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mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
2.0
I really kicked it into maximum overdrive for this? Never again.
The Twitter angle is interesting, but it limits the book unnecessarily. And for all the focus on Twitter, the Twitter examples actually end up falling off sharply meaning it couldn’t even stick to its own bit. In reality this is more of a Black Feminist look at the internet's influence on Black Feminist outreach with social media being at the core. Even then it does not use its premise to full effect because it's not willing to be more critical. I get wanting to be optimistic and I also understand how social media has been very helpful in some respects. Still that is only part of the story.
I disapprove of nonfiction books that avoid exploring the full breadth of a topic as it’s misleading. This sacrifices a developed argument in favor of overstating the success of Black women in the Internet sphere. It’s not like Black women have not been successful or changed the landscape. It’s more that there are caveats to it that need to be accounted for to see the true depth of their triumph as well as the full scope of what we are up against. You should not enter into activism whether that be online or otherwise lightly. It’s important to discuss the drawbacks too.
Feminista Jones doesn't discuss digital Blackface, racist algorithms, the way leftist talking points have been weaponized against us, the short shelf life for Black women in the public eye, or the failure of the websites themselves to protect us. TikTok isn't mentioned at all despite being the premier social app. Even taking into account the time differential from writing to publishing the book, TikTok would have been very popular. None of the major pitfalls of the Internet in this day and age are talked about.
I dig way deeper in my review of For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez if you want to get a much longer, more detailed idea of what my opinions are surrounding the current notions of sex positivity. Long story short, I hate it because it’s too focused on the positives without the negatives and as such encourages young women into sexual situations that do not benefit or can actively harm them in the long run because they are not able to make well formed, educated decisions if not given the entire picture. This isn’t actually a bug, it’s a feature as the patriarchy has simply repackaged modern feminist rhetoric about sex for its own gain and uses the women themselves as the shepherds.
I'm very tired of sex positivity being a cornerstone of feminism in the first place because to me it is not nearly the most important part. It’s the only way that women have technically won in some fashion so many women cling to it rather than move onto the harder, more necessary work. Jones does not explore the nuances to hook-ups or casual sexual relationships. She leaves it at ‘sexual promiscuity is good as long as it's not hurting anyone’ which is not only naive, it relies heavily on the erroneous idea that individual choices are empowering for the whole; a tenet of the pernicious white feminism. It also ignores how Black women engaging in these behaviors are often seeking empowerment via a white lens as white people being sexually promiscuous has an inherently different weight than that of Black people due to how Black people have been historically fetishized.
This is entirely personal thing, but I've very much moved on from the idea that our salvation lies with appealing to the white moderate so I don't really care if white women get it or not. I was unmoved by Jones attempting to reason with a potential white readership at times. I am in no way saying that allyship is not good or important. I'm simply saying that, for me, all of my white education tokens have been spent.
Overall I think this book just does not have enough information to back up its claims. Salient points certainly are made, but the book is flawed from conception.
The fact of the matter is can be difficult to quantify the success of a Twitter campaign because the effects trickle down over time. What's successful at the moment may not have far reaching impact or the 'success' is merely a designation because success means different things to different people. Like her example of #BlackGirlsAreMagic becoming a common part of our current vernacular is successful in one sense because it is a somewhat tangible way of measuring a rise in the confidence of Black women and praise for their achievements, however, on the flip side it's only a phrase. It does not technically equal any real gain since it's not even a call to action and also has been commodified. These hashtags always end up getting co-opted for corporate or individual gain. The message gets watered down and misinterpreted when it grows to a certain level.
Ignoring the Twitter element, it’s just a shallow, underwhelming take on social media from a Black woman’s perspective. I expected so much more than I received. I say pass on this one. There have to be more critical, evocative books on Black peoples’ influence on the social media age. If not, I say wait it out until it eventually gets published.
The Twitter angle is interesting, but it limits the book unnecessarily. And for all the focus on Twitter, the Twitter examples actually end up falling off sharply meaning it couldn’t even stick to its own bit. In reality this is more of a Black Feminist look at the internet's influence on Black Feminist outreach with social media being at the core. Even then it does not use its premise to full effect because it's not willing to be more critical. I get wanting to be optimistic and I also understand how social media has been very helpful in some respects. Still that is only part of the story.
I disapprove of nonfiction books that avoid exploring the full breadth of a topic as it’s misleading. This sacrifices a developed argument in favor of overstating the success of Black women in the Internet sphere. It’s not like Black women have not been successful or changed the landscape. It’s more that there are caveats to it that need to be accounted for to see the true depth of their triumph as well as the full scope of what we are up against. You should not enter into activism whether that be online or otherwise lightly. It’s important to discuss the drawbacks too.
Feminista Jones doesn't discuss digital Blackface, racist algorithms, the way leftist talking points have been weaponized against us, the short shelf life for Black women in the public eye, or the failure of the websites themselves to protect us. TikTok isn't mentioned at all despite being the premier social app. Even taking into account the time differential from writing to publishing the book, TikTok would have been very popular. None of the major pitfalls of the Internet in this day and age are talked about.
I dig way deeper in my review of For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez if you want to get a much longer, more detailed idea of what my opinions are surrounding the current notions of sex positivity. Long story short, I hate it because it’s too focused on the positives without the negatives and as such encourages young women into sexual situations that do not benefit or can actively harm them in the long run because they are not able to make well formed, educated decisions if not given the entire picture. This isn’t actually a bug, it’s a feature as the patriarchy has simply repackaged modern feminist rhetoric about sex for its own gain and uses the women themselves as the shepherds.
I'm very tired of sex positivity being a cornerstone of feminism in the first place because to me it is not nearly the most important part. It’s the only way that women have technically won in some fashion so many women cling to it rather than move onto the harder, more necessary work. Jones does not explore the nuances to hook-ups or casual sexual relationships. She leaves it at ‘sexual promiscuity is good as long as it's not hurting anyone’ which is not only naive, it relies heavily on the erroneous idea that individual choices are empowering for the whole; a tenet of the pernicious white feminism. It also ignores how Black women engaging in these behaviors are often seeking empowerment via a white lens as white people being sexually promiscuous has an inherently different weight than that of Black people due to how Black people have been historically fetishized.
This is entirely personal thing, but I've very much moved on from the idea that our salvation lies with appealing to the white moderate so I don't really care if white women get it or not. I was unmoved by Jones attempting to reason with a potential white readership at times. I am in no way saying that allyship is not good or important. I'm simply saying that, for me, all of my white education tokens have been spent.
Overall I think this book just does not have enough information to back up its claims. Salient points certainly are made, but the book is flawed from conception.
The fact of the matter is can be difficult to quantify the success of a Twitter campaign because the effects trickle down over time. What's successful at the moment may not have far reaching impact or the 'success' is merely a designation because success means different things to different people. Like her example of #BlackGirlsAreMagic becoming a common part of our current vernacular is successful in one sense because it is a somewhat tangible way of measuring a rise in the confidence of Black women and praise for their achievements, however, on the flip side it's only a phrase. It does not technically equal any real gain since it's not even a call to action and also has been commodified. These hashtags always end up getting co-opted for corporate or individual gain. The message gets watered down and misinterpreted when it grows to a certain level.
Ignoring the Twitter element, it’s just a shallow, underwhelming take on social media from a Black woman’s perspective. I expected so much more than I received. I say pass on this one. There have to be more critical, evocative books on Black peoples’ influence on the social media age. If not, I say wait it out until it eventually gets published.
11corvus11's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up.
In reviewing Reclaiming Our Space by Feminista Jones, it feels necessary to recommend that the reader disregard the title of the book before diving in. I hung on to the title for a while before letting it go and wish I had let it go sooner. The book is not a book about other feminists' activism online and in person. It is largely a book about Jones' life, opinions, experiences, and writing career told through a collection of separate essays. This is not a bad thing. I would have also been interested in reading a book that presented itself as a collection of her essays or as a memoir. But, those who latch onto the title may find themselves disappointed. Jones does indeed discuss the writing and tweeting of other feminists, but only in brief snippets that almost always end up being directed back to Jones' experiences, her writing, her opinions, or her interactions with said feminist. There is also not much on the "...to the streets" part of the title as the book focuses heavily on social media, blogging, writing, and some other media. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It actually made me appreciate social media contributions more. It's just not quite in line with what I expected from the title.
As I mentioned, this book gave me a more positive and appreciative view of social media contributions to radicalism and activism. As someone who was born in the early 80s- before the internet was a widely accessible thing- I grew up often being told that what happened on the internet was "not real." This colored the way I have analyzed writing on social media. I had not even realized before reading this book how much the value I placed on certain formats was infected by capitalism and as a result, white supremacy. I saw newspaper articles as "real" sources and facebook rants as "opinion." While some newspapers may have more resources for fact checking, they also tend to have a narrow demographic representation. While most people can contribute to social media, making it dangerous ground for the spread of false information, it is also a platform that allows the most underprivileged voices to be seen, heard, and spread widely- usually without the compensation offered to those writing news articles. There is, of course, overlap between the two as well. This was very important for me to read and not something I have seen presented in this way.
In discussing her own experiences with social media and writing, Jones expands on this, peppering her narrative with anecdotes about various feminists on blogs and twitter who created large, influential presences on the internet. Jones also discusses the amount of backlash that Black feminists face when tackling the topic of feminism in the realms of both Blackness and womanhood. There are sections dedicated to (Heaux)teps and what Jones calls "Hotep Twitter" as well as white feminism and the harm caused by women such as Rose McGowan, Tina Fey, and other white woman who fail to understand racism or the unique struggles faced by Black women. The only negative about this is that Jones ends up devoting more time to anti-Black feminist voices than she does to the voices of Black feminists. As a result, there may be an unintended effect of misogynoir being amplified through the amount of space it is given relative to Black feminist voices (aside from Jones'.)
When I hit the "Talk Like Sex" chapter, I was looking forward to reading something more inclusive given that Jones mentions multiple times that she is queer. However, in general, her discussions of sexuality centered heterosexuality and heterosexual sex and relationships. I was still holding onto the title of the book at this point and this essay in particular could have benefited from the inclusive of the voices of queer and/or trans women and queer sex/relationships. But, again, if the book is viewed as more of a memoir of the reader, this lack of inclusion is less disappointing. This is not to say that "Talk Like Sex" offered nothing. It included a variety of sex positive issues as well as some of Jones' theories that were framed in interesting ways. Jones' discussion of the lack of existence of "slut" and "ho" (due to the reality that it takes a value judgment of womens sexuality in order to use the words) was particularly engaging.
The last few essays of the book are what really get down to the subject matter of Black feminism and represent more of Jones' views rather than experiences. These were my favorites of the book, especially "Black Mamas Matter." The aforementioned essay tackles a topic that is often underrepresented or underappreciated in feminist discourse, despite being something discussed by Black feminists from before feminist was even a word. I believe Jones- like her sections on social media- adds some new things to this important discussion. She weaves information from popular culture throughout a discussion of Black women's (lack of adequate) healthcare, childbirth and childcare, and the general stigma and struggle Black women have faced and continue to face from all directions. "Mammy 2.0" was another essay in this section involving an engaging catalogue of past and present struggles of Black women given the stereotype. If you're the type of person who skips around a lot in essay collections and anthologies, be sure to read the last third of the book.
In summary, this book is enjoyable and important. It is likely best viewed as part memoir, part collection of essays by the author rather than an in depth book about other feminists. While Jones does drop a lot of names in the book, refreshingly, many of which we never hear, it is my opinion that she does not give them enough space to match the title. The book is still a decent contribution to "the discourse" as Jones' words stand well on their own.
This review was also posted to my blog.
In reviewing Reclaiming Our Space by Feminista Jones, it feels necessary to recommend that the reader disregard the title of the book before diving in. I hung on to the title for a while before letting it go and wish I had let it go sooner. The book is not a book about other feminists' activism online and in person. It is largely a book about Jones' life, opinions, experiences, and writing career told through a collection of separate essays. This is not a bad thing. I would have also been interested in reading a book that presented itself as a collection of her essays or as a memoir. But, those who latch onto the title may find themselves disappointed. Jones does indeed discuss the writing and tweeting of other feminists, but only in brief snippets that almost always end up being directed back to Jones' experiences, her writing, her opinions, or her interactions with said feminist. There is also not much on the "...to the streets" part of the title as the book focuses heavily on social media, blogging, writing, and some other media. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It actually made me appreciate social media contributions more. It's just not quite in line with what I expected from the title.
As I mentioned, this book gave me a more positive and appreciative view of social media contributions to radicalism and activism. As someone who was born in the early 80s- before the internet was a widely accessible thing- I grew up often being told that what happened on the internet was "not real." This colored the way I have analyzed writing on social media. I had not even realized before reading this book how much the value I placed on certain formats was infected by capitalism and as a result, white supremacy. I saw newspaper articles as "real" sources and facebook rants as "opinion." While some newspapers may have more resources for fact checking, they also tend to have a narrow demographic representation. While most people can contribute to social media, making it dangerous ground for the spread of false information, it is also a platform that allows the most underprivileged voices to be seen, heard, and spread widely- usually without the compensation offered to those writing news articles. There is, of course, overlap between the two as well. This was very important for me to read and not something I have seen presented in this way.
In discussing her own experiences with social media and writing, Jones expands on this, peppering her narrative with anecdotes about various feminists on blogs and twitter who created large, influential presences on the internet. Jones also discusses the amount of backlash that Black feminists face when tackling the topic of feminism in the realms of both Blackness and womanhood. There are sections dedicated to (Heaux)teps and what Jones calls "Hotep Twitter" as well as white feminism and the harm caused by women such as Rose McGowan, Tina Fey, and other white woman who fail to understand racism or the unique struggles faced by Black women. The only negative about this is that Jones ends up devoting more time to anti-Black feminist voices than she does to the voices of Black feminists. As a result, there may be an unintended effect of misogynoir being amplified through the amount of space it is given relative to Black feminist voices (aside from Jones'.)
When I hit the "Talk Like Sex" chapter, I was looking forward to reading something more inclusive given that Jones mentions multiple times that she is queer. However, in general, her discussions of sexuality centered heterosexuality and heterosexual sex and relationships. I was still holding onto the title of the book at this point and this essay in particular could have benefited from the inclusive of the voices of queer and/or trans women and queer sex/relationships. But, again, if the book is viewed as more of a memoir of the reader, this lack of inclusion is less disappointing. This is not to say that "Talk Like Sex" offered nothing. It included a variety of sex positive issues as well as some of Jones' theories that were framed in interesting ways. Jones' discussion of the lack of existence of "slut" and "ho" (due to the reality that it takes a value judgment of womens sexuality in order to use the words) was particularly engaging.
The last few essays of the book are what really get down to the subject matter of Black feminism and represent more of Jones' views rather than experiences. These were my favorites of the book, especially "Black Mamas Matter." The aforementioned essay tackles a topic that is often underrepresented or underappreciated in feminist discourse, despite being something discussed by Black feminists from before feminist was even a word. I believe Jones- like her sections on social media- adds some new things to this important discussion. She weaves information from popular culture throughout a discussion of Black women's (lack of adequate) healthcare, childbirth and childcare, and the general stigma and struggle Black women have faced and continue to face from all directions. "Mammy 2.0" was another essay in this section involving an engaging catalogue of past and present struggles of Black women given the stereotype. If you're the type of person who skips around a lot in essay collections and anthologies, be sure to read the last third of the book.
In summary, this book is enjoyable and important. It is likely best viewed as part memoir, part collection of essays by the author rather than an in depth book about other feminists. While Jones does drop a lot of names in the book, refreshingly, many of which we never hear, it is my opinion that she does not give them enough space to match the title. The book is still a decent contribution to "the discourse" as Jones' words stand well on their own.
This review was also posted to my blog.
epatrickmaddox's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
lattelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Before I read this book, I was convinced that online activism (slacktivism) was not useful. After all, what exactly does sharing memes do? What does ranting on twitter do besides blowing off some steam? Turns out, it does quite a lot! From the #MeToo movement to creating an online horror community, black feminist women bring to light a lesser-known (and lesser-viewed) type of activism.
Feminista Jones discusses how often black women are disregarded from this conversation, and how little such efforts are realized and promoted. She also discusses hashtags such as #blackgirlmagic and how "cancel" and "woke" culture are trends that have evolved alongside the internet and why such cultures arose.
Perhaps my favorite chapter, however, was the penultimate one in which Jones discusses Mammy 2.0 where white folks only realize after the fact that black women were right all along, and that maybe, just maybe, they should have been listening to them from the beginning. But from this realization comes the cry of "listen to black women!" in which white folks get "woke" points for being so supportive instead of actually promoting and listening to these ideas. They only wish to be seen as progressive and supportive without actually putting the work in--thus effectively turning online black women activists into a Mammy 2.0 in which they must once more tend to the feelings of white folks.
Overall, this was a strong, necessary book that takes a long, needed look at a different perspective of feminism. Where other authors might be focused solely on the streets, Jones focuses on how the streets and the tweets are intertwined, hardly able to be separated in this day and age. Certainly, this is a must-read for any and all feminists!
Review cross-listed here!
Feminista Jones discusses how often black women are disregarded from this conversation, and how little such efforts are realized and promoted. She also discusses hashtags such as #blackgirlmagic and how "cancel" and "woke" culture are trends that have evolved alongside the internet and why such cultures arose.
Perhaps my favorite chapter, however, was the penultimate one in which Jones discusses Mammy 2.0 where white folks only realize after the fact that black women were right all along, and that maybe, just maybe, they should have been listening to them from the beginning. But from this realization comes the cry of "listen to black women!" in which white folks get "woke" points for being so supportive instead of actually promoting and listening to these ideas. They only wish to be seen as progressive and supportive without actually putting the work in--thus effectively turning online black women activists into a Mammy 2.0 in which they must once more tend to the feelings of white folks.
Overall, this was a strong, necessary book that takes a long, needed look at a different perspective of feminism. Where other authors might be focused solely on the streets, Jones focuses on how the streets and the tweets are intertwined, hardly able to be separated in this day and age. Certainly, this is a must-read for any and all feminists!
Review cross-listed here!
briannareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This collection speaks a lot about Black feminism in the age of social media, where Tumblr posts and Twitter hashtags are a new and valid method of resistance and political organization. This book also mainly focuses on the author's view of the new digital age of Black feminism. I didn't expect either of these things when diving into the book. The title "Reclaiming Our Space" made me feel as if I'd be reading a book about the diversity of Black feminism from a variety of different Black feminists and the different ways that they "reclaim our space." But while we briefly hear about other feminists' point of views, it usually spins back around to Jones' opinions quickly. This is not a bad thing. It's simply that I just expected to hear the unique opinions of many different women.
Unfortunately, the first few chapters lacked a point for me. I'd finish each chapter without feeling like I'd learned much and I'd frequently think "Okay, but what's the point?" Fortunately, the last few chapters interested me a lot more and reminded me more of anthology feminist writings that I much prefer. One thing that I didn't enjoy much was the fact that Feminista Jones mentioned being a queer Black woman at times, but very rarely talked about the "queer" part. It sort of fell flat and was missing from her narrative. I look forward to reading more of Feminista Jones, but unfortunately, this wasn't my favourite collection of feminist essays. One of the best things I took from this read is how beneficial social media is in making a change in the world. It made me appreciate the simple act of creating hashtags and spreading awareness via our Twitter and Instagram feeds so much more! It's so special to see how activism is changing over time, and even though our methods are changing, we are all still banding together to fight for similar things.
Unfortunately, the first few chapters lacked a point for me. I'd finish each chapter without feeling like I'd learned much and I'd frequently think "Okay, but what's the point?" Fortunately, the last few chapters interested me a lot more and reminded me more of anthology feminist writings that I much prefer. One thing that I didn't enjoy much was the fact that Feminista Jones mentioned being a queer Black woman at times, but very rarely talked about the "queer" part. It sort of fell flat and was missing from her narrative. I look forward to reading more of Feminista Jones, but unfortunately, this wasn't my favourite collection of feminist essays. One of the best things I took from this read is how beneficial social media is in making a change in the world. It made me appreciate the simple act of creating hashtags and spreading awareness via our Twitter and Instagram feeds so much more! It's so special to see how activism is changing over time, and even though our methods are changing, we are all still banding together to fight for similar things.
kmatthe2's review against another edition
4.0
An important book that maps out a genealogy of black feminism while focusing on contemporary movements' use of social media to organize and revolutionize.
kelamity_reads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A very insightful and informative read.
I feel like I have gained a much better understanding and appreciation of the contributions to feminism and society that Black women have made that have gone unrecognised or that have been co-opted by white people and white feminism.
This was a really great read that I finished in a single sitting.
I feel like I have gained a much better understanding and appreciation of the contributions to feminism and society that Black women have made that have gone unrecognised or that have been co-opted by white people and white feminism.
This was a really great read that I finished in a single sitting.
glendareads39's review against another edition
5.0
Reclaiming Our space gives readers a historical perspective and summary on Black Feminism. How social media is increasing social activism. Jones discuss the challenges of black mothers face everyday. It’s a powerfully written book that everyone should read.
kitastrophic's review against another edition
read for class but i would be lying if i said i read the whole thing