Ana’s Comments (group member since Jan 08, 2016)

Ana’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

So on my last comment above, format and HTML are very clearly not my friends and I was, of course, saying that it is not bad to be a white man. haha. Editing has been done, and my apologies for any misunderstanding. :')

I just wanted to say that many people are pushing the wrong message, trying to make a war between white men and women and really everyone else, when it simply is not accurate, when did it become a bad thing to be a white man?

I personally wouldn't phrase it as a war, and I'm certainly not saying that evil MOC do not exist or are the result of the bad bad white men exclusively, because that would be rather moronic and just yet another way to think of other cultures as these two-dimensional groups where no complexities ever take place. However, and I hate to break this to you, white men have historically waged war on pretty much every human who failed to file under those very two traits -caucasian and male.

It is not, and I don't think anyone reasonable can disagree with me, a bad thing to be a white male. It is not bad to be white. It is not bad to be a man. It's just that both of those come with great deals of privilege and a history ripe with instances of terrible things that ought to be acknowledged by us all.

This is a war of good people vs bad people not white men vs women and minorities. As much as I’d hate to admit it but for every #metoo story there is usually another woman who knew but looked the other way.

Much of the injustice that we see in our modern world is firmly rooted in sexism, colonialism, racism and violence.

Of course that you can count men and women among those who doubt the #metoo movement. Yet I wonder why is it that the greatest pressure on perfection and adequateness, as both individuals and a collective, fails on women.

And as much as the media like to paint white men as villains, many women in film would not be in the position they were in if it were not for white men, that includes Emma Watson. Whether she would like to admit it or not, if it weren’t for white men,(Chris Columbus and others) finding her at some random school in bum f*ck england, and having faith in her, she would likely not be in the same position she is currently in.

I'm sorry, but this is such a cheap argument, weak and artificially built in order to support certain ideas.


So this fight will not be won if the good people don’t join together whether they are white black purple straight gay bisexual transgender etc. the right people need to join together to end sexism and the belittlement of any human being in today’s culture

I can sort of see your point here in this call to arms together and as one, but I can also say that listening to POC and members of the LGBTQIA+ community has helped me understand that it is, at best, naïve and at worst, harmful to just lump us all in this big bag where all of us are yay, totally equal even though we are different. Well, we'd wish. Perhaps in this perfect utopia that we are very far from. Oftentimes, when those who are privileged insist on not seeing race/gender/culture/you name it, because we are all part of the human race, things stay as they are, in this reality that is very comfortable for those of us who hold the mainstream status quo and can afford for all of us to be equal, since equal means conforming to the officially sanctioned mainstream.

I am still reading it, but as others have said, I think for me it was uncomfortable to realise that in the past I have thought things that are racist, and even said some, and so have my acquaintances in several degrees. Likewise and most importantly...I have failed to see certain things, and I never really thought of "black history month" or "black issues", because I didn't need to.

That's the thing. That us white people can go through life without knowing more than the abc on POC (ie the strict introduction pack with Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, add a couple more, the vague notion that they were good and they fought for "end of racism"), and it's OK, nothing's gonna force us to go beyond that and still we think we can comment freely on lots of things.

What I'm trying to do is, well, I try to think twice about everything now. I also try not to get salty if I read stuff on the Internet calling "white people" out or mentioning how we "ruin stuff" or "don't get a thing". Yeah, OK, maybe I'm not like that personally, not entirely, but it's not about me, really. So instead of throwing a tantrum I can shut up and listen, and it's OK if I don't talk.

That's outrageous. Simply outrageous. If only you could be surprised that the preemptive measure is for women to be more careful. If only you could be surprised that that monster is roaming free.

This entire conversation could be in Arabic and I would get a similar percentage of it!!! O//O Glad to see some very deep scientific content being discussed here!

Hey people, I bought the ebook version via Amazon because right now I'd rather not have a thousand paper books home, but is there a way I could legally borrow it to others? Once I've read it I wouldn't mind. :)

Not really related to feminism, and in fact I found the comments of some people complaining that his identity as a transgender man was paraded in the headline to be an interesting point, but still...I think it's important that we make an effort to know more about transgender people in all fields of life. Particularly when they are great, accomplished human beings, like Dr. Ben Barres was.

The Transgender Scientist Who Changed How We See the Brain

What a generous, brilliant scientist he was, and how great to see that his sad, early demise was immediately followed by an outpouring of love and gratitude. May he rest in peace, and may his impressive legacy be continued by those who had the honour of learning from him and knowing him.

Lindsey wrote: "Oh man, this was a joy to hear, as I've also been thinking about the term "white feminism" and what it means to me as POC.

Thanks for your message, Emma. So pumped to read this book!"

If it helps, being white myself I still think about this. Before I would have said, why, of course I am a white feminist, just as much as I am a white anything, because, well, it's obvious haha. But it looks like nowadays it's only used in a negative sense and referred to a body of ideas and misconceptions rather than your actual race? Not that I am complaining at all, words like intersectional are there for a reason. I'm just saying it's a term which scope I am no longer so sure of these days.

Reading on my phone I will only do if it's an article or something like that, very rarely a story (I did yesterday and only because I was about to meet its author and wanted to give some feedback). Laptop is also kinda tiring if it's anything out of the newspaper / informative link range.

I will always prefer a book, sure, but I remember being so smug about Kindles and other ebooks and how the people that used those were not real readers. Some friend of mine still managed to convince me seeing as our graduation was looming and therefore we all were highly likely to leave home. Boy, will I ever be grateful I caved in. Yeah, paper books are awesome and all that jazz, but Kindle is pretty much the only way to keep reading consistently when you are a young graduate spending a maximum of two years or so in a place, and a rather small one for that matter.

Sharmaine wrote: "Um, I know this is off topic, but I would like to ask some advice, if that’s okay with you.. What would you do if your US Visa has been denied three times already?"

Yeah, it is off-topic, but mostly, I highly doubt you're going to get any valuable advice here. :/ I would advise talking to a lawyer / educational board / somebody else depending on your circumstances.

Just wanted to say that I have just reached the point where Ryan is introduced in the book and I was scratching my head too, as it was clear to me that this was a veiled yet undeniable reference to the character being somewhere in the gray area of the gender spectrum (if that's a valid term? Bear with me and please correct me if necessary, haha?)

I'm curious. Why intersex rather than transgender? :)

Ana Paula wrote: "Jasmine wrote: "Michaela wrote: "Jasmine wrote: "But feminism does involve a reversal of power..."

"Women would not act as men do. Female bosses do not behave like men. Women are on balance far su..."

Exactly. Obviously I will initially welcome pretty much any and every feminist initiative, but as the humans we are, women are very much capable of developing the same traits that we've seen traditionally linked to power and its abuse, among other things. Sometimes it'll be our own brand of said traits,sure, but there they will be nonetheless.

Pam wrote: "Haven't read it yet, but wanted to applaud the book jacket artists with their clever design that nearly erases the words "to white people" from the title.

Changing it to quickly look like "Why I'..."

What a sharp observation and I agree that this was a very appropriate choice of design.

I am already at 5% and am, in the words of a headline that I once saw and am now appropriating, comfortably uncomfortable. Cannot wait to fully dive in the book and be faced with hard facts and tough truths.

Best of luck to you on your tour, Amanda! Also, at the risk of coming across as y'all's mom / a major killjoy, a quick word on safe travels -be careful and make sure to check that you are safe whenever you are accepting a stranger's hospitality. :) That would include all detail sharing on the Internet.

As I said, you most likely knew already, but it can never hurt to stress it a bit more. :)

Florian wrote: "Ana, yes, muslim religion is the main one in this country. This is not suprising, to the best of my knowledge many countries in Sout-East of Asia are essentially muslim."

Oh, no, I meant that I thought it surprising that in a country where religion is heavy, with one of the main ones being fairly conservative, you would get to hear gender issues openly discussed, if at all. However, I now realise you were probably referring to simply asking more so as to actually ascertain the subject of conversation. Clearly in need of some rest that day!!

Jasmine wrote: The submissive guys who join such a female-focused group (I point out again, it doesn’t campaign on issues affecting men) are your typical ‘saviour’ type who seem to think that nodding along with us will somehow make us see them as allies or guardians.

I take that you know them all in order to comfortably throw a blanket statement like that? Also, I would rather we did away with this weird male submissiveness into female rule dialectic, particularly when specifically linked to HeForShe. I feel it's unfair not only to those who earnestly support the movement, but also to its purpose instead, irregardless of its potential weak spots, which it should have, as it happens with all things human.

Besides, I find this sudden submission talk fairly confusing and contradictory of what I thought was your point up until now. I thought you were exposing your particular views as to how men should be involved in gender equality, views which while I may not fully agree with, most definitely have a place in the debate. This submission talk, however, as well as the general turn that I can start to see in some of your comments, well, perhaps it's just me, but it starts to read more as a belief in the reverse of what we have now. If so, I just wish to politely express my disagreement and remind that it is things like these that, joined with people's laziness and the deliberate twistedness of certain media, keep portraying feminism in a way that drives away the mainstream.

Not what we need, I think.

Our Shared Shelf, as it happens with many other feminist groups, this I shall admit readily, remains as a group of mainly female presence. I would love to see this ratio imbalance even out, if only partially. Meanwhile, we have had our fair share of men expecting a headpat, but also of male members engaging in the debates and doing their part, I feel, in reflecting over their privilege and challenging the established thought. I am not saying we should get them a special shiny badge or whatever. I do agree that men's role in feminism often comes with an operating manual. However, I think they deserve better than to be merely discarded as submissive people seeking approval from alpha females. If only because I think I've heard this somewhere else, just with the roles assigned the other way round.

Welcome all new members!! :D First ones to join in this new year, with some fairly interesting profiles from what I can see. Quick reminder -take your time to browse through the forums, check the FAQs and, of course, turn to us admins should you have any questions. Happy reading and happy new year! <3

Happy New Year, Emma and everybody!

I think this may be one of my favorite forewords of yours as to why you've chosen a particular book! Perhaps because I felt so identified. In 2017 I have been more conscious that I ever was about race issues. I have begun to learn to constantly question what I'm told / think to be true / free from race issues. It's been eye opening, to say the least.

2017, I realized, has been the year in which I've made my first friends who are both American and POC. I have been lucky enough that they are also brilliant, articulate people who have been happy to share with me some of their thoughts and concerns. So I am indeed very excited that this is our first choice for 2018 and will do my best to come up with complementary readings and stuff to share with all of you.

In other words, January 2018! Whoa. Feels crazy to even type this. I am honoured to belong this community and humbled by so many of you peeps -by your testimonies, your thoughtfulness, your willingness to discuss so many issues, and to do it here. It is a pleasure, indeed.

It's truly terrible. Yes, she obviously had heart issues. But you can imagine just how terribly aggravated they were by the cruel murder of her father as a victim of racism and police brutality. Today I saw some comments of people in social media, saying that they hated the BLM movement and other bullshit. I did not want to keep reading because frankly, I'd rather save myself from further losing faith in mankind. I'd rather my reading capacity for today went towards learning more about Erica, what she endured and how she turned the hell that her family has been going through to call out attention over stuff that matters and that should have us all, and most particularly Americans, hanging our heads in shame.

I see no reason why this post should not be here?

Life is a real bitch sometimes, to be blunt. May she rest in power, and may her family find some peace in her great legacy and her resilience. While hers was such a short life, she accomplished more than others ever will while they're too busy spitting hatred and spreading their darkness.