Influential Books
This is My America
"When I'm ready, I force myself to study Mama, because I need to learn that strength so I can pass it down, like a family recipe. An heirloom. A Curse."
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One of my favorites we read in WGS 325. I loved how the author tackled systematic and generational issues surrounding racism and the Black experience in America, especially as it uses a murder mystery element. The character development was phenomenal as well.
The Girls Who Went Away
“Shame is a very effective way to silence individuals, and those who are less socially or economically powerful are rarely in a position to influence the decisions that affect them.”
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Read this for WGS 385 where I wrote an essay on transnational adoption. Though this book mainly focuses on mothers in America, it was interesting to read first hand accounts of the mothers and their thoughts and feelings. This is read I think everyone should read, especially if you are an adoptee or have an adopted child.
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Feminism is for Everybody
“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.”
Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks is a must read for everyone, and I think this is because she writes for those who may not know what feminism is exactly and gives language for people who do not yet have the words and for those who are willing to learn.
The Grace year
“It feels like freedom, but we know it's a lie. This is how they break us. They take everything away, our very dignity, and anything we get in return feels like a gift.”
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Another WGS 325 favorite, this book was like a mash of The Hunger Games I and The Handmaid's Tale, two books very much enjoy.
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It's a dystopian, very feminist story that I read in a single night.
A Cup of Water Under My Bed
“And it is hard, I imagine, for people who have not experienced this to understand the weight of that silence and how the absence of language can feel like a death."
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My favorite autobiography we read in WGS 485. Hernandez's writing feels as if she is talking directly to me, and I felt safe with her words. She touched on topics that are very hard, but at the same time, are easy to digest and to think about critically.
Minor Feelings
"Asian Americans inhabit a purgatorial status: neither white enough nor black enough, unmentioned in most conversations about racial identity."
“I have struggled to prove myself into existence.”
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Another one of my favorites we read in WGS 485. Often I feel left out of conversations of race because people frame it as a Black/White issue, which I also feel is another tactic to divide people of color so those in power stay at the top. At first, I didn't really appreciate the writing style, but the message it conveyed was good and I did end up really enjoying it by the end.
