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gigireadswithkiki 's review for:
Black Skin, White Masks
by Frantz Fanon
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Imagine sandwiching your nasty, dry misogynistic and homophobic thoughts in-between nuanced criticisms of racial theory and literary criticism, and you basically have the brunt of what's comprised within "Black Skin, White Masks". While in no way measuring up to "Wretched of the Earth", Fanon starts and concludes this book with searing analyses of racial politics, diving deeply into internalized racism and the BIPOC drive to achieve Whiteness. As he gears up into literary criticism, he examines the relationship between the two sexes of Black and White races, providing valuable insight into the ways in which BIPOC are driven toward Whiteness in so many facets of their relationships (see: BIPOC authors writing colonizer romances).
However, the moment Fanon veers into psychoanalysis is when the book takes a dive into the deep end. His chapter on the metaphysics of the Black man is ripe with misogyny and homophobia, starting with cheap and offensive illusions to rape culture steeped in victim-blaming, dipping his toes into the fetishization of the Black man without nary a glance at the over-sexualization of Black femme bodies, before veering headlong into the toxic masculinity of associating "sensuality" as something entirely foreign and alien.
As with most leftist political literature, a critical discerning eye is needed to wade through this book, but for those looking to read Fanon, I would definitely recommend stick with "Wretched of the Earth".
However, the moment Fanon veers into psychoanalysis is when the book takes a dive into the deep end. His chapter on the metaphysics of the Black man is ripe with misogyny and homophobia, starting with cheap and offensive illusions to rape culture steeped in victim-blaming, dipping his toes into the fetishization of the Black man without nary a glance at the over-sexualization of Black femme bodies, before veering headlong into the toxic masculinity of associating "sensuality" as something entirely foreign and alien.
As with most leftist political literature, a critical discerning eye is needed to wade through this book, but for those looking to read Fanon, I would definitely recommend stick with "Wretched of the Earth".