Book recommendation: “Hood Feminism” by Mikki Kendall

There are books that inspire you by being hopeful and there are books that inspire you by making you angry. This is the one closer to it.

It's not a super new book but it's definitely super good. As the subtitle makes clear, Kendall's central thesis is that mainstream feminism in the United States has been anything but inclusive, despite being "a movement that draws much of its strength from the claim that it represents over half of the world's population." In prose that is clean, crisp, and cutting, Kendall reveals how feminism has both failed to take into account populations too often excluded from the banner of feminism and failed to consider the breadth of issues affecting the daily lives of millions of women. She focuses again and again on the need to expand the range of what is considered a feminist issue. For example, women are disproportionately affected by housing instability, so "feminism can't afford to leave any woman behind — not cis, trans, disabled, sex workers, you name it — and their housing has to be treated as a priority by every organization that advocates for the rights of women."

I find this book is such an important catalyst for the conversation that will require serious work, but it is the work that any of us who call ourselves feminists must commit to. We must recognize, as Kendall does when she quotes the poet Gwendolyn Brooks: "We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond."

Have you read this book? Are you planning to? Do share your thoughts below!