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Top of the pile
94
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
93/100Critics
96/100Scholars
94/100Author:
Ijeoma Oluo
Publisher:
Seal Press
Date:
December 1, 2020
A history of American white male identity by the author of So You Want to Talk About Race imagines a merit-based, non-discriminating model while exposing the actual costs of successes defined by racial and sexual dominance.
What The Reviewers Say
... searing.
... the text is not simply a catalogue of terror; it is a conversational call to action, an urging to rewrite our definition of White manhood and diminish the power it holds. Oluo is asking us to evaluate the myths America tells itself about itself, see the violence within, be honest about the perpetrators and the victims, and then tell different stories. Truer ones. But she is also inviting us, on occasion, to chuckle. There is levity and voice in Mediocre, which Oluo dedicates to 'Black womxn.' The work presents nuanced historical accounts and analyses of America’s westward expansion, education system, mistreatment of women in workplaces, politics and sports, while interjecting the author’s personality and personal history..
... a deep-dive into socio-political research, research that ends up being personally traumatic and triggering for [Oluo], into just how unjust the patriarchal world is and proposes a solution.
... a wide-ranging study of white, male identity.
