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maiakobabe 's review for:
Living a Feminist Life
by Sara Ahmed
I listened to this as an audiobook because it is referenced so often in my very favorite podcast Secret Feminist Agenda. Host Hannah McGregor did a wonderful interview the author, Sara Ahmed, in the final episode of season 3. Ahmed grew up in Australia with a white mother and a Pakistani father as one of few POC students in her elementary schools. She is a lesbian, a PhD scholar, a professor, and long-time writer of the Feminist Killjoys blog. Her feminism is queer, intersectional and trans-inclusive. This is a scholarly book but it was a pretty easy listen as the writing itself leans more poetic and then dense. Much of it is about reactions to feminists speaking up in private or public spaces, and how words (such as "killjoy") are used against feminists and how they can be retaken. Ahmed references work she has done in previous books including the themes of willful subjects, sweaty concepts and walls. The middle portion of the book includes interviews with people doing diversity work at universities, followed by reflections on several films. The final portion includes Ahmed's Killjoy Survival Kit and Feminist Manifesto. This was a very thought-provoking text to listen to while I was drawing, but I am also aware than my comprehension is much higher when I read than when I listen, so hopefully I will have time to get a copy of this book in print to underline and highlight.