| Title | : | Mean Girl Feminism: How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, and Girlboss (Feminist Media Studies) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0252045572 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780252045578 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 |
| Publication | : | Published January 9, 2024 |
Mean Girl Feminism: How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, and Girlboss (Feminist Media Studies) Reviews
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thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
I was intrigued by the topic of this book as I want to do my part in ensuring that my feminism is intersectional and conscious of others. Although I support many themes in this book, I found it incredibly inaccessible. It read more like a scholarly paper than a book and the language used was often disorienting. As someone who isn’t in academia or used to this type of writing, I wasn’t able to connect and found myself often forcing the reading. -
Thank you Netgalley and University of Illinois Press for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I was quite excited to receive this book. I am not proud to say this but few years back I didn't call myself a feminist because of many stigmas and misinformation propogated and sticked to the word. Then I stumbled across few books, we should all be feminists , bad feminists and fiction works like room of one's own, the awakening and I could relate to them.
Mean girl feminism is a serious book and topic but it didn't feel like reading a book. Rather it felt too plain, like reading a medical article without a stop. Even for me, I tried so hard to engage my brain and yet I failed. I will say I had to make myself finish this book even though the topic is important and much needed in today's world.
Kim Hong Nguyen covers lot many celebrities from Taylor Swift to JKR and I agree mostly with what she had to say but it would have been better if it was little bit reader friendly, if this book is made available to vast reader population out there.
It just felt little flat to me in all its seriousness and didn't leave an impact like we should all be feminists did. -
In this scholarly work from the University of Illinois Press’ Feminist Media Studies book series, Kim Hong Nguyen examines the idea of ‘mean girl feminism’, in which white women take on particular roles that appear to be feminist, but upon further examination these roles do little but further the individual woman’s status in a particular in-group while failing to address systemic issues affecting their communities.
These ‘mean girl’ roles also fail to consider intersectionality and thus do nothing to aid women of color, transgender women, or anyone else who isn’t part of that specific white in-group. By gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girl bossing (to quote a popular phrase from the social media site Tumblr), many white women use ideas of feminism to make themselves into the victim and make it appear as though their apparent victories against patriarchy serve the greater good, when in fact these victories often serve instead to uphold patriarchal norms. Thanks to gatekeeping, white women often use their status as both a persecuted group (under patriarchy) and a privileged group (white, in a racist system) to keep people of color- particularly women- from gaining an advantage that might help further the cause of equality for all. White women have done this so often by doing things like calling the police on Black men who were out birdwatching or barbecuing in their own backyards, and then acting as though they, the white women, were somehow under attack from a threatening person, the Black person minding their own business. These are just a few of the examples that Nguyen examines in her work. The list continues, citing real-world situations and drawing upon pop culture to illustrate the points.
Divided into four sections, Mean Girl Feminism provides a clear-eyed look at the ways that modern white feminism has taken ideas from feminists of color in the past- often without properly crediting them- and then fails to address the genuine challenges women of color and transgender women face. White feminism also often fails to draw upon community values and seeks instead to promote the individual women who succeed at appearing to win at feminism without really challenging the patriarchal norms that plague all of us. Mean Girl Feminism is not a comfortable read, nor is it an easy one, but if we wish to advance the rights and well-being of all women, it is necessary to face the discomfort and accept that the work of advancing equality is uncomfortable and difficult, but worth it in the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the University of Illinois Press for providing me with a free eBook. This did not affect my opinion of the book. -
It seems that the author deliberately made the text dense to sound more serious. This was hard to read.
I have a habit of looking up things that I can look up, to know more about them. In the beginning of the book, there is a story about how Taylor Swift is mean because of a story where it says she lied about giving permission to talk about her very crudely in a song. The story in the book is that she denied it and then a tape was released proving she was a liar, but I found out in about two minutes that the tape was edited to make her look like she said something she didn't. Why leave in a story that isn't really true to make the point?
I also found the entire premise wrong. Blaming women for being "bitches" isn't realistic. It really presumes a lot about their power.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this -
I loved how this book broke down what it means to be “mean” in todays climate as a white woman and how this affects black and brown people (especially women) in the process. I especially loved the ways it intersected with politics and motherhood.
The fourth chapter’s section on Laura Bush was incredible and I found myself highlighting long sections at a time discussing the intersection of The First Lady as a figurehead that allows discourse to be shifted towards horrifying routes without the accountability of an actual public and political figure.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!! -
Hmm.. this took me a while to read. This book has some interesting theories, but it is very scholarly. I felt like I was reading someone's PhD thesis. That considered, the cover is kind of misleading. It is very nice and gripping, so it makes you think you will read a gripping book. But the way the theory is presented is dry. I am also not really on board with trying to prove the theories using fictional movies and TV-series, which are often very dramatized. I don't feel like these situations are often in our daily lives, so why try to prove a point using them?
The theories are quite interesting, but the presentation of the information is not for me.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions. -
3.5 ⭐️ informative read for white feminists! thank you to netgalley for the arc!!
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This dense, scholarly work from the University of Illinois Press really packs a punch, exploring the intricacies of white feminism and the ways in which it works alongside both white supremacy and cis-heteropatriarchy. The last two chapters really stood out to me with their explorations of power couple feminism and global mother feminism. I appreciated the blended use of both well known American political figures and popular television and movie characters to highlight the ways in which mean girl feminism helps to uphold our current power structures.
Thank you to Netgalley and the University of Illinois Press for this eARC -
I am so thankful to the University of Illinois Press, Kim Hong Nguyen, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to Mean Girl Feminism: How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, and Girlboss before this psychologically interpreted exposé hits shelves on January 9, 2024.
From comparisons in media and pop culture, our author reveals how white women have been putting on a show in the name of being accepted by a group they don’t even want to be a part of, because they are all talk and a lot of bite, as their performativity and meanness projects a clearer message than their feminism.
From toxic patriarchal-conveying power couples such as Hillary and Bill, to Hillary never standing up for herself and women every way to keep face to fictional examples such as Chuck and Blair and Dan and Serena from Gossip Girl, this book has everything to convince you that a majority of white women suck and I hate to be associated with them. -
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Thanks a lot to NetGalley and University of Illinois Press for approving this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book is an insightful exploration of certain tropes present in mainstream feminism that ultimately, whether in a conscious way or not, serve to maintain white privilege.
These types of white mean girl feminism come from North American pop culture, and either borrow from or are a counter to BIPOC experiences and social justice movements. But as the author analyses, they’re merely performative in a bid to achieve individual progress in tune with capitalism, rather than collective, intersectional change.
Each chapter sets out to shed light into these tropes and their function of gaslighting, gatekeeping and/or girlbossing through feminism:
👉 Bitch Feminism: Blackfaced girlboss in feminist performative/performativity politics
👉 Mean Girl Feminism: Gatekeeping as illegible rage
👉 Power Couple Feminism: Gaslighting and re-empowering heteronormative aggression
👉 Global Mother Feminism: Gatekeeping biopower and sovereignty
Although relatively short, this book packs a punch and was often challenging to read. That is, despite its ironically girlboss-pink cover and use of pop culture examples, this is not a light and accessible text; rather, it was very much academic. If you’re the type of person to balk at multi-word concepts like “imperialist white supremacist capitalist cis-heteropatriarchy”, or if you don’t care for an analysis centered exclusively around North America, then you might want to give this one a pass…
But I would encourage you to give it a try nonetheless.
I have so much to say that I’m overwhelmed to even try, but, even with some criticism (I think the book could have been made more approachable), I found so much value and prompts for self-reflection that my digital copy is full of underlined passages. I think this is an unmissable volume for anyone who considers themselves a feminist committed with genuine social justice and open to continuous learning. At points, the text intentionally comes off as anti-feminist, even, which was challenging/aggravating. But this is a provocation to engage with your own beliefs and ask: what is your feminism seeking? Is it truly in pursuit of equality for all? Are you prepared to reckon with the fact that equality does not mean we should all be millionaires? Is your intersectionality performative? Is your meanness moving you to the anger needed for meaningful action? Or is it actually just reinforcing white supremacy?
Honestly, I really want a physical copy so that I can constantly refer back to it! I’m so glad I had the chance to read an early copy, and I hope lots of people give it a shot. -
I got this book from the local library and started reading it today, and I immediately went online to order the book for myself. I need to highlight and keep this excellent book around for reference! I'll update my review upon finishing, but so far, I love it!
P.S. This book was published in January 2024 and begins with Taylor Swift... in the year of Taylor Swift (Time Person of the Year, Album of the Year, Billionaire Status, Breaking Records, and her white man who pushed the elderly coach during the Super Bowl also won it, with the camera constantly showing Taylor's reactions to the game). Oh yeah, and it's also the year of Barbie! -
This was very dense and read like a thesis or dissertation. This isn't a bad thing, it was just unexpected and meant that I really needed to be in a certain frame of mind to enjoy it
Which I did!
I found this to be really interesting and raised a lot of thought provoking questions
I was really, really getting into this book and then realised I was at the end and the last 20% was notes
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review -
I found this a little difficult to read. The topics covered were interested and well thought out and I found myself agreeing with a lot of point. I just thought there was an extensive use of “social justice warrior” terms that could have been explained in a more cohesive way; it just made it a bit of a difficult read unfortunately.
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Thank you netgalley and the University of Illinois Press for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review
The actual rating for Mean Girl Feminism is 2.5 stars but I rounded up to 3 stars.
First — I'd like to preface that I think the actual content and discussion of white feminism employing 'mean girl' tactics is an incredibly important one and Kim Hong Nguyen makes compelling arguments with a multitude of examples.
I also think that the description didn't quite give way to how much of an academic research novel this was vs. more of an analytical nonfiction, if that makes sense. There's nothing wrong with it clearly stemming from an academic research paper, but it threw me off when I first started reading. And maybe that's on me for not taking the publisher being University of Illinois Press as an understanding—I'll take that.
But beyond, I did struggle with aspects of it. As someone who has written many a research paper, I understood and appreciated the structure of Mean Girl Feminism and found the break-down of the archetypes fascinating and apt for our current culture. I also felt like Hong Nguyen's cited sources and references that backed her arguments were compelling. But, there were times where I felt like the language was purposefully dense and complicated—especially in the first two chapters, I felt like I had to reread and reread not just paragraphs, but even just sentences.
I also felt like her actual analysis could have been stronger. There were points where Hong Nguyen would explain her example, link it to the previous research, have a little bit of expansion and move on. There was definitely room for her to expand upon her argument beyond just the source/example and I was itching for it. Her conclusion to me, funny enough, was the strongest to me and I enjoyed her shorter analysis, though she listed several examples of her argument of white women deploying mean girl feminism that weren't previous touched on—which was disappointing as the brief analysis of these examples were so strong.
Overall, I appreciated the message and discussion from Mean Girl Feminism and I think that there's a lot to digest from it. However, I think in terms of the analysis itself, there were opportunities to expand on Hong Nguyen's own voice and argument while making it a little more digestible to other readers. -
Thank you to NetGalley for this opportunity.
This book is nearly impossible to read. It feels like reading an essay more than a nonfiction book. It uses the same buzzwords repeatedly to the point where you can get lost on the page. I feel like the author was making good points but it was hard to see them through her delivery. -
I appreciate the opportunity to read and review Mean Girl Feminism by Kim Hong Nguyen, ahead of publication, made possible by #NetGalley and University of Illinois Press.
I want to make clear that I like this book. It’s an important critique of white feminism and Nguyen’s analysis is provocative and smart. I really like their use of pop culture examples to support their argument, especially the breadth of cases, ranging from SNL sketches to movies to political campaigns and speeches. I especially appreciate that the examples are both numerous and accessible, not limited distribution independent films or obscure anime titles or some such. As bell hooks always told us, pop culture is pedagogy.
HOWEVER, I hope there is time for some editing before this book is released. The writing is repetitive, with excessive jargon and superfluous citations. The introduction is twice, if not three times, as long as it needs to be, due largely to repetition and poor editing. The first two main chapters are stronger than the second two; perhaps some of the space saved by cutting the introduction in half could be used to add additional pop culture examples to chapters 3 and 4.
I’d also like to see Nguyen’s developing theory, briefly reviewed in the conclusion, about racialized meanness having a “different, intersectional relationship to power structures and emerges with a different futurity, one that is oriented toward justice” elaborated. She provides two quick examples in the conclusion but this should be a full chapter.
Overall, I found the level of scholarly citation to be excessive. There are definitely too many multiple citations, that is, statements such as, “Following Theorist X, Scholar Y says, ‘Z’.” As an academic writer myself, I sympathize with Nguyen. Of course citations are necessary and I have been known to over-cite, too. I’m also aware that in a great deal of academic Cultural Studies writing, providing citations is less about attribution and more about demonstrating how well read you are. In a monograph such as Mean Girl Feminism, with its potential for wide readership outside of academia and even for undergraduate classroom use, the extreme quantity of citations can undermine the strength of the author’s arguments and overall effectiveness of the text.
Despite my criticisms, I like this book and I learned from it. Kim Hong Nguyen has given me a lot to think about, and I will recommend Mean Girl Feminism. If I were still teaching, I’d probably use it in the classroom! I look forward to reading her next work.
#MeanGirlFeminism #NetGalley -
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
dnf chapter 2
So this might be on me, but when I requested this book I was kind of under the impression that this would be a lighthearted satire/comedy poking fun at white feminism, but this turned out to be a legit thesis paper kind of thing??? And there's nothing wrong with that, its just that the bright pink cover and the title made me think otherwise, so I went into this expecting witty take-downs of girlboss feminists, and got this instead. Anyway, for the rest of this review keep in mind that I don't read serious research papers ever, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
This book is full of citations, which may be normal for a research paper, but was just tedious to read. I feel like this book contained more citations than the author's own thoughts, which had to backed up with citations too. And the introduction was incredibly long, it introduces the main concept of this book, which is the different categories of "mean girl feminists", then immediately begins dissecting each category, and this is all in the introduction chapter. Which is a pity, because I agree with a lot of the points of this book, but I just couldn't get through this.
Moving on to the contents, I think the author makes excellent points about the pitfalls of white feminism, from the way white feminists weaponise white femininity against POC, to the "gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss" mentality white feminists embody. However, something I have to question is who this book is even for? I don't see white feminists being interested in picking this up, and the concepts introduced in this book aren't new to women of colour. Not to mention that this text is pretty dense, which creates an additional barrier of inaccessibility. -
***4.5 Stars****
I really quite enjoyed reading this latest addition to the feminist theory literature. In this much needed critique of white feminism (that also adds its own theory to the annals of feminist theory), Nguyen shows how insidiously white feminists co-opt feminism to uphold white sovereignty. With her theory of Mean Girl Feminism, Nguyen asks us to ask ourselves 'do we do this? are we upholding white sovereignty by being a Mean Girl?;. This is a question that may surprise us, since a large part of Mean Girl Feminism is unquestioned as part of 'being female' and seen as a natural way to act by women in society. We don't see the insidious ways it upholds white sovereignty and asks women to co-opt into the cis-heteropatriachy.
A brilliant, much needed argument that will make readers think deeply about how their own 'feminine' behaviour that has previously been shown as feminist is actually anti-feminist and against building equality. Is meanness really helping us become equal? How does the power couple harm all people's equality? Is the Global Mother reframing politics in a harmful way? and more questions will be asked as you read this.
***Netgalley provided access to this book in return for a honest review**** -
(3.5 ⭐) Mean Girl Feminism by Kim Hong Nguyen is an interesting entry to feminist theory and critique. It focuses mainly on the performativity of white feminism, specifically the performance of meanness, and the perils that accompany analysis of issues solely through the lens of gender. I think one of the most interesting points made was about the metaphorical blackface of adopting supposed characteristics of racialized peoples by the Bitch or Mean Girl archetypes. Additionally, I think that the analysis of Laura Bush, Global Mother feminism, and conservative feminism as support for the War on Terror — and the presentation of the War on Terror as support for feminism — was well done.
The language of this book is very dense and academic; this is not a negative for me, but something that people unaccustomed ought to be aware of. The ideas presented are valuable, but I think that the execution lacked at points. To me, several chapters felt that they needed more examples and analysis thereof to support the use of “I have shown” and “I have demonstrated” language. That being said, I think that the examples that were used were strong choices that supported the arguments well.
My thanks to the University of Illinois Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy. -
Kim Hong Nguyen's "Mean Girl Feminism" is like that friend who calls you out on your sass- but in the best way possible. It's a hilarious and thought-provoking look at how feminism can sometimes get caught up in the high school cafeteria, with "girl power" turning into "mean girl" power.
The book dives into four types of these "mean girl feminists" - the ones who think sarcasm is activism, the power couples who forget about dismantling the patriarchy while climbing the ladder together, and even the "global mothers" who swoop in to "save" the world (with a side of white savior complex).
Nguyen exposes the ways these tropes can actually undermine true feminist goals. It's like when you try to fight fire with fire, but you just end up burning everyone's metaphorical eyebrows off.
But this book isn't here to just point fingers and roll its eyes. It also explores how we can move beyond the mean girl game and build a feminism that's truly intersectional and radical.
Imagine a world where anger isn't performative, but a fuel for liberation. "Mean Girl Feminism" will make you laugh, think, and maybe even ditch your "girlboss" mug for something a little more revolutionary. -
In this academic text, Nguyen looks at the phenomena of Mean Girl Feminism as a white feminist performative practice. The premise is that to be a Bitch or a Girlboss utilises racialised power structures, and thus white feminism can never be inclusive (or truly feminist). It's a solid argument, backed up by some rigorous critical analysis and pop culture case studies. Mean girl feminism has always sat uncomfortably with me, and this book articulates exactly why, breaking down different aspects of the phenomena including the mean girl, power couples and the global mother.
However, I did find it to be limited by its North American focus, and I would've loved to have seen a greater awareness and critique of this lens. Nguyen makes astute links between white feminism and post-colonial capitalism, but does not address how these pressures might shape white feminism differently outside of a North American context.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review* -
"Mean Girl Feminism," which is a concept that encourages girls and women to adopt a sassy, sarcastic, and ironic demeanor as a form of feminist performance. The author, Kim Hong Nguyen, argues that this form of feminism often co-opts its style and substance from racialized oppression and protest, while directing meanness toward people in marginalized groups.
Nguyen delves into four types of white mean girl feminism that are prominent in North American popular culture:
The Bitch
The Mean Girl
The Power Couple
The Global Mother
According to Nguyen, white feminists often mimic the anger and resistance people of color and other marginalized groups feel. This allows them to claim a special place within established power structures and present themselves as intellectually superior. However, Nguyen argues that the racialized meanness found across pop culture can open possibilities for building more intersectional feminist politics. I want to read more on the topic and continue educating myself.
Thank you to Net Galley and the University of Illinois Press for the review copy. -
This was a very insightful read into the meanness in feminism that has become the norm for white feminists. I think that the author posits a lot of ideas which are worth thinking about, like recognising how white feminism is largely performative and allows for the continued oppression of the less privileged women and nonbinary people of colour by the cisheteropatriarchy. It is a great source for anyone doing research in gender studies; however, I found the language too academic for a layperson, who is not familiar with academia. Even I, who have just recently used to be swamped with academic texts on feminism, racism, etc., found some concepts and their further demonstrations tough to understand consciously. The author is, after all, a scholar and it shows.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free review copy! -
As soon as I read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it. I've thoroughly been enjoying a lot more non-fiction in the socialogy space, and the ideas presented within the blurb of MEAN GIRL FEMINISM is something I've personally been noticing a lot more of in 2023.
MGF reads like an extended academic paper, but I found it easy enough to follow on with the themes Nguygen talks about, and the way she breaks down specific topics. The more conversation we have about intersectionality in feminism, the better. The book isn't designed to give you the answer, but rather make you think more critically about how you engage your feminism - something we can all do a little better.
Thank you to Netgalley and University of Illinois Press for my review copy. -
This book is great for examining white feminism and it's cultural, social, and political impacts. However, I think it's structure, coming off very much like a PhD thesis, makes it incredibly dense and difficult to read. It's only about 100 pages, and I was able to read it in a few hours, but I think a lot of the messaging was lost due to how academic and researchy it was.
The topic is really important and I've been challenging myself to examine my own white feminism and educate myself on how to be a better intersectional feminist, so I appreciate content like this exists. I just think some of the analysis in here was hard to follow, because it centered on fictional portrayals and celebrity encounters, when real-life examples would have made the messaging stronger. -
I really struggled with this one, but not in the way I was hoping to. This was way more technical than I was expecting, and I'm really not sure I picked up much because it was so dense. I tried to slow down, reread, etc. but I think maybe I don't have the educational framework to make it make sense. For someone much more into feminist and activist literature and academics, I think this book would be much more accessible.
I felt like the parts about Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush were spot-on and well-supported in a way that really made sense to me and gave me a new perspective. The rest was pretty impenetrable for me. -
This was such an interesting title, I had to pick it up! It was an interesting and thought provoking look into what it means to be a white feminist in today's world, and the unconscious biases that need to be worked on within the feminist movement.
The book does read a bit more scholarly than others, which may make it somewhat harder to read.
Thanks to University of Illinois Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
