Feminists Starting XI discussion

*I am retyping this because goodreads deleted my first attempt*

I am not as creative as Jules when it comes to titles so, you’ll just have to accept this one here.
The essay “Uses of anger...” It might be one of my favorites. Anger is such a poorly dealt with emotion. It has been dirtied and made to seem evil. More effort goes into hiding it and avoiding it, than actually sifting through it and dealing with it. Fear of Anger as she said.

Anger is also used to invalidate the discussions that many people have especially women and black women, reference the Angry Feminist & Angry Black Woman trope.

“If we listen to the content of what is said with at least as much intensity as we defend ourselves against the manner of saying”

Thus Sayeth The Lorde. Wow. I was so touched. So true. The obsession with the way we have to package our knowledge and intellect in a way that is palatable to the public. Like polite anger? Which makes absolutely no sense. Do you really want to help change the situation or do you want things to look good? Why are people surprised that feminists or any marginalized is angry? How can you not be? If you aren’t angry, you haven’t been paying attention. As in??????
“Tell me how you feel but do not say it too harshly or I cannot hear you” The manner of speaking is a greater problem than the message it would seem.

Also, she says “The angers between women will not kills us if we can articulate them with precision…” I love the fact that she wants us to use our anger. Let it color our world and helps move forward. Don’t be afraid of the rage, take it all in.

“I do not exist to feel her anger for her”

This entire essay was my favorite thing. I loved it. Like I do not know whether I have discussed it or just fangirled over it. Point is. This was powerful work.

Hey Samira,

I agree so much with this. Like, women being allowed to express their anger is one thing I'm very passionate about. I even ranted about it on Twitter sometime back.

https://twitter.com/bintiM/status/633...

Also, this piece is what explained to me for the first time what me being angry meant and why there's so much resistance towards the legitimate anger of the oppressed.

Feminist Killjoys (And Other Willful Subjects)
Sara Ahmed

http://sfonline.barnard.edu/polyphoni...

When the Erykah Badu thing happened some guy on twitter was saying we need to tell her 'nicely', to 'tone down our anger' or we will go nowhere. As in? He actually said "Teach her nicely" Ah. Bye.

Aisha wrote: "Also, this piece is what explained to me for the first time what me being angry meant and why there's so much resistance towards the legitimate anger of the oppressed.

Feminist Killjoys (And Othe..."

I just read this! Yooo.

* Proceeds to highlight my favourite parts/ summarizing the whole article *

"When did "feminism" become a word that spoke not just to you, but spoke you, that spoke of your existence or even spoke you into existence?The sound of it, your sound? How do we gather by gathering around this word, sticking to each other by sticking to it?"
The sitting at the family table analogy is simply mind-blowing.

"To be willing to go against a social order, which is protected as a moral order, a happiness order is to be willing to cause unhappiness, even if unhappiness is not your cause."

"Does the feminist kill other people's joy by pointing out moments of sexism? Or does she expose the bad feelings that get hidden, displaced, or negated under public signs of joy? Does bad feeling enter the room when somebody expresses anger about things, or could anger be the moment when the bad feelings that circulate through objects get brought to the surface in a certain way? "

"There is a desire to believe that women become feminists because they are unhappy" How true is this? Si we know? Cues single, bitter, hairy, hormonal feminist stereotype here.

"feminists are read as being unhappy, such that situations of conflict, violence, and power are read as about the unhappiness of feminists, rather than being what feminists are unhappy about."

"You become angry at the injustice of being heard as motivated by anger, which makes it harder to separate yourself from the object of your anger. "

"You have to become insistent to go against the flow; you are judged to be going against the flow because you are insistent. A life paradox: you have to become what you are judged as being...

For some, you have to become insistent to be the recipient of a social action, you might have to announce your presence, wave your arm, saying: "Here I am!" For others, it is enough just to turn up because you have already been given a place at the table before you take up your place."

"To be willful is to be willing to announce your disagreement, and to put yourself behind a disagreement. To enact a disagreement might even mean to become disagreeable. Feminism we might say is the creation of some rather disagreeable women."

"When you use the very language of racism you are heard as "going on about it," as "not letting it go." It is as if talking about racism is what keeps it going.The moral task is thus "to get over it," as if when you are over it, it is gone."

"The history of feminist critiques of happiness could be translated into a manifesto: DON'T LOOK OVER IT: DON'T GET OVER IT. "


"There can be joy in killing joy. Kill joy, we can and we do."

This was gold!!Thank you for sharing Aisha :)
(9049 characters left. I like the generosity that is the Goodreads comment section)
8959*

Leyla wrote: "When the Erykah Badu thing happened some guy on twitter was saying we need to tell her 'nicely', to 'tone down our anger' or we will go nowhere. As in? He actually said "Teach her nicely" Ah. Bye."

Haha! Damn teach me twitter at it again with the tell me nicely. FOH!
But Badu was reaching. Even your fav is problematic.