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elisekatherine's review against another edition
5.0
This wasn't a perfect book, sure, but it was a book I really needed to read right now (especially after certain other books on queer stuff I read recently). I've had a lot of trouble with radical communities and extreme Discourse that's made me feel alienated and frustrated, and the articulate, compassionate way in which Serano set forth her ideas and made a case for a more complex and nuanced approach was incredibly heartening to read.
Her writing on the complexity of human experience and the need to recognize heterogeneity and avoid assuming that we know everything there is to know was powerfully resonant to me. Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in queer activism, or activism in general.
Would have loved to see more discussion of bisexuality and asexuality, but that's not Serano's area of focus and her theories are easily applied to other situations.
Her writing on the complexity of human experience and the need to recognize heterogeneity and avoid assuming that we know everything there is to know was powerfully resonant to me. Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in queer activism, or activism in general.
Would have loved to see more discussion of bisexuality and asexuality, but that's not Serano's area of focus and her theories are easily applied to other situations.
steggellettea94's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book. That is a terrible first sentence, but there it is; nothing particularly blew me away and nothing pissed me off. The best things about this book were the author’s humor that poked through, and how it made me question and think about my own opinions and biases. The things that brought the score down for me was it felt repetitive. The Chewbacca example was great, but it didn’t need to be repeated 20+ times. This isn’t a specific critique to Serrano - most academic/non-fiction books tend to repeat themselves. All in all, a good book.
reader4435's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Cannot recommend enough
forestjay's review against another edition
5.0
It's great to get some historical perspective on trans exclusion. I didn't know how bad it was, just how bad it is, until I read this.
kaarna's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe 2,5/5. Or 2,75/5. I don't know, perhaps I'm harsh because I was a bit disappointed after "Whipping Girl". The queer community Serano talked about didn't feel like the community I'm in. Yes, I'm in a bubble, but I'm happy here and I don't think I have to risk my personal safety and mental health to force some kind of holistic feminist movement. I'm still scared, I'm still angry, and I will continue to call out those that marginalize me.
On the other hand, yes, good points. Perhaps the context is different in the US. Perhaps this would be the smart way to do things, but I'm too locked in my own opinions and views. And I did get some possible sources for my master's thesis, so that's really good.
I don't know.
On the other hand, yes, good points. Perhaps the context is different in the US. Perhaps this would be the smart way to do things, but I'm too locked in my own opinions and views. And I did get some possible sources for my master's thesis, so that's really good.
I don't know.
meganmilks's review against another edition
3.0
While Whipping Girl continues to be a hugely important book for me, I was disappointed in many of the essays in Excluded, which come across as outdated and condescending in tone. The last essay, "Balancing Acts," is GREAT, and there are lots of hardhitting, important points delivered throughout the book. Overall, though, I found a lot of Serano's ideas about shifting activist ground to be missing the point -- for instance, the idea of resituating social justice activism around double standards as an inclusive tactic -- I guess I don't know why we should lose oppression as a framework. I also would argue that the notion of a holistic approach to feminism, which Serano puts forth as if it is new, is already operational in many corners of the queer/trans/feminist movement. Still, much of this would be useful as teaching material, as it's clear and incisive and articulates quite accessibly a lot of ideas that have been percolating (and articulated by others) in queer/feminist/trans discourse for the past several years.
amloiandy's review against another edition
4.0
This book doesn’t seem that great to me.
I think Serano’s main thesis with regard to this book is that there’s so much exclusion in feminist movement because most activists fail to conceptualize oppression as intersectional and fail to understand how to adapt their action to suit the intersectional nature of oppression.
So, it seems to me that the main flaw with this book is that Serano is behind the plot. (Maybe she’s not familiar with Flavia Dzodan.) Serano missed the boat for feminism wave 3.5 or 4.0. Because while second wave feminists may function the way Serano describes, many, if not most, current feminists work with the concepts of intersectionality and kyriarchy as Serano seems to want them to: they’re heterogeneous, holistic conceptualizations that are infinitely iterative both at micro and macro levels.
Serano spends an entire book calling for something that’s already happening. And it seems to me that she’s missed the fact that it’s already happening mostly because she misunderstands the terms intersectionality and kyriarchy.
Also, even though it’s much better organized than Whipping Girl, and I’m huge fan of the problems-->solutions format, this book is soooooo repetitive. Between this book and her first. Between chapters. And as she summarizes and re-summarizes her thoughts. I appreciate it sometimes, because the rewording can trigger new understanding or insight. But most of the time it gets really old.
Don't get me wrong. There's a lot of great stuff in this book, if you're not as familiar with the concepts. I guess it's my own fault for knowing most of the stuff already going into this book.
I think Serano’s main thesis with regard to this book is that there’s so much exclusion in feminist movement because most activists fail to conceptualize oppression as intersectional and fail to understand how to adapt their action to suit the intersectional nature of oppression.
So, it seems to me that the main flaw with this book is that Serano is behind the plot. (Maybe she’s not familiar with Flavia Dzodan.) Serano missed the boat for feminism wave 3.5 or 4.0. Because while second wave feminists may function the way Serano describes, many, if not most, current feminists work with the concepts of intersectionality and kyriarchy as Serano seems to want them to: they’re heterogeneous, holistic conceptualizations that are infinitely iterative both at micro and macro levels.
Serano spends an entire book calling for something that’s already happening. And it seems to me that she’s missed the fact that it’s already happening mostly because she misunderstands the terms intersectionality and kyriarchy.
Also, even though it’s much better organized than Whipping Girl, and I’m huge fan of the problems-->solutions format, this book is soooooo repetitive. Between this book and her first. Between chapters. And as she summarizes and re-summarizes her thoughts. I appreciate it sometimes, because the rewording can trigger new understanding or insight. But most of the time it gets really old.
Don't get me wrong. There's a lot of great stuff in this book, if you're not as familiar with the concepts. I guess it's my own fault for knowing most of the stuff already going into this book.
sayitagainjen's review against another edition
2.0
A quick note: my rating is based far less on the content and far more on the actual writing; a judicious editor could have cut the book in half. While she strives for a balance between the personal and the academic, she never truly succeeds. The result is a constant regurgitation of past ideas and a strong devotion to using too many words to make a fairly simple point. In addition, much of the content seems to be responding to second-wave (and very early) third-wave feminism. I wanted far more than the 101.