Sara Ahmed

The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed is a book that contains so much valuable information, and offers so much support to help people speak up, but I found the actual reading of it to be disjointed. That is probably too strong a word, but in that direction.

I definitely qualify as a killjoy, for a long time I was that person who would speak up in "inappropriate" settings or take things "too seriously." My thinking is that as a male who is generally perceived as white (which I mostly am, but many whites have an all or nothing mindset and I usually, to strangers or casual acquaintances, fall into their group) I am often in situations where silence is considered agreement. Since I hate for people to think I believe certain things, I will speak up. So many of the things in this book are easy for me to relate to. Well, as far as the act of being a killjoy. What I don't have is a lot of the personal experience that makes some acts more, well, personal.

Though I didn't find the writing to my liking, I also didn't dislike it, I just found myself having to step away more often than I would have liked. Fortunately, most of the theorists and writers Ahmed cites are the same ones I studied and taught, so that made me want to reengage every time I disengaged.

For those who like the style, this is both a strong call to action as well as a place someone can return when the act of speaking up and acting out wears you down and you need a reenergizing pep talk. My hope is that more people will want to be a killjoy since the goal is not to kill joy so much as remake society in a better and more equitable form.

I have no problem recommending this to anyone who wants to know how to contribute. Take what you need now and grow into the parts you will need later. We all need to be reminded, especially if we're some place where we are constantly speaking up, that we are not alone.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)