It's no secret that women in contemporary society are conditioned to be "nice," but did you know that an emphasis on being polite and an avoidance of conflict are characteristics of white supremacy culture? As the founders of Race2Dinner, an organization which facilitates conversations between white women about racism and white supremacy, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao have noticed white women's tendency to maintain a veneer of niceness, and strive for perfection, even at the expense of anti-racist work.In this book, Jackson and Rao pose tough questions such as, how has being "nice" helped Black women, Indigenous women and women of color? Has being "nice" helped white women in their quest to end sexism? Has being "nice" earned white women economic parity with white men? Beginning with freeing white women readers from a commitment to niceness that upholds oppression, Jackson and Rao deconstruct and analyze nine aspects of traditional white woman behavior--from tone-policing to weaponizing tears--that uphold white supremacy society, and hurt all of us who are trying to live an equitable life.With a radically honest, real-talk style, White Women is a call to action to white women looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy. As Jackson and Rao state, yes, it may be triggering, but without a trigger we have no shot.
An instant New York Times Bestseller!
A no-holds-barred guidebook aimed at white women who want to stop being nice and start dismantling white supremacy from the team behind Race2Dinner and the documentary film, Deconstructing Karen
It's no secret that white women are conditioned to be "nice," but did you know that the desire to be perfect and to avoid conflict at all costs are characteristics of white supremacy culture?
As the founders of Race2Dinner, an organization which facilitates conversations between white women about racism and white supremacy, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao have noticed white women's tendency to maintain a veneer of niceness, and strive for perfection, even at the expense of anti-racism work.
In this book, Jackson and Rao pose these urgent questions- how has being "nice" helped Black women, Indigenous women and other women of color? How has being "nice" helped you in your quest to end sexism? Has being "nice" earned you economic parity with white men? Beginning with freeing white womenfrom this oppressive need to be nice, they deconstruct and analyze nine aspects of traditional white woman behavior--from tone-policing to weaponizing tears--that uphold white supremacy society, and hurt all of us who are trying to live a freer, more equitablelife.
White Women is a call to action to those of you who are looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy.Your white supremacy.If you are in fact doingrealanti-racism work, you will find few reasons to be nice, as other white people want to limit your membership in the club. If you are not ticking white people off on a regularbasis, you are not doing it right.
