconstructing the Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism

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