Living a Feminist Life

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Not to think like a feminist, but what it is like to stand up to people who are screaming for you to be silenced. I have not watched this film, but Ahmed's summary and comments on it highlight a lot of the issues of chauvinism and misogyny that have existed in all sorts of radical leftist, communist, and anarchist political projects in the past two centuries. I can still hear the sound of the voices, the car as it slowed down, the bike that rushed past, the door that opened, the sound of the footsteps, the kind of day it was, the quiet hum of a plane as I woke up. Lesbian feminism is radical feminism (in the sense of feminist at its root) and thus lesbian feminism demands our full involvement; as Marilyn Frye describes, “Bodily energy, ardour, intelligence, vitality” all need “to be available and engaged in the creation of a world for women” (1991, 14).

Even when we critique the sex-gender distinction, even when we learn from feminist critiques of this distinction (Gatens 1983; Butler 1990), we know that that distinction works as a form of sequencing: as if from sex, gender follows. A sensation that begins at the back of your mind, an uneasy sense of something amiss, gradually comes forward, as things come up; then receding, as you try to get on with things; as you try to get on despite things. I live in south London, not far from where Sara used to lecture, so her work has always felt close, with an ability to touch and grasp—a quality academic feminist discourse often lacks. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.This was a very thought-provoking text to listen to while I was drawing, but I am also aware than my comprehension is much higher when I read than when I listen, so hopefully I will have time to get a copy of this book in print to underline and highlight. We might put this in another way: Maggie seems willingly to get into trouble, which is not the same thing as saying she has any choice in the matter. Here’s what I appreciated: the focus on the falsity of the idea of the feminist as the cause her own suffering. She has much to say that is original and valuable and this writing tic detracts from her effectiveness.

Ranging from how she pushes Betty Friedan's feminism to include more intersectionality to how she describes "diversity" as a word used to avoid discussions of racism and sexism, Ahmed implores us to elevate our feminism to more radical, transformational heights. Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit. She dwells on the words such as ''arm,'' happiness,'' ''walls'' ''killjoy'' and ''path''in ways that make her arguments not only exciting but also palpable.Living a Feminist Life puts a name to her life’s work, while also serving as a guide of sorts for other feminist killjoys, Ahmed’s reclaimed term for feminists who (among other things) dare to be wilful by rejecting social and gender norms that demand otherwise.

Written in Sara Ahmed’s trademark evocative style whereby concepts, experiences, words, ideas, structures, and bodies are examined thoroughly from all possible angles, the book documents what it means to understand and lay claim to living everyday life as a feminist. In this it becomes a guidebook to Ahmed’s Feminist Killjoy manifesto/persona having been written alongside her continuing blog, with all the dialogue it produced – much of it comradely, some of it far from even civil. And think about feeling: to direct your attention to the experience of being wronged can mean feeling wronged all over again. I don't like to leave books unfinished, and am truly disappointed that a book I was looking forward to was a bust - but can't read all the books in the world now can I! And we might be perpetually reassigned; reminders of our assignment punctuate our lives like grammar.No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Being estranged from one’s own life can be how a world reappears, becoming odd…to become conscious of possibility can involve mourning for its loss” (Ahmed, page 47). All of this is beautifully compared to variety of traditional feminist texts, such as Mrs Dalloway, Audre Lorde, and the writings of George Eliot. Just this week, the local NAACP rescinded its endorsement of the Portland Women’s March on January 28th because the organizers said that talking about the issues affecting immigrant women, Muslim women, queer women, and women of color is “too political” and took to deleting the comments on the Facebook organizing page demanding inclusion.

You might not have used that word for it; you might not have the words for it; you might not be able to put your finger on it.We are creating a support system around the killjoy; we are finding ways to allow her to do what she does, to be who she is. Living a Feminist Life is a work of embodied political theory that defies the conventions of feminist memoir and self-help alike. But willful is pejorative while strong-willed is not…and you are reminded of all the ways what is good in a man is unwelcome in a woman. A beautifully written, smartly provocative book that belongs on our shelves, in our classrooms, and in our daughters’ hands.