YOU can download this piece as an ebook for free from Haymarket Books. This piece and Palestine 100+ both offer such complex imaginings of what the fuYOU can download this piece as an ebook for free from Haymarket Books. This piece and Palestine 100+ both offer such complex imaginings of what the future can look like for Gazan's + Palestinians as a whole. I finished this piece back in March, but it still sits as a reminder that we must listen directly to Palestinians and it reminded me that I am a piece of creating a future free from colonization!...more
This piece covers so much in terms of self defense in opposition to and as a weapon of the state.
I appreciated the refresher Dorlin provides on westeThis piece covers so much in terms of self defense in opposition to and as a weapon of the state.
I appreciated the refresher Dorlin provides on western political philosophy in terms of how the state monopolizes legitimate violence. However, I feel that the piece did not offer enough in terms of the practical steps for escalation of the ideas she describes. I think the premise of this piece would have been improved upon if the auther had engaged with decolonial and anticolonial praxis, and engaging with modern decolonial praxis could have been tied to her historical recounts of jewish resistence during the holocaust. My friend Natasha specifically mentioned in bookclub how useful it would have been if Elsa Dorlin, as a french philosopher, engaged with algerias decolonization.
However, this piece is a fantastic introduction to self defense and the justification of violence if someone has somewhat of a background in political or gender theory but isn't sure about their opinions on self defense....more
"Her fault. when things go wrong. women are the bottom of it. guilty... carry it in your bones."
I have not been able to 4.5/5 stars rounded up.
Her Fault
"Her fault. when things go wrong. women are the bottom of it. guilty... carry it in your bones."
I have not been able to find a majority of the poetry collected in this piece online. Which is why
The poems in this collection deal with the inherited pride and traumas she received growing up as a Japanese American. Many of her poems tackle residual feelings from WWII as her family was forced into an internment camp in 1942, and the pieces also tackle the racism + sexism she experienced at UCLA and across her lifetime. There are also poems dedicated and written toward specific communities she worked with during her long life as an activist. Some of the poems are dated, having been written in political climates that are long forgotten for some. But reading each poem is invigorating. You can feel that Mirikitani cared deeply for the causes she wrote for and she imbued that care in each line of poetry.
As I've learned more about Janice Mirikitani during my research these past few months, I have grown to deeply admire her. Janice and Cecil were at the forefront of radical politics in the 1960's as their work at GLIDE grew to encompass multiple intersectional ideas. Reading her poetry gives a glimpse into her personal side and helped to round out my understanding and motivations in Janice's political beliefs.
I loved this poetry collection, and I highly recommend it to the revolutionary girlies in my life. Specifically the pieces "War of my Body", "Generations of Women" and "Her Fault" can be read with attention to the time period they were written and showcase Janice's feelings as a woman of color in America....more
I fell in love with the premise of How You Get Famous, a Brooklyn centered piece that tackles the resurgence in drag popularity over the past decade.
HI fell in love with the premise of How You Get Famous, a Brooklyn centered piece that tackles the resurgence in drag popularity over the past decade.
However, instead of getting well researched queer enthnographic text, it felt like Pasulka recreated gaps in the archival history of drag versus filling in those gaps. My main critique is the excessive coverage of RuPaul Drag Queens and Queens that have specifically reached mainstream acclaim. Yes, the piece is titled "How You Get Famous" but how is it about a decade of Drag when it barely acknowledges the alternative styles within it. Further than that, Pasulka mentions transfemme, transmasc and nonbinary drag queens as ideas but barely engages with any Queens or Kings that fit that narrative.
My second critique is the structuring of the piece. It has a rather narrative format, but no clear voice. It leaves How You Get Famous feeling sterile and underwhelming. I wish we got to hear more of the queens own words, and perhaps hear the questions Pasulka asked in the interviews.
Up next on my TBR is Decolonize Drag, so I am excited to see how these pieces might be in conversation. ...more
This might be my favorite theory piece of the year. It is incredibly intentional in its mixture of embodied theory and praxis. I would describe this aThis might be my favorite theory piece of the year. It is incredibly intentional in its mixture of embodied theory and praxis. I would describe this as theory meant for sipping instead of gulping. I appreciated the structure of this piece, it flowed and meandered by including moments of disabled joy and reflections.
This piece is FILLED with meaningful ways to build our disabled future + present....more
This piece is incredibly accessible and a fantastic introduction to intersectional feminism.
My critiques of Hood Feminism are mostly based on the bookThis piece is incredibly accessible and a fantastic introduction to intersectional feminism.
My critiques of Hood Feminism are mostly based on the book not fulfilling the role I expected of it. For example, I thought it might be a collection of essays from various women from the hood. However, the author spoke from her perspective and utilized anecdotes + statistics to support her argument. Thus, I left the piece wishing I could have heard from Trans Women from the hood and their experiences.
I wrote my honors thesis at Cal on the way 'feminist history' overlooks marginalized activists and movements through it's current story telling methods. Thus, I had hoped to learn more from this book than it was able to provide me.
Overall, still a compelling piece for those interested in how real life feminism differs from the feminism touted by mainstream white neoliberal feminism....more
As someone that's recently gotten into lettering, this piece taught me useful terminology and provided a few helpful lessons for getting my inspiratioAs someone that's recently gotten into lettering, this piece taught me useful terminology and provided a few helpful lessons for getting my inspiration to the final product.
My critique is that some of the book felt like it was repeating the same advice it had already outlined. However, this piece felt incredibly informative for someone that is just beginning their letterer journey....more
I loved this anthology of personal essays that delve into writers' personal connections with classic horror films. My critique is I wish there was morI loved this anthology of personal essays that delve into writers' personal connections with classic horror films. My critique is I wish there was more film theory at the base of the author's meditations. Regardless, the deeply personal pieces felt like small insights into how a variety of marginalized queer peoples understand their interlocking identities and how those identities are perceived by society and then reflected back towards us through horror.
Of the over 20 essays that delve into individual queer/trans connections with various entities lurking in the night, I particularly loved: "The Healed Body", "The Trail In His Flames", and "The Same Kind of Monster". These pieces in particular offered a really poignant analysis of the queerness of certain cinematic tropes.
A fun working definition of monstrousness I pulled from "The Same Kind of Monster" describes monsters in horror as identifiable by: 1. Behaviors, appetites, etc which make one recognizably different from the norm 2. An invisible force or otherness acting upon them that marks one as different 3. Being someone you would watch die
This definition makes clear the reasons why queerness and other identities can be so easily read onto monsters in most narrative settings.
The piece offers some useful takes on friendship, but my critique is that the piece focuses mainly on their own friendship without taking other friendThe piece offers some useful takes on friendship, but my critique is that the piece focuses mainly on their own friendship without taking other friendships into context for the most part. I don't entirely agree with their friendship philosophy, but it was a nice reminder about growing in and with our friendships....more
3.5 Though primarily a fictive meditation on real-life events, I feel that I learned deeply about the emotional toll the Pinochet regime took on those 3.5 Though primarily a fictive meditation on real-life events, I feel that I learned deeply about the emotional toll the Pinochet regime took on those that grew up in the midst of it. My critique involves the style of writing, it seemed to repeat itself and overlapped it's commentary excessively. ...more
Fun hardboiled writing with no real plot through lines. Instead, the piece redeems itself through painting pictures of cold nights in the forbidden zoFun hardboiled writing with no real plot through lines. Instead, the piece redeems itself through painting pictures of cold nights in the forbidden zone as our guide guzzles vodka and burns chairs with abandon....more
I read this my freshman year of college when I knew nothing of theory, and in using it in my senior honors thesis, I feel that everything has come fulI read this my freshman year of college when I knew nothing of theory, and in using it in my senior honors thesis, I feel that everything has come full circle. No matter how much I know Anna Tsing still has so much to teach me....more
i am ashamed to admit that I found it beautiful and exacting commentary on the politics in antebellum america. I feel v cliche liberal arts kid for eni am ashamed to admit that I found it beautiful and exacting commentary on the politics in antebellum america. I feel v cliche liberal arts kid for enjoying it but thats fine. ...more
This book is such propaganda. I am giving 1.5 stars because it touches on resource conservation + white settler land overuse as the central harm in thThis book is such propaganda. I am giving 1.5 stars because it touches on resource conservation + white settler land overuse as the central harm in the novel. However, it also includes such a violent rewriting of history in terms of settler and native relations. ...more
This research is incredibly insightful. That being said, I hate Bessel Van Der Kolk and based on the way he writes, I know everything I need to know aThis research is incredibly insightful. That being said, I hate Bessel Van Der Kolk and based on the way he writes, I know everything I need to know about him. In his introductions of work colleagues, he takes great care to mention how he knows them. Almost as if every time he cites another researchers study he is bolstering his own credibility by being in proximity with them. Additionally, I counted at least six times in the novel where a woman attractiveness or unattractiveness at the moment of their reception into his care was diligently noted. For reference, none of the men in the piece were introduced with adjectives like "beautiful" (which he used to describe a 19 year old woman experiencing sexual trauma that he then forces a feeding tube down the throat of. He later uses her trauma as a learning experience, telling staff members to be careful as to not possibly replicate harms. As if this is not something he could have been cognizant about beforehand when interacting with a documentedly harmed individual).
The research is incredibly important, and felt like it addressed the different sensations that accompany trauma in excellent detail. However, I could not avoid the way he treated his female patients. I could feel the normalization of the medical panopticon women are subjected to in the way he splayed women out in front of us, picking apart at their psychosis for our benefit. Some would say that is the point of a case study, but I argue there is a line between needed details and oversharing of patients personal details that Van Der Kolk repeatedly crosses.
It seems to me that Van Der Kolk does not see his female patients as human beings but instead as subjects for analysis.
Besides my hatred of Kolk that feels validated in seeing reports of how he treats his colleagues, I appreciated the methods of healing presented in the research. Top-down (yoga, listening to music, writing to yourself) and bottom-up (rewiring the brain) approaches seem incredibly effective....more
This piece reckons with the crisis the left faces in terms of callout and cancel culture. I appreciated her critiques, and the frameworks she proposesThis piece reckons with the crisis the left faces in terms of callout and cancel culture. I appreciated her critiques, and the frameworks she proposes in response. The "why" framework and principled struggle are techniques I have used loosely in everyday life but had not realized there were more informed academic bases for these ideas.
My only issue with We Will Not Cancel Us is that it feels a tad unfinished in its current form. But that is understandable, we do not need to have all the answers because this is just the beginning. ...more
This piece is such a high quality and accessible look at white supremacy.
White Tears/Brown Scars is an expansive piece that weaves together a lot of This piece is such a high quality and accessible look at white supremacy.
White Tears/Brown Scars is an expansive piece that weaves together a lot of transnational theorist voices and forms a succinct digestible thesis. This thesis is about the role white womanhood holds in maintaining and furthering racist sexist capitalist and imperialist systems of harm.
Something I am taking with me from White Tears/Brown Scars is Ruby Hamad's analysis of the weaponization of white women's tears against individuals of color. As a more femme white person, it is something I am sure to be more cognizant of when I am entering conversations. The piece recognizes that it is a facet, tactic and privilege of white womanhood to be able to "make personal what is political" and then reframe white supremacist issues as petty gripes.
Overall, I appreciated how accessible the theory was in this piece and Hamad's transnational and expansive historic review of white womanhoods place in white and western supremacy. ...more
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