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Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto
Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto | Jessa Crispin
14 posts | 17 read | 26 to read
Outspoken critic Jessa Crispin delivers a searing rejection of contemporary feminism . . . and a bracing manifesto for revolution. Are you a feminist? Do you believe women are human beings and that they deserve to be treated as such? That women deserve all the same rights and liberties bestowed upon men? If so, then you are a feminist . . . or so the feminists keep insisting. But somewhere along the way, the movement for female liberation sacrificed meaning for acceptance, and left us with a banal, polite, ineffectual pose that barely challenges the status quo. In this bracing, fiercely intelligent manifesto, Jessa Crispin demands more. Why I Am Not A Feminist is a radical, fearless call for revolution. It accuses the feminist movement of obliviousness, irrelevance, and cowardice and demands nothing less than the total dismantling of a system of oppression. Praise for Jessa Crispin, and The Dead Ladies Project"I'd follow Jessa Crispin to the ends of the earth." --Kathryn Davis, author of Duplex "Read with caution . . . Crispin is funny, sexy, self-lacerating, and politically attuned, with unique slants on literary criticism, travel writing, and female journeys. No one crosses genres, borders, and proprieties with more panache." --Laura Kipnis, author of Men: Notes from an Ongoing Investigation "Very, very funny. . . . The whole book is packed with delightfully offbeat prose . . . as raw as it is sophisticated, as quirky as it is intense." --The Chicago Tribune"
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mspixieears
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So far so good! The beginning is a tad repetitive and I get that she doesn‘t think much of certain (white) second wave feminists but it‘s really refreshing to hear her say that today‘s (white) feminists are still reinforcing patriarchy, especially by engaging in capitalism, rather than striving for (socioeconomic) equality across the board.

TrishB I‘m definitely not! Capitalism is the root of most of the problems in my country but people scared to try alternatives or simply can‘t see them due to the propaganda of the press. We‘re so firmly entrenched in it I sometimes despair of ever seeing anything else. 5y
mspixieears @TrishB yeah, the structures that run society make it so bloody hard for any of us to feel like we can make a difference. I wish Crispin had outright said that we should strive for a feminism that looks after anyone less well off than us (as a QPOC I do not discount that I participate in some of the structures I should be working to dismantle. It is inescapable :/ ) 5y
TrishB Agree. It‘s very difficult to not participate. We try to use co-ops and independent shops that benefit their workers. Small steps sometimes. 5y
mspixieears @TrishB we can only do our best x 5y
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Simona
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I was successful with the bookish part of the #BFC although - I wasn‘t thrilled about any of them: goal was 2 and I finished 4 books.
Fitness goals: walking 25 km ➡️ 29 km, workout at home for 4 hours ➡️ 3 hours, and I went to the 2 hours long yoga class - as planned.
I‘m still thinking about goals for #BookFitnessChallenge round 2 ...

BookwormAHN Nice job 👏🏻 5y
Simona @BookwormAHN Thank you 😊 5y
wanderinglynn Way to go! 🙌🏻 Excellent week 5! 5y
Clwojick I re-evaluated my goals for round 2. I added yoga after seeing how many people enjoyed it during round 1 🧘‍♀️ 5y
Simona @Clwojick It‘s incredible how effective yoga is (for body and mind), but my suggestion would be guided instruction in yoga studio, if you can. I‘m still undecided about goals for round 2, but I‘m definitely keeping yoga. 5y
51 likes5 comments
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Mentallofilth
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Pickpick

A powerful and well-written defense of radical feminism and the much-maligned second wave. I don‘t agree with everything Crispin says and wish she went into more depth in some of her arguments, but I do think this is a valuable book for contextualizing how we think about feminism and what its goals in society are.

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Weaponxgirl
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Mehso-so

I have such mixed feelings about this book and can see why it's so polarising. Basically the title is clickbait and I got kinda pissed at her for equating rich white lady feminism which is popular with mainstream media as the movement. But other aspects of her arguments I agreed with a lot. It's a book you want others to read so you can discuss in great detail. I really want to talk to someone about this book!

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alisahar
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Pickpick

There were a lot of times reading this book when I wanted to cheer-- this quote among them. I think Jessa Crispin incisively diagnoses a lot of what's wrong with contemporary fempowerment and "lean in" feminism. This is a slim book though, and it's more of a manifesto than rigorous reporting. I found myself wanting to have a lot more examples and analysis than I got. Kind of a letdown but I'd still recommend reading it, especially as a quick read

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rachellayown
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Pickpick

This book is not going to go over well with everyone, but I thought it was pretty brilliant. It's a smart and sharp look at how watered down feminism has become and why we need something more. I listened to the audio book, which was fantastic. I loved it.

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JessReads
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I'm super skeptical about this one, but I'm giving it a try. (And no, I haven't moved from the couch since my last post...)

RowReads1 It's on my library hold list. I liked her book blog so much. 8y
24 likes1 comment
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katcanwrite
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Pickpick

If you are looking for your next nonfiction read to do with friends, grab this one. I listened on audio, and I really hope some of my circle read this so that we can unpack it. Crispin says some things that had me nodding, some that had me frowning, and some that had me ? (she specifically calls out "feminists" who wear $30 blush...but I've had mine for 7 years and has lasted through 4 years of daily use!!! #awkward)

[DELETED] 1409720085 Feminists can't wear expensive blush? 8y
katcanwrite @emilydecato apparently not!! Falling down on my feminism ? it was part of the bit on how feminism has become much more consumerist...but when she mentioned the blush I was like "HEY NOW!" (And for real that blush is one of the best "investments" I've ever made haha) 8y
[DELETED] 1409720085 I guess she probably has feelings about my other makeup...my collection is pretty minimal but some of the stuff was pricey. 8y
See All 6 Comments
queerbookreader @katcanwrite @emilydecato That's annoying literally the point of feminism is to let women choose what they want and to support women being able to choose what they want. If you want to spend $30 on blush then you do your thing, if you refuse to spend more than $4 on blush then that's cool too and *THAT IS FEMINISM* like????? How is this difficult to understand? 8y
queerbookreader Sorry for butting in, basically keep at the $30 blush if that's what you want 💞👊🏽 8y
katcanwrite @lemonlime799 hey! No problem--thank you for the comments!! Your comments summed up how I felt about those comments in the book. (And I finally had to replace my blush and was thinking of this book was the whole time!) 😹 8y
13 likes6 comments
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awonderinglife
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Pickpick

Wow! An amazing, powerful and gutsy manifesto! I don't agree with all that Crispin puts forward but I love her brutal honesty, passion and anger. Has certainly made me question my own brand of feminism and question am I really doing enough??

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chowmeyow
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Listening to this one on audio and it's challenging my world view in a really good way.

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feministtexican
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Panpan

I was on board with some of it, but a lot of the time I was like WHAT IS THIS FEMINISM YOU SPEAK OF??? Definitely not my #feminism.

alisonrose I've never even heard of this but I'm rolling my eyes anyway 8y
6 likes1 comment
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alisahar
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Reading the New Yorker review of this book and I'm immediately intrigued. I'm increasingly convinced that feminism has bought mainstream popularity at a cost-- reducing its principles to cliches so meaningless that the OPPOSITE side can easily co-opt the language of feminism for their own anti-woman, anti-choice agendas. http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-case-against-contemporary-feminis...

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WordWaller
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I just started this and already I'm like 😡😣😖😫😪🙄🤔😬😕😒 but there are still some points that I agree make sense. But so far they are few. I will always be a feminist. Debating whether to finish this since the only review I agree with on Goodreads so far is 1 star... Meh.

WordWaller PS: this is DEF not what I should have read to try to get out of the reading slump!! Aghhh 8y
LindsayReads I've only read the description and was like, "OK, well I think I can see her angle here but no." Like we need another woman making 'feminist' a bad word regardless of intent. Feels like a gimmicky move... 8y
Lea Whoa, you're brave to even attempt it. 8y
Laalaleighh Let me guess. "Men and women aren't equal! And that's ok!! We are meant to be different!" That's going around my fb a lot. 8y
whatthelog Eh. I respect other people's opinions but...idk if I could read a whole book of them. 8y
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ingredientx
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This is gonna be polarizing, for sure! But it made me think of things I hadn't really thought before. A review to come!

Donna_sBookMinute I have my own reasons for steering clear of the feminist camp. I thought about buying it. But, after reading the references to humor, I think I'll borrow this from the library. 8y
72 likes4 stack adds1 comment