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Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters
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In this lively, accessible, and provocative collection, Aph and Syl Ko provide new theoretical frameworks on race, advocacy for nonhuman animals, and feminism. Using popular culture as a point of reference for their critiques, the Ko sisters engage in groundbreaking analysis of the compartmentalized nature of contemporary social movements, present new ways of understanding
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Kindle Edition, 202 pages
Published
May 16th 2017
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Start your review of Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters
I'm the publisher of this book, and I thought I'd offer a few thoughts on its publication. One of the joys of reading is surely to be invited into a world you might otherwise have little knowledge of or not necessarily be privy to. In 2010, I published SISTAH VEGAN, which was a collection of articles, poems, and essays by a number of black-identified female vegans. The diversity of voices, media, and issues raised was truly eye-opening for me. It allowed me to be present in a conversation where,
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Absolutely brilliant. Afro-futuristic approach to veganism, animal studies, feminism, and pop culture. They deliver. This is beyond even the concept of "intersectionality". My favorite is the concept of animality that they bring in and how it is contingent upon white supremacy, racism, and speciesism. Like wow, amazing.
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I really enjoyed this book. “Enjoy” may be an unexpected word choice for a series of essays meant to challenge thought on issues of humanity connected to animality in the context of race, but I’m one of those people who loves for my ideas to be thoughtfully challenged. If this isn’t normally a book you’d read, I encourage you to consider it anyway. (More about that below.)
Often, people advocating against their own oppression are confronted with the assertion that the issues they raise are exagge ...more
Often, people advocating against their own oppression are confronted with the assertion that the issues they raise are exagge ...more
Oh my, where do I start? How do I express my deep gratitude for given a chance to read this very important book? It is mind blowing, it is amazing, it is a must read. So many new ideas, so much to think about, so much to learn. I'll probably start reading it again because I want to understand better and be challenged again. Everything you have ever thought about antiracism, feminism and veganism gets a new angle. Nothing is the same. But suddenly the future is so much brighter. It just might be
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May 28, 2021
Amanda
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
owned,
favorites-of-2021,
favorites,
animal-welfare,
reviewed,
feminism,
philosophy,
social-justice
"Animal" is a category that we shove certain bodies into when we want to justify violence against them, which is why animal liberation should concern all who are minoritized, because at any moment you can become an “animal” and be considered disposable.
Though I've read much on the topics of Black liberation and social justice, feminism, and animal rights at this point, this book completely reframed a lot of what I thought I knew about those topics. Aphro-ism introduced an entirely new-to-me phi ...more
I have been reading the writings of Aph and Syl Ko since the beginnings of APHRO-ISM and Black Vegans Rock as blog sites. Back then it was already very exciting to see people coming out with ideas that were not only tackling topics at the root of huge fighting and divisions between vegan, animal lib, and social justice communities, but doing so in fresh new ways. Aph and Syl both have brilliant minds and ways of combining their powers together through conversation then reproducing them beautiful
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Pulling together posts they have published over the years on Black Vegans Rock, Sisters, Aph and Syl Ko offer up a compelling argument for veganism people of color and other marginalized groups. The crux of their argument is that the willingness for humans to arbitrarily decide who gets human treatment and who gets animal treatment (who is a free being and who is an enslave mass for labor, slaughter, and consumption) means that marginalized groups will always be vulnerable to being "dehumanized"
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"Part of activism is finding yourself in a new space of confusion, allowing yourself to step into new conceptual terrain. When you abandon commonly held oppressive beliefs, you might not exactly know what to do afterward, and that's where more activists need to be...
There is seemingly nothing worse for an activist than being introduced to a new perspective or theory that challenges the way you've been doing things. Rather than acting as though that perspective doesn't exist, we should immerse o ...more
There is seemingly nothing worse for an activist than being introduced to a new perspective or theory that challenges the way you've been doing things. Rather than acting as though that perspective doesn't exist, we should immerse o ...more
WOW. This book and the critical theory these two sisters provide is enlightening and cuts deep. They explain in accessible ways that help you to expand your mind to the new possibilities of true liberation (a liberation that is necessarily intertwined for all the oppressed from the beginning). I whole-heartedly recommend this book and eagerly anticipate more of these women's ever-changing and critical insight.
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Accessible and timely, Aphro-ism challenged my conceptions of veganism and introduced me to new ways of decolonized, anti-racist thought. So much of what we think about animals has been determined by capitalist neoliberal society. We are told eating animal flesh is OK. It’s encouraged. Our commitments to eating non-human animals ensures businesses such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Five Guys, etc.stay afloat. The Ko sisters make the case that the opposite of white supremacy isn’t the subordination
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Aphro-ism is an essential tool for activists in *any* social justice fight. It deconstructs Eurocentric views (aka white supremacy + colonialism) in relationship to its founding roots in animality.
“The human-animal divide is the ideological bedrock underlying the framework of white supremacy. The negative notion of “animal is the anchor of this system.” Their notion of “the animal” - construed under their white supremacist framework as “subhuman,” “nonhuman,” or “inhuman”- is the conceptual veh ...more
“The human-animal divide is the ideological bedrock underlying the framework of white supremacy. The negative notion of “animal is the anchor of this system.” Their notion of “the animal” - construed under their white supremacist framework as “subhuman,” “nonhuman,” or “inhuman”- is the conceptual veh ...more
A fascinating examination of how racism and animal rights are intertwined even while most people who work in both philosophical areas intentionally try to keep the two ideas separate. Each chapter explores feminism, race, and animal rights from a different angle, and the overall book brings everything together in a path forward that I wasn't expecting. Animal rights books for years have basically been rehashing different aspects of Peter Singer's arguments in "Animal Liberation," but this one is
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This book succeeds in conceptualizing and conveying new ideas about animal advocacy, social justice, of which the sibling authors adequately show how interconnected they are.
The way they attempt to re-think the link between the 'human' and the 'animal', and how those two are structured not only along speciecist but also racial lines. They argue that exploitation and injustice is often justified not only by racial hierarchies or species-hierarchies, but that the two are interrelated, in such a wa ...more
The way they attempt to re-think the link between the 'human' and the 'animal', and how those two are structured not only along speciecist but also racial lines. They argue that exploitation and injustice is often justified not only by racial hierarchies or species-hierarchies, but that the two are interrelated, in such a wa ...more
Groundbreaking way to think about animal rights/liberation that is applicable, if not fundamental to other social justice causes. Puts forth better theoretical framework for approaching animal rights framework than the prevailing one based in Peter Singer's Animal Liberation. I enjoyed the essay-driven format.
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Life changing book
This book took me longer than I thought it would to read, but that's only because I had to take breaks to digest every essay. As a black vegan I've struggled with feeling like I can advocate for both animals and the anti-racism struggle, but this book has shown me that not only can I advocate for both but intrinsically I already was. I recommend this book to so many of my Activist and vegan friends, and I can't wait until it takes its rightful place in the canon of vegan litera ...more
This book took me longer than I thought it would to read, but that's only because I had to take breaks to digest every essay. As a black vegan I've struggled with feeling like I can advocate for both animals and the anti-racism struggle, but this book has shown me that not only can I advocate for both but intrinsically I already was. I recommend this book to so many of my Activist and vegan friends, and I can't wait until it takes its rightful place in the canon of vegan litera ...more
An instant classic of animal rights literature. Nothing in this genre has changed me this much since the first time I read Animal Liberation. Follows in the tradition of Frantz Fanon and other postcolonial theorists. Each essay is incredibly thoughtful and as a collection this book is varied, but to (probably over)simplify, Aph and Syl Ko both posit that the framework that defines animality is the same one that upholds white supremacy. For that reason, they argue trying to dismantle the hierarch
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There are very few books that I would describe as life-changing. Aph and Syl Ko have such a phenomenal ability to convey their ideas and messages in such a clear, succinct, and digestible manner. No matter how foreign or new the concept is, it is easily understandable. While they may be considered "provocative" and "controversial" in the mainstream, new ideas are paramount to our own growth, as individuals and as a society. But not only do they bring new ideas to the table, but their logic is al
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A while back I found the book Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams. It was a great read for this longtime vegan and occasional animal activist, but now I've read 2020's Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture,, Feminism, and Black Veganism From Two Sisters with a thoughtful, excited afterword from the aforementioned Adams. The Ko sisters have extended the relevance of Adams' book in many, wonderful ways and both books are highly recommended.
I'm a white vegan like Adams while the young sisters are ...more
Five stars because everyone should read and consider it.
For some years, sisters Aph and Syl Ko have been blogging under the title Aphro-ism about black veganism (and other related topics); Aph also started the Black Vegans Rock! website. I knew of them, but hadn't sat down with their thinking before this book. Here they collect and revise some of the key posts from the blog.
One of the running themes is the human-animal binary, a conceptual framework that they trace to the colonial, Enlightenment ...more
For some years, sisters Aph and Syl Ko have been blogging under the title Aphro-ism about black veganism (and other related topics); Aph also started the Black Vegans Rock! website. I knew of them, but hadn't sat down with their thinking before this book. Here they collect and revise some of the key posts from the blog.
One of the running themes is the human-animal binary, a conceptual framework that they trace to the colonial, Enlightenment ...more
A breath of fresh air in the often intellectually impoverished discourse around veganism and activism in general. One passage which has stuck with me and sent me down another rabbit hole of books and essays: 'This intertwined supremacism is precisely why I believe Afrofuturism, and not intersectionality, is the framework minoritized people need in order to generate real change. Intersectionality is a wonderful and useful tool to help oppressed folks navigate *current* systems of oppression that
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Collection of essays originally published online. Mostly in dialogue with other African Americans, both vegan and not. Not an academic book but often informed by academic experience. One of the more thought-provoking ideas, which shows up in several of Syl Ko's chapters, is that speciesism, racism, sexism etc. are in a sense all the same oppression, because "human" is defined in people's minds in terms of white male etc. humans only. The book is focuses on the forms oppression takes now, or in t
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If you haven't read this book, i urge you to do so. This completely challenged my thought process on animality and race, and showed me how, as a marginalized person, everything is connected!! You can't advocate for one minority without advocating for all minorities, and that includes nonhuman animals.
“Please understand this — incorporating [nonhuman] animal bodies into your activism isn’t a distraction from anti-racism or sexism — it’s an extension of the conversation because in reality we’re n ...more
“Please understand this — incorporating [nonhuman] animal bodies into your activism isn’t a distraction from anti-racism or sexism — it’s an extension of the conversation because in reality we’re n ...more
This book ROCKS. If you are reading this review, it means you have to read this book, sorry not sorry.
Aphro-ism is very much *not* about veganism in the sense that you might be thinking about right now. Instead, the authors aim to analyze the connection between different forms of oppression by breaking down the "human vs. animal" binary. They emphasize that the concept of "humanity" does not strictly refer to homo sapiens, rather, the way this term is used today implies that the ideal way to be ...more
Aphro-ism is very much *not* about veganism in the sense that you might be thinking about right now. Instead, the authors aim to analyze the connection between different forms of oppression by breaking down the "human vs. animal" binary. They emphasize that the concept of "humanity" does not strictly refer to homo sapiens, rather, the way this term is used today implies that the ideal way to be ...more
This book was an analyzation of many complex topics that at times were a little over my head if I’m being honest. I learned a lot though. In the introduction the reader was challenged to listen openly, and as someone who used to be a vegan that always said “I don’t care about animals at all” I really had to fight to listen to some of the chapters, such as the one that said “addressing racism requires addressing the situation of animals”. Some things I jotted down “Those in power have provided us
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Absolutely life changing...no matter your culture or background this book will definitely change the way you see the world as a whole but especially if you are a person of colour. I have realised how I was defining most things in my life based on my mind being 100% colonised and having growing up in a post colonialism era in Africa that of course helped in no way. I am warning you though: there is no turning back. If you are a woman of colour this is a MUST READ to add to your list as a matter o
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“Part of activism is finding yourself in a new space of confusion, allowing yourself to step into new conceptual terrain. When you abandon commonly held oppressive beliefs, you might not exactly know what to do afterward, and that's where more activists need to be.”
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