Complaint!

by Sara Ahmed

In Complaint! Sara Ahmed examines what we can learn about power from those who complain about abuses of power. Drawing on oral and written testimonies from academics and students who have made complaints about harassment, bullying, and unequal working conditions at universities, Ahmed explores the gap between what is supposed to happen when complaints are made and what actually happens. To make complaints within institutions is to learn how they work and for whom they work: complaint as feminist pedagogy. Ahmed explores how complaints are made behind closed doors and how doors are often closed on those who complain. To open these doors---to get complaints through, keep them going, or keep them alive---Ahmed emphasizes, requires forming new kinds of collectives. This book offers a systematic analysis of the methods used to stop complaints and a powerful and poetic meditation on what complaints can be used to do. Following a long lineage of Black feminist and feminist of color critiques of the university, Ahmed delivers a timely consideration of how institutional change becomes possible and why it is necessary.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, Academic, Academia

376 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Sara Ahmed is an independent queer feminist scholar of colour. Her work is concerned with how power is experienced and challenged in everyday life and institutional cultures. Her most recent book is No is Not a Lonely Utterance: The Art and Activism of Complaining which came out with Allen Lane in September 2025, and which is a companion text to The Feminist Killjoy Handbook which was published by Allen Lane in 2023. Previous books include Complaint! (2021), What's The Use? On the Uses of Use (2019), Living a Feminist Life (2017), Willful Subjects (2014), On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (2012), The Promise of Happiness (2010) and Queer Phenomenology: Orientations Objects, Others all published by Duke University Press. She blogs at feministkilljoys.com and has a newsletter https://feministkilljoys.substack.com/.

Reviews

[Lauren Hatcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really interesting read and offers great insight into complaint processes. If you've never initiated a complaint, this book is really great at laying out the barriers and challenges, and if you have, this book can provide some really great vocabulary for reflecting on the experience. Moreover, the attention drawn to the common experience of making a complaint in spite of the variety of issues experienced (sexual harassment, sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or most often some combination) was something I had not seen before, making the book really impactful for me. That being said, there were some stylistic and structural choices that detracted from the work as a whole.

Most glaringly, the book is distractingly repetitive, with Ahmed often explaining and rephrasing excerpts from complainant interviews that don't really need to be explained. This accounts for a large portion of the book and while there is sometimes really great insight and analysis, it makes the book feel really bloated. The structure is also a bit garbled, with near constant references to previous and upcoming points in the book that eroded any sense of chronology. In a similar vein, Ahmed choses not to give the interviewees aliases and instead briefly describes their circumstances (ex: a Black queer woman academic who made a complaint about racism and sexism in her department...) before quoting them. I understand this decision, but this made it much more confusing to track the same complaint across multiple chapters, which is often necessary. Lastly, (this is more of a personal gripe), "complainer" is constantly used when one would expect "complainant" to be. This might be due to a narrower definition of "complainant" in the UK legal system compared to the American one, but I couldn't help but wonder about the choice as the book obliquely touched on the semantic difference between "complainant" and "complainer" and how these words are elided in characterizing a complainant.

Overall this review feels really negative for a three star rating, but the strength of the book's overall substance really made the executional weaknesses more visible. Weaknesses and all though, Complaint! is definitely a valuable read.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need this book, it will be here for you.

It works both to create some form out of the infuriating formlessness of the gap between what institutions say they care about and what they actually do AND as a love letter to those who have tangled with policies and procedures of complaint.

Dr. Ahmed makes invisible structures visible in this book.

I want to give this book to so many people and just yell, "SEE! THIS!" but then I realize I don't actually want to share it with anyone who doesn't want to be changed by it. So . . .

If you need it, it is here for you.

[Ionas · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was A LOT.

first Sara Ahmed ever, shocked by the way her language travels through poetry theory and manifesto so brilliantly.

The book isn’t an easy casual read, not necessarily because of the subject, but because of her repetitiveness that grates you to death. Constantly referencing herself and previous chapters, repeating and rephrasing -all in striking language but still, 100 pages less and it would be a 5/5.

In the subject of complaint! sure is a bible, worth having.

If you’re more a general/casual queer theory reader kinda gal, this will stay on your nightstand far longer than expected, -and keep a notepad close you’ll need it :-)

** also, Rachel Whiteread on the cover, dunno how that + the amazing graphic design can’t win u. Books a treat to look at!

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was warned that this was painfully repetitive but fuuuuuuuuuuck!
i was warned that this was painfully repetitive but fuuuuuuuuuuck!

shame because it's an important subject.
there is not much in the way of solutions offered but maybe that wasn't the point.

listened to the audiobook heavily sped up.
14.5 hrs (at reg speed) that would've probably been less than 4 hrs if all the repetition was dropped...

[Sab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this one as an audiobook.

A lot of great insights into the process of complaint and also the subtleties of the world that turn innocuous things into complaints.

Unfortunately I really didn't like a lot of the stylistic choices made in this book. The constant repetition and reiteration of details that didn't need to be repeated and the jumps in timelines that made it difficult to follow individual threads made this book feel both bloated and disorientating. It would be a great resource to refer back to, but not the most enjoyable read.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with deep insight into the failure of the complaints procedure within academia, on purpose, to work for those who make complaints, rather for the institution itself. Yet, the author is repetitive and I think this led me to take much longer to finish the book than it should have.

[zac carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book over the course of about six months. how did it take so long? i was living through a version of the circumstances the book describes.

so i took a lot of breaks. i found even the incredibly validating passages were difficult sometimes. but with each return, i learned more, had my mind blown, and felt overcome by the richness of the text. i was hearing someone speak back to me the complexities of asking for help; something i’d recently asked for in the workplace only to receive condescension and gaslighting in response.

read this fucking quote:
a complaint can be how you live with yourself because a complaint is an attempt to address what is wrong, not to cope with something, not to let it happen, not to let it keep happening. you refuse to adjust to what is unjust. a complaint can be a way of not doing nothing. i think the double negative is often the terrain of complaint.

ahmed ties everything to colonialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, class, queerness, and the detailed view expands and expands. the book is profound and enraging and affirming. i loved the mix of first-person accounts from others who’ve experienced abuses of power, ahmed’s way of storytelling, and research.

oh and i’ll never forget this: if queer maps are useful, they are also created by use.

[Giulia =) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heel goed en sterk, maar heel veel herhaling. Boek had de helft lang kunnen zijn. Wel heel fijn en handig voor mn project. Big love sara

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book! A genuinely timely and thought provoking text that, in my opinion, belongs up there in the canon of great theoretical texts that prod and interrogate the existence of modern work culture such as Arlie Russell Hochschild's The Managed Heart and Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Should be required reading for anyone who has a job. Only 4 stars because I felt some parts of the text were less accessible, but overall absolutely worth a read for anyone who has ever tried to complain to an institution or has not complained but wanted to.

[freya w · Rating 5 out of 5]

god I can't wait to get out of academia

[Mckenna Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

important thesis. very repetitive.

[Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a validating book. And introduces so many important terms for making these nebulous experiences tangible. And so damn useful as a person working in public healthcare.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

So freaking excellent! I would highly recommend this!

[David]

I just began this book, so maybe it'll be addressed, but what Ahmed downplays so far is that in the context of U.S. (rather than UK) higher education, more and more complaints are now being lodged against those who espouse views critical of capitalism, christianity, and right wing conservatism—i.e. the "critical race theory" debacle. Given this sad reversal, it's an ironic silver lining to read about how unresponsive institutions are to legitimate and galling complaints of harassment, racism and sexism.

[Sukhpreet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful and great in many ways, especially as a resource/inspiration for how to complain collectively, especially in institutional contexts where that is all but prohibited. Ahmed is brilliant, but her repetitive writing style (which I believe was a thought-out choice) grated on me eventually, despite working for me initially.

[Jess]

Mined this for ideas more than read it straight through, and will likely go back to it as a reference source.

[Colinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We might think of institutional violence as happening over there, enacted by those who would or could direct that violence toward us, as critical thinkers, say, subversive intellectuals even, but that violence is right here, closer to home, in the warm and fuzzy zone of collegiality, in commitments to innovation, radicality, or criticality, in the desire to protect a project or a program."

This is an important book that discusses the mechanisms or, as the author calls them, the "institutional mechanics" of complaint in academia. Informed by her own experience, which led her to leave her university post, she describes the emotional, communicative, and administrative labour involved in complaining. She raises awareness for the conundrum complainers find themselves in when they decide to lodge an informal or formal complaint. By complaining, they open doors that should have remained closed, while other doors are closed on them forever, as the stamp of complaint remains with them. It is an account of willful and accidental obstruction, of teeth-gritting perseverance and utter despair, of carrying on at personal and professional costs. The book shows how much work still needs to be done to change, from the ground, these institutional mechanics of exploiting subordinates and profiting from power imbalance in general. The burden of doing this work, unfortunately, rests on those who are already in an underprivileged, precarious, or vulnerable position from the outset. The book shows that diversity policies and codes of conducts are often window-dressing, that shadow policies and solidarity with powerful perpetrators can be very difficult to uncover, let alone change, that it takes courage to complain, to be seen and stigmatised as a "complainer". At one point Sara Ahmed notices that it is unfortunate that a complaint cannot be part of your CV - I would say, it should. If you're able to stand up for your rights, fight and, against all odds, manage to put into question the existing structures, or even change them a bit, that is no minor feat. You are probably not even doing this for yourself (because often the complainer has to or wants to get out of the environment regardless of the outcome of the complaint process), but for those who come after you and do not yet know what they are getting themselves into.

Even though some of the metaphors the author uses do not work very well and her style and sentences tend to be somewhat repetitive, Ahmed offers important insights into processes and mechanisms of complaint, which are applicable not just to academia but to all environments in which people try to make a stand against power abuse. We should complain more often.

[David Ivany · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable book start to finish. The way Ahmed lays out the structures of complaint and how to complain is to challenge the reproduction of an institution is something that is going to be incorporated into how I engage with systems and how I will assist others.
What I found particularly moving in the text is Ahmed's acknowledgement of the exhausting work of making a complaint, whether formal or informal. People very near and dear to me have been involved in lengthy complaints processes and thinking through the wasting of the wronged party as institutional machinery made me profoundly sad. How many crucial voices have been silenced by being tied up in the work of complaint (especially when that complaint is one in a long line of complaints)?
Related to this, I appreciated how Ahmed laid out the double bind of diversity efforts, where policies dont do enough to support diverse populations but the work of improving those policies is given to people from those groups. This means that, even without making a complaint, ones time is stolen in making worthwhile complaints possible, with no guarantee that the institution will utilize that policy positively for the impacted group.
I'll be referencing this for years to come.

[Kennedy Soong Bouchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I think this book is definitely worth reading.

Ahmed has a beautiful thesis throughout this book, and tells the story of how complaints often work in institutions very well. It’s an important point that everyone should be aware of.

The most important part of this book comes in the introduction of the book. Ahmed brings up this idea of the “feminist ear”, calling the reading to listen to the complaints of women and not just brushing them off as not being valid. This point was so beautifully told, and honestly changed a lot of my thinking when it comes to complaints.

[alexis berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

i took a lot from this book, but the part i will remember the most is the part where the author said “rolling eyes = feminist pedagogy”

[Boka]

Lyrical, plaintive, haunting

[Mile Sapey · Rating 5 out of 5]

qué terrible que haya que escribir 500 páginas sobre esto, pero que maravilla que exista Sara para hacerlo.

[Rida de Bullain · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book could have mattered more. It should have mattered more.

"Complaint!" takes on a critically important subject: how institutions fail us, how systems deflect harm, and how those who speak up are often punished for telling the truth. These stories deserve amplification. They deserve clarity. They deserve fire.

Instead, they are buried under a fog of academic abstraction that creates distance between the reader and the realities the book claims to explore. Ahmed collects stories of pain and courage from people who risked a lot to speak out, only to reframe them in language so dense and winding that it often hides more than it reveals.

As someone who knows what it means to live and resist inside unjust systems, I felt betrayed on behalf of the voices in these pages. What could have been a bold, urgent call to action becomes, at times, a confusing and self-serving maze. The stories are there. They are real and powerful. But they are held back by a style that seems to serve the author’s career more than the people who trusted her with their truth.

There is a time and place for theory. But when theory becomes a barrier instead of a bridge, when it puts academic performance above lived experience, something has gone wrong.

This could have been a rallying cry. Instead, it reads like a locked door. And for that, I am angry.

[Madie Burneson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about how institutionial (like universities) complaint systems do not work. And in the process often reproduce and encourage the issues that are being complained about. But there is reason behind making complaints despite this inefficiency and often self-detriment; and that’s to record it happened and help pave the way for people in the future who face similar issues to complain and fight as well.

Oh my god did this book need a better editor. It is somewhat excusable since the author didn’t want much university funding if any (don’t totally remember which) because the book was based in failed complaints in academia. But it was SO repetitive to the point I started reading passages out to Cadi so someone else cause hear the mind melt of it.

But it was a really good read and really not a bad first dip into philosophy for me. I’ve watched people go through this process and I’ve watched people hear about issues with a university through word of mouth since this process of complaining is so ineffective the abuser was still working at the university. And I have a lot of people in my life whole will constantly be in academia and other large institutions where they might be at a disadvantage if something like this happens.

[Nays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately I had to read this one quickly to get back to the library on time! I definitely will purchase this to refer back to in the future. This is a book worth spending plenty of time with if you're someone in academia or someone who is interested in how organisations can weaponise the very systems 'designed' to protect.

This was an incredible book that gave voice to so many important stories in a very clear, yet lyrical way. Lots of helpful insight about structure and organisations in a sociological/political sense, but plenty of heartbreaking personal testimony to bring the points home. Throughout the book, Ahmed and their collaborators noted plenty of helpful strategies for managing the personal and collective toll that complaining can bring. The final two chapters about complaint collectives were particularly poignant. I don't think a more beautiful and helpful book could be written about this subject matter. I always love Ahmed's writing and this was no exception.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important book, and it contains lots of important analysis. But it was pretty tough for me to get through. Maybe it was partly because I was trying to read it casually while taking care of a newborn, or maybe because mid-way through the book I lost my Kindle at the beach, and so the only way I had to read this was through the Kindle app on my phone, which made those extra-long analytical paragraphs that proliferate in this book seem even longer. But I think the thing that really slowed me down the most was the style in which the book is written. I can't really describe it. Tautological? Recursive? Constantly self-referencing? All of these things at once? Whatever it was, it made it really hard to get through.

If you decide to read this book, treat it like a college class. Knock out large chunks of pages at a time, take notes, the whole nine yards. Don't treat it as a casual read. That was my mistake.

[Aike · Rating 3 out of 5]

things can be other things BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE Them good arguments or even good metaphor SARA AhMED
I'm so annoyed with the stylistic choices that were made here (maybe a smarter person can explain to ke why they were necessary Im open to hear it) because the content is so good and so importanf and I think many in academia, and also people outside of it, could benefit from it. And I think it is important to seriously consider and think about critical forms of communication we tend to disregard, when thinking about power relations; such as complaints. (Formal and informal). Also it was just comforting (in a sad way) reading this with my own experiences of attempting to complaint in a university context in mind. There were some incredibly powerful passages as well. Bit oh boy did iI get tired of tBut oohh boy did I get tired of the style in this one

[Laura]

A ver como ya dice mucha mucha gente en las reviews, este libro habla de un tema importante pero es muymuymuy repetitivo y lento. No es sólo a nivel de capitulos, sino tambien a nivel párrafo e incluso en las frases se encuentran repeticiones. El arte de la sintesis es tan importante a veces! Y parece que a veces, cuanto más largo, más reconocimiento. Entiendo que a gente muy específica especialista del tema le pueda interesar todo el nivel de detalle y los posibles matices que hay entre los testimonios. Pero creo que el problema no es tanto de intentar hacer un libro muy academico sino de no hacer el esfuerzo para resumir. No he conseguido acabar las 520 paginas ni lo voy a hacer. He leido unas 100 páginas, básicamente la intro (unas 50 paginas), algo de la parte 1 (unas 35 paginas) e intenté darle una oportunidad con las conclusiones (unas 15 paginas).

[The Part-Time Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

**DID NOT FINISH**

This book came to me at the recommendation of my partner; they had not read it but had heard good things about it. The concept itself was intriguing, and I love to complain. I checked this out from my local library as an audiobook, and was initially alarmed by the 14.5-hours it would take to listen to. Unfortunately, the length of the book got the better of me. I was pulled in by some of the information shared, but at times it was an overwhelming amount of information. I found myself playing the book but not listening to it; it reads like a textbook. Fingers are crossed I come back to this later in life, but for now, this will be going on my DNF shelf.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Ahmed has an amazing voice. She writes scholarship like a poem, and she paints pictures and emotions with her words and using others’ words.

This is a heavy book, though. The vast majority of complaints covered deal with very serious sexual assault incidents. I will be honest that I didn’t finish it. I wasn’t prepared for the almost singular focus on that issue. At some point it became too much to go on. I’ve heard the ending offers some light at the end of the tunnel, so I do plan to go back and look for that. If I do, I’ll update this review.