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Me, not you: The trouble with mainstream feminism
Me, not you pulls back the curtain on #MeToo and other recent feminist campaigns against sexual violence. In a right-moving world, women's anger about sexual violence has been celebrated as a progressive force. However, mainstream feminist politics is unable to tackle the converging systems of gender, race and class which produce sexual violence. Phipps argues that the mainstream movement against sexual violence expresses a political whiteness which both reflects its demographics and limits its revolutionary potential. Privileged white women use their traumatic experiences to create media outrage, and rely on state power and bureaucracy to purge 'bad men' from elite institutions with little concern for where they might appear next. Even more dangerously, the more reactionary branches of this feminist movement are complicit with the far-right, in their attacks on sex workers and trans people. This text is essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of sexual violence, and the feminist movement more generally.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2020
29 people are currently reading
1281 people want to read
About the author
Alison Phipps
3 books54 followersI’m a UK-based scholar, writer and teacher working in the area of gender, with a specific focus on sexual violence. I’m Professor of Political Sociology and Associate Head of Social Sciences, Politics, IR and Religion at York St John University. I’m also honorary Professor in the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of York.
My latest book is called Me, Not You: the trouble with mainstream feminism and is published by Manchester University Press. My forthcoming book is called Sexual Violence in Racial Capitalism, and is also with Manchester University Press.
My latest book is called Me, Not You: the trouble with mainstream feminism and is published by Manchester University Press. My forthcoming book is called Sexual Violence in Racial Capitalism, and is also with Manchester University Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
October 11, 2022
Really informative and intelligent read without being too highbrow or inaccessible. Highly recommend
November 7, 2021
I wanted to like this more than I did. The arguments about political whiteness and against mainstream liberal feminism are very interesting and deserve to be aired, but the evidence provided is often a bit flimsy, or she relies on one or two high profile celebrity Tweets to make a point. Whilst some of these points are really important, and I am pleased she discusses them, they are somewhat undermined at times by the misrepresentation of opposing views. I felt this was particularly the case about those who oppose sex-work for many reasons that Phipps either doesn’t cover or explain fairly. I felt wary about her characterisation of counter arguments, but as I am not as well read as the author, I couldn’t be sure. Nonetheless, I’m glad to have read this book and been exposed to concepts and arguments I wasn’t knowledgeable about.
December 21, 2021
A deeply irresponsible book. Not everything here is bad; Phipps summarises facts about links between the far-right and feminist rhetoric in the contemporary Anglophone political landscape in a reasonably accessible manner. She cites some talented feminist scholars and activists, and in doing so will help their work reach a broader audience. My praise ends about there. The problem isn't that Phipps critiques white feminism. British feminism has a race problem. Phipps is right to feel angry at other white women's boorishness where race and racism are concerned. But she handles the topic with the grace of Miranda in the Sex and the City reboot. Full disclosure, I'm a white woman myself. But given that I'm the target audience of this book, I feel like I'm within my rights to be snarky. Phipps tries so hard to be Not Like the Other White Women that she ends up arguing against... The criminalisation of upskirting? A crime that, btw, is extremely prevalent in East Asia. Are the feminists in East Asia who seek to have the men who 'upskirt' them face consequences for their actions weaponising 'white woman tears' and perpetrating 'violence' by trying to get them punished? Obviously not. And it's also bonkers and frankly, extremely misogynistic to equate the 'violence' of even the whitest of the white women who want the men who violate them (who are usually white men! Most sexual violence is intrracial) in prison with the wholly non-abstract violence of those men. I wish that I was misrepresenting Phipps' arguments here, but she genuinely suggests pushing back against the criminalisation of 'revenge porn' and 'upskirting' as ways forward for feminists who seek the end of sexual violence. What a slap in the face to women everywhere. I hate the prison system too but guess what, prison sentences are not the only form of criminal penalty that exist. Moreover, Phipps warns feminists against supporting provisions to make it easier to fire harassers and claims that even naming and shaming perpetrators of male violence is 'carceral'. Seems that Phipps has been convinced somehow that women shutting up, lest they harm a man by identifying him as a perpetrator of sexual harm, is the most feminist thing we could do. Do yourself a favour and read literally anything else.
April 26, 2021
A million stars! What a fabulous book. Professor Phipps presents an airtight case for white feminism as a war machine and the ways that for many white feminists it’s not really “me too” but “me, not you.”
If you fancy yourself a feminist, especially if you are white, read this yesterday.
If you fancy yourself a feminist, especially if you are white, read this yesterday.
October 22, 2022
Hyvin taustoitettu ja selkeästi argumentoiva teos #metoo:n valkoisuudesta, valtavirtafeminismin ongelmallisuudesta sekä lopulta myös taantumuksellisesta feminismistä, jolla on yllättävänkin tiiviit välit äärioikeistoon.
Phippsin kirja on hyvä perusteos valkoisen feminismin kritiikistä, valkoiselta feministiltä meille muille valkoisille. Tekstinä/esseenä se on melko toisteinen, ja tavallaan siltä kaipaisi ehkä hieman hiotumpaa sanomaa, mutta jos edes tätä kautta lukijalle tulee tutuksi monet ruskean/mustan feminismin klassikkoajattelijat, kuten Audre Lorde, Angela Davis & Sara Ahmed, ollaan jo ihan hyvällä alulla.
Täällä lisää: http://www.mitaluimmekerran.fi/2022/1...
Phippsin kirja on hyvä perusteos valkoisen feminismin kritiikistä, valkoiselta feministiltä meille muille valkoisille. Tekstinä/esseenä se on melko toisteinen, ja tavallaan siltä kaipaisi ehkä hieman hiotumpaa sanomaa, mutta jos edes tätä kautta lukijalle tulee tutuksi monet ruskean/mustan feminismin klassikkoajattelijat, kuten Audre Lorde, Angela Davis & Sara Ahmed, ollaan jo ihan hyvällä alulla.
Täällä lisää: http://www.mitaluimmekerran.fi/2022/1...
March 20, 2022
Has feminism been betrayed? If you think that feminism ought to about gender equality, and, especially, a cause those core goal should be campaigning and advocating especially for these women among the most vulnerable, then, clearly, yes, it has.
I am a world apart from the author when it comes to core ideology. Unlike her, I don't believe for a second that the patriarchy was a deliberate system, purposefully implemented by men and specifically to control and dominate women. What I believe is that it was a co-created system, where both gender hurt each other, and where the marginalisation and oppression of women (who had it worse, we can agree) was a collateral damage. Yes, you can argue that women were reduced to 'unit of reproduction', but, you can also argue that men, on the other hand, were reduced to 'unit of production', even their lives (not that of women) being considered expendables. More: women themselves abided (and still do, in many respect) to such ideas of what it means to 'be a man', the toxic motto which has caused considerable damages to both men and women, and that we are still trying to come to grip with. Does such core ideological difference matter, though? Yes and no.
Yes, because, dealing here with sexual violence, she walks a thin line which, to me, is nothing but ideological dogmatism. I don't believe that we live in a society feeding rapes (the so-called 'rape culture'), and I don't believe that, as she put it, 'sexual violence is a form of terrorism that supports economic expansion'. Rape, for instance, is a deviant and individual behaviour which has nothing to do with a politico-social model. Interestingly, then, she falls prey, here, to the same ideological claptrap peddled by the radfem she denounces, the bogus mumbo-jumbo one can read from McKinnon to Dworkin.
No, because, for all of that, this is not a book about the patriarchy. This is about feminism, mainstream feminism, and how such feminism perceives and wants us all to address sexual violence. There was something unsettling indeed with the #MeToo movement. It all kicked off in 2017 after tweets by Alyssa Milano, but it wasn't born in 2017; it had existed ever since 2006, and was the product of Tarana Burke, a Black woman. But, then, who cared? And, above all, why we didn't care?
It's a brilliant book, because it plainly shows how mainstream feminism (and she goes back and forth between the UK and the USA, as the same pattern is at play in both), by having been hijacked by privileged White women, has become the voice of the privileged White women only. It shows in our concerns (if an issue doesn't affect her, then it doesn't exist) and it shows, most importantly, in how we go about tackling even these issues affecting us all (sexual violence, then): only through the prism and solutions that the privileged White women pushes through, at times by bullying her way around. But, are such solutions useful? Or are they only serving the privileged White women in question, at the expense of others who, unlike her, are truly marginalised and victimised?
Follow then absolutely brilliant discussions about Black women (you can expend it to BAME), transwomen, and, even, sexual workers, all demographics that are not only neglected but, despite being the most vulnerable, are also further victimised, if not plainly defined as enemies, by said feminist! Their tactics are well oiled and fully exposed: they create media outrage, then call for state power and bureaucracy (ironically, the same institutions that they also denounced as patriarchally oppressive otherwise...) to further their agendas. But what type of agenda is it, exactly? This is where feminism has not only become counter-productive, but, by being the force of an elite privileged few oblivious to those really marginalised (women of colour, trans, sex workers) it has sold itself out to populism and demagogy, and of the most reactionary force at that.
I highly recommend this read. For all my ideological differences with the author, this book remains in fact right up my street; because I, like the author, also believe that if feminism is as relevant as ever, it's not the one embodied by the radefm which has hijacked our debates which is, but that from Black feminists to transwomen, those that, now in position of power and control, the privileged White women are not listening but dismissing while contributing to their oppression, yelling at us all with their megaphones. In the end, White feminism and political whiteness had to be faced too, and this book does it.
I am a world apart from the author when it comes to core ideology. Unlike her, I don't believe for a second that the patriarchy was a deliberate system, purposefully implemented by men and specifically to control and dominate women. What I believe is that it was a co-created system, where both gender hurt each other, and where the marginalisation and oppression of women (who had it worse, we can agree) was a collateral damage. Yes, you can argue that women were reduced to 'unit of reproduction', but, you can also argue that men, on the other hand, were reduced to 'unit of production', even their lives (not that of women) being considered expendables. More: women themselves abided (and still do, in many respect) to such ideas of what it means to 'be a man', the toxic motto which has caused considerable damages to both men and women, and that we are still trying to come to grip with. Does such core ideological difference matter, though? Yes and no.
Yes, because, dealing here with sexual violence, she walks a thin line which, to me, is nothing but ideological dogmatism. I don't believe that we live in a society feeding rapes (the so-called 'rape culture'), and I don't believe that, as she put it, 'sexual violence is a form of terrorism that supports economic expansion'. Rape, for instance, is a deviant and individual behaviour which has nothing to do with a politico-social model. Interestingly, then, she falls prey, here, to the same ideological claptrap peddled by the radfem she denounces, the bogus mumbo-jumbo one can read from McKinnon to Dworkin.
No, because, for all of that, this is not a book about the patriarchy. This is about feminism, mainstream feminism, and how such feminism perceives and wants us all to address sexual violence. There was something unsettling indeed with the #MeToo movement. It all kicked off in 2017 after tweets by Alyssa Milano, but it wasn't born in 2017; it had existed ever since 2006, and was the product of Tarana Burke, a Black woman. But, then, who cared? And, above all, why we didn't care?
It's a brilliant book, because it plainly shows how mainstream feminism (and she goes back and forth between the UK and the USA, as the same pattern is at play in both), by having been hijacked by privileged White women, has become the voice of the privileged White women only. It shows in our concerns (if an issue doesn't affect her, then it doesn't exist) and it shows, most importantly, in how we go about tackling even these issues affecting us all (sexual violence, then): only through the prism and solutions that the privileged White women pushes through, at times by bullying her way around. But, are such solutions useful? Or are they only serving the privileged White women in question, at the expense of others who, unlike her, are truly marginalised and victimised?
Follow then absolutely brilliant discussions about Black women (you can expend it to BAME), transwomen, and, even, sexual workers, all demographics that are not only neglected but, despite being the most vulnerable, are also further victimised, if not plainly defined as enemies, by said feminist! Their tactics are well oiled and fully exposed: they create media outrage, then call for state power and bureaucracy (ironically, the same institutions that they also denounced as patriarchally oppressive otherwise...) to further their agendas. But what type of agenda is it, exactly? This is where feminism has not only become counter-productive, but, by being the force of an elite privileged few oblivious to those really marginalised (women of colour, trans, sex workers) it has sold itself out to populism and demagogy, and of the most reactionary force at that.
I highly recommend this read. For all my ideological differences with the author, this book remains in fact right up my street; because I, like the author, also believe that if feminism is as relevant as ever, it's not the one embodied by the radefm which has hijacked our debates which is, but that from Black feminists to transwomen, those that, now in position of power and control, the privileged White women are not listening but dismissing while contributing to their oppression, yelling at us all with their megaphones. In the end, White feminism and political whiteness had to be faced too, and this book does it.
May 6, 2020
An absolutey fantastic overview with the problematic nature of mainstream feminism, and why truly emanciaptaive feminist politcs must decentre whiteness and resist co-option by the state and media. Really readable and accessible. A must for any white feminist who doesn't want to be a White Feminist.
May 9, 2020
This book is clear and accessible (as a second year soc student) and definitely challenged my understanding of what intersectional feminism really is. It’s clear how white feminist movements can not only exclude trans women/women of colour but also contribute to the structures which oppress them. I feel as though my relationship with feminist movements have been further complicated in a necessary way and I hope that I can use this to develop my understanding in an academic context. Will definitely need to re-read!!
July 1, 2020
If you are a feminist or identify with some form and manifestation of feminism, this book will change your life. There were moments when I felt I was challenged, when I felt unnerved, uncomfortable and moments when my arm was so twisted that I wanted to stop reading. But alas, I continued and it changed me in so many ways.
Highly recommended reading. Those six questions at the end, I will use as the DNA of everything that I do in my work.
Highly recommended reading. Those six questions at the end, I will use as the DNA of everything that I do in my work.
October 12, 2021
Really interesting read- and I’d say a must read for white feminists who consider themselves as striving for intersectionality. Really highlighted some good points, at times it seemed to go slightly far-fetched of tangible solutions but definitely learned some new perspectives & will be taking alot away from the book
February 4, 2023
Alison Phippsin teos on kiinnostava katsaus ja kritiikki, joka koskee valkoista valtavirtafeminismiä. Phipps nostaa esiin ongelmia, joita liittyy feminismiin, josta puuttuu intersektionaalisuus. Valkoisen valtavirtafeminismin keskiössä on valkoisen naisen puolustus ja pelastaminen, mikä johtaa samalla muiden ihmisten, yleensä rodullistettujen naisten, transnaisten ja seksityöläisten, sortoon.
Kirja pureutuu erityisesti Me toohon ja seksuaaliseen väkivaltaan ja vallankäyttöön. Phipps kritisoi tapaa, jossa kaadetaan yksittäisiä tunnettuna miehiä sen sijaan, että purettaisiin koko sortava ja ongelmallinen rakenne. Sortavien rakenteiden aiheuttamiin ongelmiin ei ole olemassa muita ratkaisuja, kuin sen rakenteen purkaminen.
Tähän kohtaan haluan jakaa Sara Salosen twiitin: "Jos todella on olemassa miehiä, jotka ovat valmiita muuttamaan sukupuolimerkintäänsä häiritäkseen naisia, niin ei ongelma ole translaissa vaan miehissä."
Phipps viittaa kirjassaan moneen oikean elämän henkilöön, tapaukseen, tapahtumaan, järjestöön jne. Kirjan voi lukea ilman, että näistä on taustatietoa, mutta itselläni oli alkuun tarve hirveästi ottaa selvää. Se teki lukemisesta hyvin hidasta, mutta toki myös antoisaa. Loppua kohden luovuin jatkuvasta tiedonhausta, jotta sain kirjan luettua loppuun.
Kirja on teoreettinen ja akateeminen, joten sen lukemista ja ymmärtämistä tukee, jos lukijalla on käsitys erilaisista feministisistä teorioista ja hallussaan tähän liittyvää termistöä. Itse koin kirjan aukeavan paremmin, kun ymmärtää myös mitä tarkoittaa intersektionaalinen ja musta feminismi. En suosittele tätä ensimmäiseksi feministiseksi teokseksi kenellekään.
Pidin kirjasta, mutta jäin kuitenkin kaipaamaan ongelmien esiin nostamisen lisäksi ratkaisuja asioihin (näitä esitellään lyhyesti vasta kirjan lopussa). Lukiessa heräsi myös kysymyksiä, joihin kirja ei vastannut. Koin myös hämmennystä, kun kirjailija puhuu feministeistä, jotka ovat transfobisia ja/tai rasisteja. Ymmärrän, että historiallisessa kontekstissa feminismin eri aalloissa on vivahteita ja ymmärrän, että on olemassa ihmisiä, jotka väittävät olevansa feministejä, mutta ovat silti syrjiviä tiettyjä vähemmistöjä kohtaan. Oma fenimismini ei kuitenkaan tunnista feministiksi ihmistä, joka syrjii mitään vähemmistöjä.
Kirja pureutuu erityisesti Me toohon ja seksuaaliseen väkivaltaan ja vallankäyttöön. Phipps kritisoi tapaa, jossa kaadetaan yksittäisiä tunnettuna miehiä sen sijaan, että purettaisiin koko sortava ja ongelmallinen rakenne. Sortavien rakenteiden aiheuttamiin ongelmiin ei ole olemassa muita ratkaisuja, kuin sen rakenteen purkaminen.
Tähän kohtaan haluan jakaa Sara Salosen twiitin: "Jos todella on olemassa miehiä, jotka ovat valmiita muuttamaan sukupuolimerkintäänsä häiritäkseen naisia, niin ei ongelma ole translaissa vaan miehissä."
Phipps viittaa kirjassaan moneen oikean elämän henkilöön, tapaukseen, tapahtumaan, järjestöön jne. Kirjan voi lukea ilman, että näistä on taustatietoa, mutta itselläni oli alkuun tarve hirveästi ottaa selvää. Se teki lukemisesta hyvin hidasta, mutta toki myös antoisaa. Loppua kohden luovuin jatkuvasta tiedonhausta, jotta sain kirjan luettua loppuun.
Kirja on teoreettinen ja akateeminen, joten sen lukemista ja ymmärtämistä tukee, jos lukijalla on käsitys erilaisista feministisistä teorioista ja hallussaan tähän liittyvää termistöä. Itse koin kirjan aukeavan paremmin, kun ymmärtää myös mitä tarkoittaa intersektionaalinen ja musta feminismi. En suosittele tätä ensimmäiseksi feministiseksi teokseksi kenellekään.
Pidin kirjasta, mutta jäin kuitenkin kaipaamaan ongelmien esiin nostamisen lisäksi ratkaisuja asioihin (näitä esitellään lyhyesti vasta kirjan lopussa). Lukiessa heräsi myös kysymyksiä, joihin kirja ei vastannut. Koin myös hämmennystä, kun kirjailija puhuu feministeistä, jotka ovat transfobisia ja/tai rasisteja. Ymmärrän, että historiallisessa kontekstissa feminismin eri aalloissa on vivahteita ja ymmärrän, että on olemassa ihmisiä, jotka väittävät olevansa feministejä, mutta ovat silti syrjiviä tiettyjä vähemmistöjä kohtaan. Oma fenimismini ei kuitenkaan tunnista feministiksi ihmistä, joka syrjii mitään vähemmistöjä.
May 17, 2020
This book throws light on the damage caused by feminist resistance when the goal is framed as a singular one of progress for "women", without acknowledgement of intersectionality or the recognition that change impacts different communities in unequal ways. As an Asian used to looking toward the White feminist movement for indication and direction, the book raises questions about what and for whom progress has really been made, and provokes questions that need to be asked by other feminist movements everywhere. Thankfully, the book provides a toolkit to help one get started, so we don't stay helpless in the face of what may seem insurmountable.
November 28, 2023
it had a lot of good points but some are still viewed in such a white feminism way (which im glad the author realizes that she might still has white feminism views that she isn’t educated on yet)
What bugged me most is the excuse of sex work with no proper argument. It is a very white privileged and anti feminist thing to work for something that consists 80% of women and children being trafficked. It is part of the patriarchy and capitalization of the female body - making it seem like a object to be bought and owned by a man. How can something be seen as empowering when it consists mostly of women and children, who have no other choice?
What bugged me most is the excuse of sex work with no proper argument. It is a very white privileged and anti feminist thing to work for something that consists 80% of women and children being trafficked. It is part of the patriarchy and capitalization of the female body - making it seem like a object to be bought and owned by a man. How can something be seen as empowering when it consists mostly of women and children, who have no other choice?
May 18, 2022
This was a solid presentation of sexual violence and racism as intersecting oppressions, but it was clearly geared towards a white audience so… my mind was not exactly blown
August 29, 2020
A necessary read for all feminists working towards an end sexual violence.
November 17, 2022
This book felt wayyy too inaccessible and academic. Not necessarily for the ‘everyday feminist’ or the new feminist, I would say this is aimed at those in the later stages of their feminist journeys maybe? I dunno. Anyway I have given it 2 stars because I felt stupid throughout the whole thing. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about half the time, there was lots of political jargon which led me to Google every other word. I understand this is a me problem and not the authors problem but I can’t possibly be a fan of a book that makes me feel stupid!! Also, she is a white woman??? and so I just didn’t feel massively ok with the topics she discussed as though she isn’t a privileged white woman herself. She also critiques the whole ‘us vs them’ whilst being very ‘us vs them’ herself. Maybe that’s just me though!
March 11, 2022
This was a fascinating and insightful read to help solidify a lot of things that have been percolating inside my head since the beginning of 2020. Phipps has helped me to synthetize what has been starting to really bug me about feminism today or at least how feminist rhetoric has been co-opted by really shitty people to further fascist thinking and agendas.
It is a challenging read in that she, with lots of citations from Black and other women of color, really drills down into the different incarnations of feminism and the different ways it has been used throughout history. Intersectionalism is the point and...I had to laugh while reading the one-star review of this because that reviewer is demonstrating exactly what Phipps points out; treating foreign or non-white women as an 'Other,' who then need to be protected through carceral methods. But, they also conflated Phipps' point, which was about laws passed in Ireland and Wales (iirc) with all of East Asia, which....feels like dipping toes into white saviorism. I don't think Phipps is beyond critique, but I suppose I am a bit rankled at how anyone could read this book and come away with that as a conclusion.
A lot of the ideas presented here haven't originated with Phipps. Again, when speaking about abolition or other intersectional causes, she always states who originated the theory and/or activism. It's given me a big list of other folks to read, so I suggest having a pen and highlighter handy for annotations! Probably the most fascinating aspect is the teaming up for super right-wing Christians with TERFs. It really makes you examine not only your own beliefs, but like, how does this work in the world? Sort of like listening to an episode of You're Wrong About, it shifts your perspective to be able to see how the outrage and political machine is all working. And, none of what she writes has like, the white woman hand-wringing really common amongst white feminists writing about racism or various ways that white women fuck up. I really appreciated frankness.
I know I'll be returning to this again and again as the world continues to become more fucked lol.
It is a challenging read in that she, with lots of citations from Black and other women of color, really drills down into the different incarnations of feminism and the different ways it has been used throughout history. Intersectionalism is the point and...I had to laugh while reading the one-star review of this because that reviewer is demonstrating exactly what Phipps points out; treating foreign or non-white women as an 'Other,' who then need to be protected through carceral methods. But, they also conflated Phipps' point, which was about laws passed in Ireland and Wales (iirc) with all of East Asia, which....feels like dipping toes into white saviorism. I don't think Phipps is beyond critique, but I suppose I am a bit rankled at how anyone could read this book and come away with that as a conclusion.
A lot of the ideas presented here haven't originated with Phipps. Again, when speaking about abolition or other intersectional causes, she always states who originated the theory and/or activism. It's given me a big list of other folks to read, so I suggest having a pen and highlighter handy for annotations! Probably the most fascinating aspect is the teaming up for super right-wing Christians with TERFs. It really makes you examine not only your own beliefs, but like, how does this work in the world? Sort of like listening to an episode of You're Wrong About, it shifts your perspective to be able to see how the outrage and political machine is all working. And, none of what she writes has like, the white woman hand-wringing really common amongst white feminists writing about racism or various ways that white women fuck up. I really appreciated frankness.
I know I'll be returning to this again and again as the world continues to become more fucked lol.
September 27, 2024
Un bon essai, ça résume bien ce que disent beaucoup d'autres féministes sur des questions comme le racisme, l'exclusion de certaines femmes des groupes et revendications féministes, la transphobie, la criminalisation du travail du sexe, etc. avec quelques exemples historiques et contemporains, et de relativement bonnes explications derrière. Toutefois, je ne sais pas à quel point ses derniers chapitres sont très convaincants, surtout sur la question de l'abolitionnisme des prisons où elle défend cette position sans expliquer quelles sont les alternatives à l'incarcération ce qui en laissera beaucoup sur la défensive. Même moi je commençais à avoir en malaise à voir la liste des crimes en hausse qu'elle demandait de retirer du système législatif (pas juste du système pénal, du système judiciaire aussi) qui incluent, entre-autres, la distribution du revenge-porn et les photos non-consentantes de dessous de jupe [pp.166-167]).
Aussi, il y a des amalgames souvent effectués entre des groupes de femmes random et des groupes ou mouvements féministes qui auraient mérités de se concentre juste sur les groupes féministes, quand je vois qu'on commence à parler de "white feminism" en parlant de figure comme Marine Le Pen ou Catherine Deneuve qui ne sont pas féministes et refusent l'étiquette, je pense qu'on sort un petit peu du sujet et on dessert un peu l'argumentation comme lorsqu'on associe la pétition française du droit à liberté d'importuner à des revendications féministes. Les liens entre certains groupes de féministes et l'alt-right et l'extrême-droite religieuses sont déjà très bien tissés par l'autrice dans l'essai, je ne pense pas que c'était nécessaire d'aller chercher des exemples en dehors du mouvement féministe pour pointer du doigt le féminisme blanc sur ces questions.
Aussi, il y a des amalgames souvent effectués entre des groupes de femmes random et des groupes ou mouvements féministes qui auraient mérités de se concentre juste sur les groupes féministes, quand je vois qu'on commence à parler de "white feminism" en parlant de figure comme Marine Le Pen ou Catherine Deneuve qui ne sont pas féministes et refusent l'étiquette, je pense qu'on sort un petit peu du sujet et on dessert un peu l'argumentation comme lorsqu'on associe la pétition française du droit à liberté d'importuner à des revendications féministes. Les liens entre certains groupes de féministes et l'alt-right et l'extrême-droite religieuses sont déjà très bien tissés par l'autrice dans l'essai, je ne pense pas que c'était nécessaire d'aller chercher des exemples en dehors du mouvement féministe pour pointer du doigt le féminisme blanc sur ces questions.
October 20, 2023
Essential reading
March 27, 2021
I was made aware of Phipps' work through one of the countless zoom classes/discussions on feminism and gender studies I took last year, to ease the covid ennui that had been creeping in (and because I'm a sucker for that kind of evening entertainment).
First of all, I really liked this book. I wouldn't say that it was an "eye-opener" text per se, as I'm well familiar with most of the topics covered, but it was a very good read and I'm glad to have found a book that, while being rather compact, still covers the topics it talks about with reasonable precision. There were parts in the book that definitely made me reflect, and ask if I'm putting in the work to actively avoid continually (re)centering myself. "Me, not you" is a book that I will probably go back to time and time again if I need some refreshment on how not to be shitty person. - Plus, it gave me motivation to pick up and (re)read works from other authors (Federici, Davis and Ahmed among many others) that have been on my reading list for a while now anyway.
(also im insisting on calling our gender studies department the "gender idiology's headquarters" now)
First of all, I really liked this book. I wouldn't say that it was an "eye-opener" text per se, as I'm well familiar with most of the topics covered, but it was a very good read and I'm glad to have found a book that, while being rather compact, still covers the topics it talks about with reasonable precision. There were parts in the book that definitely made me reflect, and ask if I'm putting in the work to actively avoid continually (re)centering myself. "Me, not you" is a book that I will probably go back to time and time again if I need some refreshment on how not to be shitty person. - Plus, it gave me motivation to pick up and (re)read works from other authors (Federici, Davis and Ahmed among many others) that have been on my reading list for a while now anyway.
(also im insisting on calling our gender studies department the "gender idiology's headquarters" now)
February 5, 2021
Overall, I think this is a very good overview of many of the problems in feminism, and would be a good read for anyone who would like insight into what these issues are and how they are so pervasive.
I’m giving this book 3 starts only because I thought I was going to enjoy it much more than I did. Perhaps that is because I was already aware of many of the issues in the book, or perhaps it was this particular authors writing style. Either way the points are still important and well written. As I began struggling in the middle chapters of the book, I found it difficult to finish it once I started and did put the book down for some time. However, I found the last 3 chapters incredibly engaging and I really picked up my speed in finishing the book once I got to this point.
I also feel that the points on trans exclusionary feminism could have been expanded much further than they were, although I appreciate this book was likely only intended to be an overview.
There are definitely some very clearly worded points in this book that I will refer back to in the future.
I’m giving this book 3 starts only because I thought I was going to enjoy it much more than I did. Perhaps that is because I was already aware of many of the issues in the book, or perhaps it was this particular authors writing style. Either way the points are still important and well written. As I began struggling in the middle chapters of the book, I found it difficult to finish it once I started and did put the book down for some time. However, I found the last 3 chapters incredibly engaging and I really picked up my speed in finishing the book once I got to this point.
I also feel that the points on trans exclusionary feminism could have been expanded much further than they were, although I appreciate this book was likely only intended to be an overview.
There are definitely some very clearly worded points in this book that I will refer back to in the future.
June 8, 2024
*chef's kiss* i luvd it:
"This concern with white womens safety is not new, nor does it contradict the abuse perpetrated by powerful and privileged men. It reflects our status as property, and historically, we literally were. We are possessions of these men, to be used and abused, but violently defended from the others, especially when economic interests are at stake. The white and bourgeois rape victim is being a key motif in colonial expansion, as well as law and order, and anti-immigration agendas in richer countries, which protect the have's from the have not's.
Sometimes, sexual violence is a cultural problem, but only when this culture is non-white. Sometimes, it is a product of male anatomy, but only when this anatomy is assigned to a trans woman or a man of colour. Sexual violence is never the violence of heteropatriarchy, or globalizing racial capital. Instead, representatives of patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism weaponize the idea of womens safety against marginalized and hyper-exploited groups"
"This concern with white womens safety is not new, nor does it contradict the abuse perpetrated by powerful and privileged men. It reflects our status as property, and historically, we literally were. We are possessions of these men, to be used and abused, but violently defended from the others, especially when economic interests are at stake. The white and bourgeois rape victim is being a key motif in colonial expansion, as well as law and order, and anti-immigration agendas in richer countries, which protect the have's from the have not's.
Sometimes, sexual violence is a cultural problem, but only when this culture is non-white. Sometimes, it is a product of male anatomy, but only when this anatomy is assigned to a trans woman or a man of colour. Sexual violence is never the violence of heteropatriarchy, or globalizing racial capital. Instead, representatives of patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism weaponize the idea of womens safety against marginalized and hyper-exploited groups"
April 24, 2021
A really good book that gives an overview of the pitfalls of what is referred to a lot as “white feminism” but here is called more often colonial or carceral feminism. I particularly enjoyed the parts about the weaponising of the “male” body vs. the systems and structures that promote and allow sexual violence and the upholding of the carceral state as retribution for sexual violence. The explanations of how this lacklustre, dangerous version of feminism also intersects with the far right and outrage politics in regards to trans and sex worker exclusion and upholds gender roles and binaries were also great (got a few moral panic mentions in there which I always enjoy).
October 9, 2022
“My conclusion directly addresses the white feminists who may be listening to this book. Our task is not to disavow reactionary perspectives, but to examine how our feminism has produced and enabled them and, most importantly, work towards doing our feminism differently. Especially because restricting ourselves to calling out reactionary feminists can allow us to ignore or erase the impact of political whiteness in the mainstream.”
November 3, 2020
Excellent and thought-provoking read highlighting how many marginalised female communities are ignored or actively frozen out by mainstream white, middle-class feminism. Also detailed is how the rights of one particular community, trans woman, are often actively campaigned against. A well-researched and written corrective to the attitudes too often expressed in the mainstream media.
July 2, 2023
An incredibly accessible book which should be read by all White feminists. A precise and at times devastating critique of mainstream feminism which deftly ties together issues of racism, carceralism, transphobia, fascism, classism, neoliberal capitalism and colonialism.
After reading this book it is difficult not the see the connections between these intertwined (and often co-dependent) issues in so many of the problems which face women and wider society today.
Phipp’s work is particularly useful in tying together the issue of ‘carceral’ feminism with classism and colonialism, transphobia, anti-sex workerism, and the intersection with ascendant (so-called) ‘gender critical’ ‘feminism’. She elucidates the underlying authoritarianism-cum-fascism of these types of ‘feminist’ thought and their tendency to oppress all women except those who are white, middle-to-upper class, cisgender (and often, heterosexual).
She highlights very well the way in which mainstream feminisms, again including ‘carceral feminism’ ‘white feminsim’ and ‘gender critical feminism’ act to reinforce and perpetuate patriarchal oppression (as well as racism, cissexism, classism and ableism) rather than challenge it, as forms of ‘feminism’ which, paradoxically, lean on and benefit from those very systems.
An insightful, refreshing and encouraging read at a time when some highly problematic (and harmful) ‘feminist’ voices seem to have gained a mainstream footing for all the wrong reasons.
The book is also a tour of some of the best anti-racist and other marginalised feminist voices of the past century - and in that sense serves as an excellent reference point, and jumping off point, for the excellent work of Black feminists such Angela Y Davis and so many others.
Most importantly, this book sets out a guide - you could call it a model for praxis - for those of us White feminists who wish to understand and address these issues, to build a better, non-exclusionary, truly transformative feminism for all women - a feminism which centres marginalised voices and allows them to lead us forward to something better.
After reading this book it is difficult not the see the connections between these intertwined (and often co-dependent) issues in so many of the problems which face women and wider society today.
Phipp’s work is particularly useful in tying together the issue of ‘carceral’ feminism with classism and colonialism, transphobia, anti-sex workerism, and the intersection with ascendant (so-called) ‘gender critical’ ‘feminism’. She elucidates the underlying authoritarianism-cum-fascism of these types of ‘feminist’ thought and their tendency to oppress all women except those who are white, middle-to-upper class, cisgender (and often, heterosexual).
She highlights very well the way in which mainstream feminisms, again including ‘carceral feminism’ ‘white feminsim’ and ‘gender critical feminism’ act to reinforce and perpetuate patriarchal oppression (as well as racism, cissexism, classism and ableism) rather than challenge it, as forms of ‘feminism’ which, paradoxically, lean on and benefit from those very systems.
An insightful, refreshing and encouraging read at a time when some highly problematic (and harmful) ‘feminist’ voices seem to have gained a mainstream footing for all the wrong reasons.
The book is also a tour of some of the best anti-racist and other marginalised feminist voices of the past century - and in that sense serves as an excellent reference point, and jumping off point, for the excellent work of Black feminists such Angela Y Davis and so many others.
Most importantly, this book sets out a guide - you could call it a model for praxis - for those of us White feminists who wish to understand and address these issues, to build a better, non-exclusionary, truly transformative feminism for all women - a feminism which centres marginalised voices and allows them to lead us forward to something better.
January 26, 2025
I came to this book having read one of Phipps’ articles, and agreeing with what I took to be her basic premise: that too often the “mainstream” of feminism centres and is centred around white upper class women, and that too often this feminism is quite performative and ends its demands where the interests specific to these white women end. Having read the book, I still agree with Phipps on many things but rather in spite of than because of it.
Because Phipps does not make it easy to be on her side. She picks strange battles and hills to die on. She didn’t have to mention that 20 hoax papers made it into Gender Studies journals. But she does, and then offers no rebuttal. And is a white man receiving a long prison sentence for decades of sexual abuse really the best example to bring forward of a racist justice system?
Race is a major theme, and Phipps’ approach to it is very American (I’m aware that she is not) and very awkward. On the very first pages, I can’t help but cringe when Phipps gives a list of people and then categorizes them as white and not white. I keep imagining her studying photos of them to make the determination. She explains her use of ‘Black’ with a capital ‘B’ to “to denote that Black people are a people”—and then goes on to describe a Game of Thrones character as “Black”. Not the actor mind you, the character, whom I can only assume Phipps has decided is “Black” based on the (perceived) ethnicity of the actor who portrays her. She writes “Latinx men”. And of course, being white herself, she acknowledges how problematic it is for her to talk about the race. And then she acknowledges how problematic it is for her to acknowledge how problematic it is.
I do think it’s a worthwhile read but I also feel like you have to pretty much already agree with Phipps: her contrived arguments are more likely to push someone who doesn’t further away.
Because Phipps does not make it easy to be on her side. She picks strange battles and hills to die on. She didn’t have to mention that 20 hoax papers made it into Gender Studies journals. But she does, and then offers no rebuttal. And is a white man receiving a long prison sentence for decades of sexual abuse really the best example to bring forward of a racist justice system?
Race is a major theme, and Phipps’ approach to it is very American (I’m aware that she is not) and very awkward. On the very first pages, I can’t help but cringe when Phipps gives a list of people and then categorizes them as white and not white. I keep imagining her studying photos of them to make the determination. She explains her use of ‘Black’ with a capital ‘B’ to “to denote that Black people are a people”—and then goes on to describe a Game of Thrones character as “Black”. Not the actor mind you, the character, whom I can only assume Phipps has decided is “Black” based on the (perceived) ethnicity of the actor who portrays her. She writes “Latinx men”. And of course, being white herself, she acknowledges how problematic it is for her to talk about the race. And then she acknowledges how problematic it is for her to acknowledge how problematic it is.
I do think it’s a worthwhile read but I also feel like you have to pretty much already agree with Phipps: her contrived arguments are more likely to push someone who doesn’t further away.
February 14, 2026
The Me Too movement, started by Black feminist Tarana Burke in 2006, went viral as a hashtag eleven years later after a tweet by actress Alyssa Milano.
In this book, Alison Phipps argues that mainstream movements like #MeToo have often built on and co-opted the work of women of colour, while refusing to learn from them or centre their concerns.
She argues that white feminists sacrifice more marginalised people to achieve their aims, or even define them as enemies when they get in the way. They use their traumatic experiences to create media outrage, while relying on state power and bureaucracy to purge 'bad men' from elite institutions with little concern for where they might appear next. In their attacks on sex workers and trans people, the more reactionary branches of this feminist movement play into the hands of the resurgent far-right.
For many people, this book will make an uncomfortable read, but I believe a necessary one to understand how and why the liberal feminist movement can box in women and limit the movements radical potential - especially when it comes to prioritising the concerns of white women even it comes at the expense of other minority groups.
The chapters surrounding carceral feminism were particularly insightful. And I believe she is correct to point out that the movement has focused a lot on “celebrity” victims instead of marginalised workers and other who are more at risk of sexual violence. She’s equally correct to point out that the current method of rooting out “bad men” fails to address the structural and political systems that sustain patriarchy.
I don’t think Phipps ever quite justifies making this book length. Without the filler, its main points could be communicated in an essay or article well enough. But nonetheless, a book that should be really considered to truly understand #MeToo and its impact and consequences.
In this book, Alison Phipps argues that mainstream movements like #MeToo have often built on and co-opted the work of women of colour, while refusing to learn from them or centre their concerns.
She argues that white feminists sacrifice more marginalised people to achieve their aims, or even define them as enemies when they get in the way. They use their traumatic experiences to create media outrage, while relying on state power and bureaucracy to purge 'bad men' from elite institutions with little concern for where they might appear next. In their attacks on sex workers and trans people, the more reactionary branches of this feminist movement play into the hands of the resurgent far-right.
For many people, this book will make an uncomfortable read, but I believe a necessary one to understand how and why the liberal feminist movement can box in women and limit the movements radical potential - especially when it comes to prioritising the concerns of white women even it comes at the expense of other minority groups.
The chapters surrounding carceral feminism were particularly insightful. And I believe she is correct to point out that the movement has focused a lot on “celebrity” victims instead of marginalised workers and other who are more at risk of sexual violence. She’s equally correct to point out that the current method of rooting out “bad men” fails to address the structural and political systems that sustain patriarchy.
I don’t think Phipps ever quite justifies making this book length. Without the filler, its main points could be communicated in an essay or article well enough. But nonetheless, a book that should be really considered to truly understand #MeToo and its impact and consequences.
October 30, 2022
A Clear, succinct and easy-to-read primer on white/mainstream/neoliberal/corporate/policy/lean-in feminism, which wants power within the existing system, rather than an end to the status quo
The author provides a convincing case that bourgeois white women can be both victims (of sexual violence) and perpetrator (of race and class supremacy)
The book is based on the concept of political whiteness, which describes a set of values, orientations and behaviours including narcissism, alertness to threat and an accompanying will to power, which characterise mainstream feminism and other politics dominated by privileged white people
Particular highlights from the book include:
The chapter on capitalist patriarchy constructing gender through the separation of productive and reproductive work, the latter being primarily performed by women and not viewed as real work as it exists in the realm of "love", not money
Criticising colonial feminists as being concerned with "liberating" Other women, not critiquing colonial capitalism and its neoliberal successor, for example colonial feminists condemn the burqa, but not the wars waged or fought by proxy in the service of resource accumulation, trade routes, enabling and supporting autocratic and fundamentalist regimes
Their main focus is not the deliberately unequal development that impoverishes some countries while enriching othres, by only fixating on gender, white feminism has little capacity to understand these intersecting dynamics
The author provides a convincing case that bourgeois white women can be both victims (of sexual violence) and perpetrator (of race and class supremacy)
The book is based on the concept of political whiteness, which describes a set of values, orientations and behaviours including narcissism, alertness to threat and an accompanying will to power, which characterise mainstream feminism and other politics dominated by privileged white people
Particular highlights from the book include:
The chapter on capitalist patriarchy constructing gender through the separation of productive and reproductive work, the latter being primarily performed by women and not viewed as real work as it exists in the realm of "love", not money
Criticising colonial feminists as being concerned with "liberating" Other women, not critiquing colonial capitalism and its neoliberal successor, for example colonial feminists condemn the burqa, but not the wars waged or fought by proxy in the service of resource accumulation, trade routes, enabling and supporting autocratic and fundamentalist regimes
Their main focus is not the deliberately unequal development that impoverishes some countries while enriching othres, by only fixating on gender, white feminism has little capacity to understand these intersecting dynamics
December 8, 2023
Paikoin kirja osuu kohteeseensa ja upottaa ennakkoluuloja oikeutetusti ja taidolla...mutta.
Toki kirja keskittyy erittäin vahvasti Yhdysvaltojen ja Ison-Britannian valkoisen feminismin kipukohtiin ja esittää epäkohdat perustellusti ja selkeästi. Paikoin rinnastukset eri ongelmien välillä ontuvat pahasti ja minä jäin lukijana miettimään, että voihan oman pointin todistaa rinnastamalla kaksi täysin eri asiaa. Lisäksi kirjoittajalla on kumman yksioikoinen kuva siitä, montaako asiaa feminismi voi yhtäaikaisesti edustaa: mielestäni feminismi voi vaatia nykyisen rangaistusjärjestelmän uudistamista esim. seksuaalirikosten kohdalla JA miettiä miten rangaistuskäytösten koventamista vaativat rasistiset näkökulmat ovat haitallisia eri tavalla.
Voi olla, että jokin meni itseltä ohi, mutta teos on tutustumisen arvoinen pelkästään sen esittelemän rodullistetun feminismin lähteiden esittelyn vuoksi.
Toki kirja keskittyy erittäin vahvasti Yhdysvaltojen ja Ison-Britannian valkoisen feminismin kipukohtiin ja esittää epäkohdat perustellusti ja selkeästi. Paikoin rinnastukset eri ongelmien välillä ontuvat pahasti ja minä jäin lukijana miettimään, että voihan oman pointin todistaa rinnastamalla kaksi täysin eri asiaa. Lisäksi kirjoittajalla on kumman yksioikoinen kuva siitä, montaako asiaa feminismi voi yhtäaikaisesti edustaa: mielestäni feminismi voi vaatia nykyisen rangaistusjärjestelmän uudistamista esim. seksuaalirikosten kohdalla JA miettiä miten rangaistuskäytösten koventamista vaativat rasistiset näkökulmat ovat haitallisia eri tavalla.
Voi olla, että jokin meni itseltä ohi, mutta teos on tutustumisen arvoinen pelkästään sen esittelemän rodullistetun feminismin lähteiden esittelyn vuoksi.
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