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441 reviews for:
This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America
Morgan Jerkins
4.03 AVERAGE
441 reviews for:
This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America
Morgan Jerkins
4.03 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
I loved this! It’s a great reflection on the intersection of race and gender, told in an informative yet easy-to-read and funny way. Will recommend!
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Fantastic series of essays chronicling how Jerkins viewed herself, and how she observed the world observing her, through different stages of her life. From grade school, to college at Princeton, to traveling to Japan and Russia, and to the publishing world of NYC, Jerkins shares anecdote after anecdote of her Otherness.
I loaded up the Quotes section of this book, but here's one I really want to highlight:
"We cannot come together if we do not recognize our differences first. These differences are best articulated when women of color occupy the center of the discourse while white women remain silent, actively listen, and do not try to reinforce supremacy by inserting themselves in the middle of the discussion."
I loaded up the Quotes section of this book, but here's one I really want to highlight:
"We cannot come together if we do not recognize our differences first. These differences are best articulated when women of color occupy the center of the discourse while white women remain silent, actively listen, and do not try to reinforce supremacy by inserting themselves in the middle of the discussion."
Listened to the audiobook narrated by the author. Own a signed paperback.
I think this is one to read in print. These essays are long and sweep their arms around many subjects at once, and I'm not sure if it was just an effect of the audio format, but I had difficulty finding the center for many of them.
Additionally, I felt that the author intentionally left a lot out; there was an undercurrent of religion in many of these pieces, and she seems to have been raised in a conservative religious household and absorbed many associated ideas about sex, drugs, partying, etc. I found myself wishing that she would more explicitly address her religion and her own personal faith; when she does, it's only to examine other people, and the church as a social structure rather than how her faith/spirituality influences her thought and daily life. She's very clearly a very spiritual person, but I would've like to see a greater examination of the development and mechanics of her spirituality. There are a lot of references to her complicated relationship with her mother as well, but nothing that actually confronts what seem to be a lot of underlying issues there. Halfway through the book she mentions that she has four sisters, and I was shocked, because judging on her recounting of her life previous to that moment, you would've thought she was an only child.
I don't know what to make of these omissions, or the author's portrayal of her time in Japan as a welcome respite from racial animus, despite the fact that racism is alive and well in Japan. I am also hesitant whenever anyone claims Indigenous descent and then references Native American culture as if it is monolithic.
However, the author writes with honesty, and is clearly ambitious in the scope and depth of her writing. I especially liked her analysis of Beyoncé's Lemonade. She clearly has a passion for her many subjects, and for her overall focus of the power of the individual Black woman and the communal power of Black women in the arts, and I think I'd read further work by her in either the nonfiction or fiction fields, but only in print.
Additionally, I felt that the author intentionally left a lot out; there was an undercurrent of religion in many of these pieces, and she seems to have been raised in a conservative religious household and absorbed many associated ideas about sex, drugs, partying, etc. I found myself wishing that she would more explicitly address her religion and her own personal faith; when she does, it's only to examine other people, and the church as a social structure rather than how her faith/spirituality influences her thought and daily life. She's very clearly a very spiritual person, but I would've like to see a greater examination of the development and mechanics of her spirituality. There are a lot of references to her complicated relationship with her mother as well, but nothing that actually confronts what seem to be a lot of underlying issues there. Halfway through the book she mentions that she has four sisters, and I was shocked, because judging on her recounting of her life previous to that moment, you would've thought she was an only child.
I don't know what to make of these omissions, or the author's portrayal of her time in Japan as a welcome respite from racial animus, despite the fact that racism is alive and well in Japan. I am also hesitant whenever anyone claims Indigenous descent and then references Native American culture as if it is monolithic.
However, the author writes with honesty, and is clearly ambitious in the scope and depth of her writing. I especially liked her analysis of Beyoncé's Lemonade. She clearly has a passion for her many subjects, and for her overall focus of the power of the individual Black woman and the communal power of Black women in the arts, and I think I'd read further work by her in either the nonfiction or fiction fields, but only in print.
I expected to really love this and didn't. The writing felt a bit immature and repetitive at times. Others have pointed out some of Jerkins' inconsistencies in how she talked about vs reacted to street harassment, which I don't think makes her hypocritical, but I would have liked that...disconnect? I don't know what to call it, but would have liked it explored further.
Her tone was also a bit overly moralizing and absolute, which grated a bit. I completely understand the dichotomy of white women being the representation of purity vs BIPOC women, but it felt a bit too binary in her exploration. I also wanted a further exploration of her privilege and how she moved through the world, which felt a bit surface level at times. She does explore it, but I couldn't connected all the threads she was weaving together. It came off as disjointed rather than cohesive.
I think my expectations were just off the mark for this one. I was craving something a little more rigorous and/or academic and this was much more personal and insecure at times. I'd like to read her again when she is feeling secure in her career.
Her tone was also a bit overly moralizing and absolute, which grated a bit. I completely understand the dichotomy of white women being the representation of purity vs BIPOC women, but it felt a bit too binary in her exploration. I also wanted a further exploration of her privilege and how she moved through the world, which felt a bit surface level at times. She does explore it, but I couldn't connected all the threads she was weaving together. It came off as disjointed rather than cohesive.
I think my expectations were just off the mark for this one. I was craving something a little more rigorous and/or academic and this was much more personal and insecure at times. I'd like to read her again when she is feeling secure in her career.
Not too often a book makes me go YES this is how I feel. Morgan brings that to the front. So disappointed I didn't get to meet her at the LA Times Festival of Books this year.
After the first few chapters, I decided I was not a huge fan of this book or the writing style of Morgan Jenkins. While I recognized the brilliance that shone through "How To Be Docile" and "How To Survive", her discussion of #BlackGirlMagic and questioning the narratives of slavery for Black Americans, the delivery was sometimes off-putting and felt like a stream of consciousness rather than an organized essay (which is usually fine!). As a young Black woman, I was part of the target audience and still felt less than thrilled to be reading it when womanhood was reduced to having a vagina or I got lost in between paragraph breaks. Yet, I find myself bringing up many of the points raised in her writings in conversation organically - a sign her work resonated within my brain and inspired more critical analysis of Black womanhood and Blackness in my own life. For that reason, I'm glad the work was published and believe she does deserve recognition for its contribution.
Though I note and agree with many of the critiques of how Jenkins describes her problematic past attitudes, I appreciated her honesty. Not everyone is willing to admit thinking thoughts as negative and dark as she described, especially those that resulted from self-hatred, anti-blackness, misogynoir, misogyny and other undesirable feelings. It's raw and discomforting, to the point where I would agree that the inclusion of some of her emotions may not be productive. Still, it would've been quite easy to take a superior position without recognizing what one had to unlearn to get to this place and she made the choice to air her dirty laundry. That being said, she could've done a much better job prose-wise unpacking these attitudes and her own experiences in Japan throughout the collection to avoid furthering harm. Her other personal stories were generally impactful too, though again, the organization may have helped drive her conclusions home. Overall, I think Morgan Jenkins has things to say worth listening to, like when describing her experiences at Princeton and the paradox of benefitting from/contributing to exploitative institutions as a marginalized person. My concern is that she may lose readers in the process by obscuring her gems and promoting the rocks.
Though I note and agree with many of the critiques of how Jenkins describes her problematic past attitudes, I appreciated her honesty. Not everyone is willing to admit thinking thoughts as negative and dark as she described, especially those that resulted from self-hatred, anti-blackness, misogynoir, misogyny and other undesirable feelings. It's raw and discomforting, to the point where I would agree that the inclusion of some of her emotions may not be productive. Still, it would've been quite easy to take a superior position without recognizing what one had to unlearn to get to this place and she made the choice to air her dirty laundry. That being said, she could've done a much better job prose-wise unpacking these attitudes and her own experiences in Japan throughout the collection to avoid furthering harm. Her other personal stories were generally impactful too, though again, the organization may have helped drive her conclusions home. Overall, I think Morgan Jenkins has things to say worth listening to, like when describing her experiences at Princeton and the paradox of benefitting from/contributing to exploitative institutions as a marginalized person. My concern is that she may lose readers in the process by obscuring her gems and promoting the rocks.
I really really loved and appreciated this book. Morgan Jerkins does such a great job of articulating a lot of what I've felt throughout my life, and assuring me that my thoughts and experiences are valid. A great perspective and piece of insight to help navigate the world around you and to claim your space as a beautiful black woman. Well done. Lol it's now my reference whenever people wanna know how I feel. Point them in this direction!