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Youth Organizing for Reproductive Justice: A Guide for Liberation (Reproductive Justice: A New Vision for the 21st Century)
305 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 1, 2025
Book Review: Youth Organizing for Reproductive Justice: A Guide for Liberation by Chris Barcelos
A Public Health Practitioner’s Perspective
Chris Barcelos’ Youth Organizing for Reproductive Justice is a powerful and urgent manifesto that blends feminist theory, public health practice, and the revolutionary energy of youth-led movements. As someone informed about reproductive justice advocacy, I found myself deeply moved—inspired by the brilliance of young organizers, yet challenged by the book’s unflinching critique of how institutions (including public health systems) often fail those they claim to serve.
Emotional Resonance: A Call to Accountability and Action
Reading this book was an emotional journey. There were moments of frustration—recognizing how systems I’ve worked within have sidelined youth voices—and moments of profound hope, seeing the transformative work young activists are leading. Barcelos’ writing made me reflect on my own role: Have I truly listened to young people, or have I just invited them to the table without giving them real power? The discussions on transgender youth organizing and mutual aid-based care models were particularly stirring, highlighting both the violence marginalized communities face and the radical care they create in response.
Key Insights for Public Health
-From Service to Solidarity: Barcelos challenges the charity model of public health, where condoms and pamphlets are distributed without addressing systemic oppression. Instead, they argue for a justice-centered approach—one that aligns with my own evolving understanding of what true reproductive health equity requires.
-Youth Leadership, Not Tokenism: The book exposes how adult-led organizations often co-opt youth movements rather than follow their lead. It pushed me to rethink how I engage with young activists in my work—am I supporting them, or just checking a box?
-Pedagogy as Liberation: The exploration of transfeminist and abolitionist frameworks in education was revelatory. It reinforced my belief that public health training must move beyond sterile “cultural competency” and toward embodied, intersectional learning.
Constructive Criticism
While this book is essential, I would have loved to see:
-More on Scaling Solutions: The critiques of systemic harm are razor-sharp, but I wanted deeper dives into how grassroots youth models can be sustainably resourced and expanded.
-Global Connections: Most examples focus on the U.S. Including insights from global youth movements (like Latin America’s green wave) could have enriched the discussion further.
Final Thoughts
Youth Organizing for Reproductive Justice is not just a book—it’s a call to action. Barcelos doesn’t just document resistance; they provide a roadmap for how public health practitioners can unlearn paternalism and join the fight for collective liberation.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – A necessary, challenging, and hopeful read.
Gratitude: Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the review copy. In a field that often prioritizes Band-Aid solutions, this book is a reminder that justice requires both dismantling and rebuilding.
A Public Health Practitioner’s Perspective
Chris Barcelos’ Youth Organizing for Reproductive Justice is a powerful and urgent manifesto that blends feminist theory, public health practice, and the revolutionary energy of youth-led movements. As someone informed about reproductive justice advocacy, I found myself deeply moved—inspired by the brilliance of young organizers, yet challenged by the book’s unflinching critique of how institutions (including public health systems) often fail those they claim to serve.
Emotional Resonance: A Call to Accountability and Action
Reading this book was an emotional journey. There were moments of frustration—recognizing how systems I’ve worked within have sidelined youth voices—and moments of profound hope, seeing the transformative work young activists are leading. Barcelos’ writing made me reflect on my own role: Have I truly listened to young people, or have I just invited them to the table without giving them real power? The discussions on transgender youth organizing and mutual aid-based care models were particularly stirring, highlighting both the violence marginalized communities face and the radical care they create in response.
Key Insights for Public Health
-From Service to Solidarity: Barcelos challenges the charity model of public health, where condoms and pamphlets are distributed without addressing systemic oppression. Instead, they argue for a justice-centered approach—one that aligns with my own evolving understanding of what true reproductive health equity requires.
-Youth Leadership, Not Tokenism: The book exposes how adult-led organizations often co-opt youth movements rather than follow their lead. It pushed me to rethink how I engage with young activists in my work—am I supporting them, or just checking a box?
-Pedagogy as Liberation: The exploration of transfeminist and abolitionist frameworks in education was revelatory. It reinforced my belief that public health training must move beyond sterile “cultural competency” and toward embodied, intersectional learning.
Constructive Criticism
While this book is essential, I would have loved to see:
-More on Scaling Solutions: The critiques of systemic harm are razor-sharp, but I wanted deeper dives into how grassroots youth models can be sustainably resourced and expanded.
-Global Connections: Most examples focus on the U.S. Including insights from global youth movements (like Latin America’s green wave) could have enriched the discussion further.
Final Thoughts
Youth Organizing for Reproductive Justice is not just a book—it’s a call to action. Barcelos doesn’t just document resistance; they provide a roadmap for how public health practitioners can unlearn paternalism and join the fight for collective liberation.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – A necessary, challenging, and hopeful read.
Gratitude: Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the review copy. In a field that often prioritizes Band-Aid solutions, this book is a reminder that justice requires both dismantling and rebuilding.
January 1, 2026
Pretty Good. Serves a clear purpose as a primer on various issues involving youth and reproductive justice. It's meant to help youth organizers see themselves or find their place in the movement AND its meant to help adult organizers understand what all the fuss is about. I get it. It's helpful. I'd recommend it to any aspiring youth activists. As someone who is familiar with Barcelos' work and had at least a surface level familiarity with all the concepts in this book I didn't get much out of it, but everything is explained beautifully so I wasn't upset at the review.
My favorite parts were the profiles of youth organizers and the sections at the end of every chapter which detailed how youth organized around X issue. I wish the book was less WHAT (the issues are) and more HOW (youth are resisting). As Viviana says in chapter 3 'We can list all the barriers and I can go on for days, but at the end of the day, if we're not willing to implement the change that we actually need to get rid of those barriers, then there's no reason for me to keep listing them". But I understand that this book is mostly meant as critique of social inequity and its not an ethnography/oral history/sociological interview series of youth organizers. It seems that it was hard enough for Barcelos to get the youth he did profiles of so I'm grateful.
Actually achieves what it sets out to do!
My favorite parts were the profiles of youth organizers and the sections at the end of every chapter which detailed how youth organized around X issue. I wish the book was less WHAT (the issues are) and more HOW (youth are resisting). As Viviana says in chapter 3 'We can list all the barriers and I can go on for days, but at the end of the day, if we're not willing to implement the change that we actually need to get rid of those barriers, then there's no reason for me to keep listing them". But I understand that this book is mostly meant as critique of social inequity and its not an ethnography/oral history/sociological interview series of youth organizers. It seems that it was hard enough for Barcelos to get the youth he did profiles of so I'm grateful.
Actually achieves what it sets out to do!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews