tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post6814484082007833583..comments2019-05-15T23:59:20.159-07:00Comments on Feminist Legal Theory: #1000blackgirlbooks reading challengeLisa R. Pruitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469550950363542801noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-20631715304276514962016-12-12T17:20:44.667-08:002016-12-12T17:20:44.667-08:00I am late to the comment party on this post, but i...I am late to the comment party on this post, but it is such a great concept I couldn't resist. I really think your personal challenge can be spread out to so many other aspects of culture. I think I am going to engage in a similar venture related to my music consumption. (I wish we even had the option with our academic books.)<br /><br />I also wanted to comment on the phenomenon of classic stories; this sort of thinking persists not just in entertainment but in history as well. The mushy concepts of "importance" and "greatness" are too often associated with male acts, denying true history. Underlying all of this is the lack of acknowledgment and appreciation for women's roles in defining artistic genres and guiding history. The new movie Hidden Figures is bucking all of these trends. It is about three black women's role in John Glenn's successful first orbit around the earth and was written by a black women. Going to see it is a great opportunity to show this kind of entertainment has a ready audience, and that we want more of the same. Earnest Femingwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06449645655000528726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-31894959822464275172016-11-29T09:33:52.207-08:002016-11-29T09:33:52.207-08:00This post is so important, Josie. I, too, have an ...This post is so important, Josie. I, too, have an un-diversified bookshelf, though I've loved Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Isabel Allende for a long time, those are literally the only women of Color who came to mind when I read your post. This is particularly important for me as I am an Educational Rights Holder for a young woman of Color and am constantly trying to send her books that will inspire her. I think to really inspire her, her books need to have protagonists she can fully relate to. I went to the 1000 Black Girl Books Resource Guide and have decided to print her Marley's Welcome along with some suggestions from the list that I'll send her if she's interested. She might say no (as she's a teenager), but I don't think so. I think she'll get as excited as I have.<br /><br />(http://grassrootscommunityfoundation.org/1000-black-girl-books-resource-guide/#1458589376556-1fa71d56-6d86)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03192921782376440109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-84019513187412977792016-11-15T12:57:09.865-08:002016-11-15T12:57:09.865-08:00Based on where I grew up, my experience in could b...Based on where I grew up, my experience in could be different in some ways. As an Arab girl I got to real lots of books written by Arab writers, most were written by men but I would like to think that I have been exposed to a fair amount of female Arab writers. <br /><br />Now here is where it gets tricky. I am ashamed to announce that white men wrote every single world classic book I have ever read, maybe a hand full were written by white women. White masculine hegemony cultural domination. This is a hierarchy male society, and it sadly shows in the literary work produced by white male authors. That is what was advertised to me as world classics. Anaafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02043698357199845422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-5750041535172709532016-11-10T10:58:34.853-08:002016-11-10T10:58:34.853-08:00My link never sent in the previous comment: http:/...My link never sent in the previous comment: http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/11/09/emma-watson-is-leaving-maya-angelou-books-on-the-nyc-subway/ Louise Trainorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429074398705943398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-9582046228196780372016-11-10T10:55:04.351-08:002016-11-10T10:55:04.351-08:00Josie,
Thank you for this important reminder tha...Josie, <br /><br />Thank you for this important reminder that what we read can give us an inaccurate outlook of society. I also read a lot as a child but I don't ever recall reading a book with a black female protagonist. This was not intentional, books of this kind were simply not marketed to appeal to children.<br /><br />There is little to no diversity in my home country of Ireland. I grew up reading mainly books by Irish authors, predominantly white males. It never occurred to a ten year-old Louise that I should be exploring different ethnicities and cultures through my reading. As a result, I had an extremely narrow perception of humanity as a child. It is only when I reached my teens and started my second-level education that I began to fully understand the racial divides in some societies.<br /><br />I came across this uplifting article yesterday which is very fitting for this discussion. British actress and self-proclaimed feminist Emma Watson is leaving Maya Angelou books in subway stations to encourage people to read more books by female black authors! <br /><br />Louise Trainorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429074398705943398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-28582231702285889992016-11-04T16:29:05.205-07:002016-11-04T16:29:05.205-07:00Josie,
I think you and I would have been friends...Josie, <br /><br />I think you and I would have been friends as little kids! I too was an avid reader growing up, and spent many a rainy Seattle day parked next to the heater reading a book. However, I found that since adolescence I have been reading books written by female authors of color. I had never really thought of why this might be before reading this post, but after some pondering I have come up with a couple of theories.<br /><br />First, I went to an all girls high school that was adamant about instilling the students with pride in being girls and knowledge about different cultures. Also, all of my English teachers in high school were all women and two were women of color. I think these two factors combined to expose me to many books written by female authors of color. <br /><br />Second, as a mixed woman I may have consciously or subconsciously chosen novels written by women I identified with or issues that related more to my life than what would be found in a book written by a white male. <br /><br />For anyone trying to read more books written by female authors of color the list from this article is a great starting point (http://www.browngirlmagazine.com/2016/03/fifteen-female-authors-of-color-you-need-to-know/). On the list are Jhumpa Lahiri and Julia Alvarez, two of my all time favorite authors!! Joan Mayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15255835956759412262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-67001146121853009422016-11-02T18:36:28.845-07:002016-11-02T18:36:28.845-07:00Josie,
This post has opened my eyes to the total...Josie, <br /><br />This post has opened my eyes to the total lack of diversity that exists on my own bookshelves. Almost all of my favourite authors are white males and, furthermore, the majority of the novels i find myself reading centre around white protagonists. I, like you, read very often and have never once considered what an issue this is. I have been so encompassed in following the 'Best-Sellers' lists I have entirely neglected diversity in my reading. <br /><br />It makes me wonder if the issue comes subconsciously from myself or is it a much larger problem? Do I read these books because I believe I will enjoy them, or do I read them because they are the only things that have been advertised toward me and my peers?<br /><br />Having read this post I shall definitely be making more conscious efforts to have more diversity in future books I read. Julie Maguirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944909324693483931noreply@blogger.com