Little Bee by Chris Cleave
In this work of fiction, Cleave tells the story of Little Bee, a sixteen-year-old Nigerian refugee who is seeking asylum in England. Her story is harrowing- after watching oil workers hoping to seize the land destroy her village, Little Bee has to watch their hunters torture and murder her family. She and her sister narrowly escapes to the beach, where they run into Sarah and Andrew O’Rourke, an english couple that happened to roam past the limits of their vacation area. Little Bee and her sister beg them for help, but Andrew thinks they are trying to scam the couple- until the hunters catch up to the group. He tries to bargain with them, offering money to save the sisters, but the hunters demand him to sever his own finger to save the two. Andrew hesitates and is ultimately too slow- under pressure, Sarah steps forward and uses a machete to cut off her own finger. In exchange for her act, the hunters decide to save Little Bee, but she is again forced to witness them torture, rape, and murder her sister while she escapes to a british cargo ship with Andrew’s wallet and business card. Upon reaching England, Little Bee is forced to enter an immigration asylum for two years. When released, she calls the O’Rourkes in hopes of receiving help and relief in a new and foreign country; unfortunately, the couple has been plagued with guilt and marital issues since returning from vacation. Immediately after getting Little Bee’s call when she is released, Andrew hangs himself and leaves Sarah with their 4-year-old son. Through the remainder of his novel, Cleave explores themes of justice, love, guilt, and more through alternating narratives between Sarah and Little Bee. Through a social justice lens, Cleave dives into issues of immigration and refugee treatment, the vast difference of cultures and resources for both women, and how different cultures frame and distribute justice.
I received this book as a Christmas present from my dad when I was thirteen. I was just starting to wrap my head around having an independant view on what was good and what was not, and was starting to decide what my values in life are. This book exposed me to ideas of cross-cultural communication, the value of sacrifice, and what doing "good" might (or might not) mean. When reflecting on how I viewed social justice throughout my life thus far, this novel provided a huge starting point in my thoughts.
I received this book as a Christmas present from my dad when I was thirteen. I was just starting to wrap my head around having an independant view on what was good and what was not, and was starting to decide what my values in life are. This book exposed me to ideas of cross-cultural communication, the value of sacrifice, and what doing "good" might (or might not) mean. When reflecting on how I viewed social justice throughout my life thus far, this novel provided a huge starting point in my thoughts.
Delinquent Daughters by Mary E. Odem
The progressive movements of the 19th and early 20th century are integral in the first wave of feminism, and Odem explores how women’s organizations were involved in these changes specifically from 1885-1920. Odem explores the movement and work done by older women’s clubs to raise the age of consent to eighteen to protect teenage girl’s purity, how parents used these laws to exert control over their liberated daughters in working-class families, and more. Around this time period, more and more younger women entered the workforce and obtained education, and women’s roles in social spaces and movements began to change. Young women took more agency in their sexualities, and women’s clubs proved to be a political force to reckon with. However, there was a sharp contrast between the traditional progressive women, who believed in the idea of “white slavery” of young white women to statutory rape, and young, college educated women who sought to challenge the idea of female sexuality and give more agency to teenagers and those in adolescence. Odem explores this contrast; how sexual agency was a new concept to women who had long been fighting for justice, and more importantly how this agency was debated, negated, and used as a tool of oppression. This historical analysis is key in discussions of transitions from first to second wave feminism, the generational differences found within them, and how women began to fight for their own sexuality.
I read this book during the spring semester of my junior year in a class based around women organizing for social change. I had already decided on my concentration of gender equity, but Odem provided a historical context that was significant to me. This book helped solidify my stance on how historical analysis is significant in social justice work, and gave me context for historical work within my concentration. Not only did this tell stories of young women who started to gain agency, a huge event within women's history, but it shows us how and why that is significant, and how it has impacted women today. Examining this side of social justice is fascinating and crucial to do in order to understand how to move forward.
I read this book during the spring semester of my junior year in a class based around women organizing for social change. I had already decided on my concentration of gender equity, but Odem provided a historical context that was significant to me. This book helped solidify my stance on how historical analysis is significant in social justice work, and gave me context for historical work within my concentration. Not only did this tell stories of young women who started to gain agency, a huge event within women's history, but it shows us how and why that is significant, and how it has impacted women today. Examining this side of social justice is fascinating and crucial to do in order to understand how to move forward.
At the dark end of the street, Danielle L. McGuire
Common knowledge about the civil rights movement excludes narratives of marginalized voices, often omitting those who were affected and were the true change-makers. Furthermore, the known narrative mitigates both the harm done to the black community as well as the work against it. McGuire hopes to shine light on this by discussing the historical significance of black women’s work in the movement, and how female organizers were at the center of many decisions and organizations. She also discusses how female bodies were used as a tool in the civil rights movement; specifically, McGuire explores how rape of black women was used as a way for white men exert power and dominance, and how the failing legal system was indicative of injustice and racism on a systemic level. McGuire revisits important events, organizations, and tactics from the civil rights movement, reframes them through the view of influential black women’s work, and details how systemic racism and sexism push their narratives to the side. She uses primary sources to support her research, proving that our current historical narrative is flawed and has much room for opportunity. More importantly, McGuire exemplifies the significance and power of amplifying the people's narrative rather than the master’s.
This book was an assigned text for a class focused around the Civil Right's Movement, and exemplified the importance of listening to and amplifying the narrative marginalized groups when discussing both the history, present, and future of justice work. This book reignited an old interest in history by framing it in a meaningful way, and showing me how historically accurate narratives are hidden, and how this is a tool of oppression. It made me acknowledge my privilege as a white woman in ways I had not thought of before, and how systems like public education are perpetuating oppression by not giving truth or agency to oppressed groups. This novel was instrumental in my undergraduate career, and caused me to add a focus on historical significance within my concentration.
This book was an assigned text for a class focused around the Civil Right's Movement, and exemplified the importance of listening to and amplifying the narrative marginalized groups when discussing both the history, present, and future of justice work. This book reignited an old interest in history by framing it in a meaningful way, and showing me how historically accurate narratives are hidden, and how this is a tool of oppression. It made me acknowledge my privilege as a white woman in ways I had not thought of before, and how systems like public education are perpetuating oppression by not giving truth or agency to oppressed groups. This novel was instrumental in my undergraduate career, and caused me to add a focus on historical significance within my concentration.
Telling, Patricia Weaver Francisco
In her memoir, Francisco gracefully juxtaposes her experience with sexual assault and healing with narratives of her life fourteen years later, when she decides to speak up and explore political activism against domestic and sexual assault. Francisco takes the time to write in detail about the trauma and healing that she experienced after being raped by a stranger in her home in 1981- her writing style masterfully captures how jumpy and non-linear the process can be, and acts as a true glimpse into PTSD and how rape and trauma affect a person. Her memoir was written and published at a time where sexual assault was taken even less seriously than today, but also at a time when the political climate around intimate partner violence began to grow and reach a tipping point. Francisco gives examples of movements and court cases she was involved in, how her healing led to this point, and how she hopes that memoirs like hers pave the way for future growth in the fight against sexual assault. The biggest theme taken away is that while telling is painful, silence is poisonous. Finding voice is an important step in healing, and inspiring voice is an even greater phenomenon.
This memoir is hands down one of my favorite books, and has shaped both my career and personal life. Francisco showed that it is possible to create trauma into passion, resiliance, and most importantly work in dismantling the tools that allowed trauma in the first place. This book helped me realize that I am able to create work and a career out of fighting sexual violence, and that it is important to do so.
This memoir is hands down one of my favorite books, and has shaped both my career and personal life. Francisco showed that it is possible to create trauma into passion, resiliance, and most importantly work in dismantling the tools that allowed trauma in the first place. This book helped me realize that I am able to create work and a career out of fighting sexual violence, and that it is important to do so.
transforming a rape culture, Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, and Martha roth
Buchwald, Fletcher, and Roth compile over thirty essays discussing the epidemic of sexual assault. This compilation does a phenomenal job of not only raising awareness and evoking emotion, but also digging into the “why” of assault. Authors of these essays analyze how masculinity, socioeconomic status, religion, and more contribute to a culture that appropriates women and perpetuates sexism. There are essays that speak to how women’s bodies were used as tools of war and trophies of power; works from survivors of assault, sociologists, male allies, famous authors, and female activists- Buchwald, Fletcher, and Roth even take care to explore a variety of mediums, such as novels, short stories, plays, poems, and more. This collection highlights how pervasive and toxic rape culture is to any gender. It also takes a culturally specific angle, and analyzes how rape, sexual assault, and other forms of intimate partner violence could look for different women. Buchwald, Fletcher, and Roth also bring in a series of essays that focus specifically around prevention, how to change our socialization, and eventually how to transform society to eliminate a rape culture. I read this book at the same time as Telling. While that book gave me the passion and abillity to work against sexual violence, this book gave me the tools.
egalia's Daughters, gerd brantenberg
Egalia’s Daughters is a work of satire and fiction; in her novel, Brantenberg creates a dystopian society that completely flips the role of gender, even down to language such as “wom” and “manwom” as a new way to refer to “women” and “men”. The setting is in Egalia, an elite society where wom are expected to be the head of the household and to bring in all the money while manwom are simple housemaids who find delight in caring for children and catering to womkind. Wom are expected to be dominant, loud, boisterous, and are oftentimes short tempered; adversely, an ideal manwom is fat, small, and gentle. They are often portrayed as quite airheaded, but have the best intentions of gaining fatherhood-protection (being picked by a wom as a life partner) and serving his wife. Brantenberg perfectly finds a balance between fiction and satire, and is thorough in her construction of gender roles while staying true to nature. This allows the reader to take a critical lens on how gender is constructed and sustained, and the harmful impacts on every member of society.
Egalia’s Daughters tells story of Petronius, a young manwom growing up in Egalia. His mother, Bram, is one of the most highly regarded wom in Egalia, which leaves Petronius susceptible to even more societal pressures to be the ideal manwom. However, Petronius is (at best) hesitant to accept his roles in society. He meets Gro Maydaughter, a seawom who seems very laissez-faire about gender expectations, and is instantly attracted to her. Gro fosters Petronius’s feelings against Egalia’s pressure, and combined with a teacher acting to guide him towards masculinism, we are able to see Petronius’s growth in a highly oppressive society.
I read this book in my Sociology of Gender class- a beautiful pairing. This was around the time that I was realizing what I wanted to do with my career, and provided a light into how pervasive gender roles are, and how harmful that can be. I also think Brantenberg does a phenominal job of teaching these lessons in an easily accessable way; you do not necessarily have to be a feminist, advocate, etc. to read Egalia's Daughters and see how gender affects citizens of Egalia, and citizens within our own society.
Egalia’s Daughters tells story of Petronius, a young manwom growing up in Egalia. His mother, Bram, is one of the most highly regarded wom in Egalia, which leaves Petronius susceptible to even more societal pressures to be the ideal manwom. However, Petronius is (at best) hesitant to accept his roles in society. He meets Gro Maydaughter, a seawom who seems very laissez-faire about gender expectations, and is instantly attracted to her. Gro fosters Petronius’s feelings against Egalia’s pressure, and combined with a teacher acting to guide him towards masculinism, we are able to see Petronius’s growth in a highly oppressive society.
I read this book in my Sociology of Gender class- a beautiful pairing. This was around the time that I was realizing what I wanted to do with my career, and provided a light into how pervasive gender roles are, and how harmful that can be. I also think Brantenberg does a phenominal job of teaching these lessons in an easily accessable way; you do not necessarily have to be a feminist, advocate, etc. to read Egalia's Daughters and see how gender affects citizens of Egalia, and citizens within our own society.