Enthusiastic Reader > Recent Status Updates

"Imagery of white motherhood is standard in media, complete with the seemingly de rigueur write-ups from white feminists about the ways becoming a mother has changed their lives... If you look closely, you can see the telltale marks of people who need to rely on communities of color for labor but who don't really engage with what that means in any meaningful way."

"It is important for reproductive rights and reproductive justice frameworks to recognize that the choice to carry to term or abort is heavily influenced by class, race, and other obstacles created by marginalization."

"The fact that the right to have an abortion is seen as innately feminist is accurate. But what gets obscured is that consistent access to quality health care is something that everyone needs at every stage of their life."

"women face a wealth gap that puts them at the highest risk of being evicted, of struggling to get or stay housed. Housing is ultimately one of the most pressing feminist issues because the impact of housing instability can reverberate throughout not just one person's life but the lives of those around them."

"As market-rate rents rise, displacement threatens even those who live in protected housing such as subsidized low-income apartments for seniors."

“The conventional wisdom that gentrification is a boon because of economic restructuring that brings in more jobs and resources unfortunately ignores that long-term residents aren’t necessarily getting hired, and are often targeted by new neighbors who don’t understand neighborhood norms and call the police over mundane things ranging from the sound of ice cream trucks to barbecues.”


“Housing is foundational for success, and having it makes it possible for people to go to school or work, care for children, care for elders and for themselves. Yet as housing becomes harder to secure and maintain because of escalating prices and stagnant wages, the crisis is becoming a catastrophe.”

Look, just read this whole chapter. Please.

“Today’s feminist movement cannot ignore voting rights for all, not just because the numbers are needed to support causes championed by white women, but because if feminism’s goal truly is equality for all, that means the future of feminism has to look very different from its past.”


“Is voting the perfect solution to what ails America? Of course not. But having a vote is having a voice in the way the country is run, and sometimes that voice is the first step for a community toward stability and safety."


“The fact is that the harm-reducing votes of marginalized people will never be enough to outweigh the stupidity of white people who vote for racism at their own expense."


"Despite the expectation that Black or Latinx or Asian voters be treated as a monolith, no one really expects white women to vote as a unified bloc."

“Americans love the myth of a meritocracy more than anything else, because it lets us ignore the reality of the impact of bigotry.”


"the peculiar impact of white fragility on the dynamics between white women means that too often white feminists get hung up on being polite at the expense of being effective."

"When we talk about the dangers of white supremacy, we tend to do so around the idea that the anger of white men is inherently dangerous, while ignoring how often that anger is directed and weaponized via the fears of white women."

Dangerous vs scary.

"Conservative feminism enables some of the worst policy decisions under the guise of women protecting women."

"It's bad enough that white women won't even vote to protect themselves; what's worse is that as a voting bloc they have enough power to harm others. Senator Susan Collins from Maine is a white woman who owes her position to the advances won by feminism. Yet, even though she's pro-choice, she still opted to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, despite clear evidence that he is anti-choice."

"We have to be willing to use violence diversion programs more liberally than we use probation, have to have a program that starts to unteach the normalization of violence against women."

"True feminist solidarity across racial lines means being willing to protect each other, speaking up when the missing women are not from your community, and calling out the ways that predatory violence can span multiple communities."

"equitable representation in media coverage matters because that attention shapes how we perceive who has value, and often dictates to whom people will extend their sympathies."

"This doesn't mean that white women who go missing don't deserve every bit of attention, care, and concern from the public, police, and the press. It does mean that the same level of concern should be given to all. And this is an approach that can only help those in danger if they know that they have somewhere to turn."

"Caregivers who care more about their own comfort and convenience than the basic rights and welfare of their charges are a dangerous necessity for many people who don't have any other options."

"It sounds great in passing, the idea of those who fought the patriarchy being stronger, braver, more ferocious than those who did not take the same risks. But what we don't talk about is what that costs victims."

"we have to be ready, willing, and able to embrace those for whom mental health is a struggle and to make sure that we aren't contributing to their trauma under the guise of being helpful."

"Even organizations that exist to address eating disorders are working from a lack of data due to the medical community's assumption that eating disorders largely affect white women."

"The ways that being white, cis, slim, and able-bodied are valorized must be addressed."

"Body positivity originated in the Black community because skin shade, size, body type, and visible disabilities rendered many in the community outsiders even in spaces that were intended to be affirming."

"Being taught you're strong, you're beautiful, you're smart, you're enough is a generational defense mechanism against discrimination. Even when the confidence isn't really felt, you know that the more confident you appear, the better equipped you'll be to deal with racism."

"Here in the United States, because we are such a diverse population it is possible to experience privilege based on skin color inside your community and still experience oppression outside it."

"what I am still learning is how much of what I do [about my appearance] is about what I want versus the ways that the outside world mandates what constitutes attractiveness."