very insightful approach to this current trend of mostly white feminists, as a latina who lives in latin america it made for an interesting read, specifically how it touched on how this toxic positive feminism affects poc women

thank you to net galley for the e-Arc in exchange of my honest review

I loved how this book broke down what it means to be “mean” in todays climate as a white woman and how this affects black and brown people (especially women) in the process. I especially loved the ways it intersected with politics and motherhood.

The fourth chapter’s section on Laura Bush was incredible and I found myself highlighting long sections at a time discussing the intersection of The First Lady as a figurehead that allows discourse to be shifted towards horrifying routes without the accountability of an actual public and political figure. Below are two of my favorite points from this section.

“[…] the First Lady can make arguments without providing the verifiable data that founds her fear, but yet her fear can in turn “become a generative principle of formation for rule.”[65]. Any factual error made by the First Lady is more or less pardonable because she is unelected, outside of party lines, and not privy to discussions on policy-making.”


“Bush mobilized global motherhood not only through her own performativity but also through her rhetoric of liberal war’s possibility in producing Afghan women as good mothers of and for their own communities.”

Thanks to NetGalley and University of Illinois Press for this ARC.

Some professors reference classic books to illustrate human behavior. Instead of using qualitative or quantitative methods to draw her conclusions, Kim Hong Nguyen uses television shows and former presidents’ wives to illustrate hers.

Nguyen’s feminist media study identifies four types of mean girl feminism in North America. She says “If …feminism is a struggle rather than ‘a lifestyle [or] a ready-made identity or role’- then naming power’s strategies and the people and subject positions that may be performing those strategies is part of the feminist struggle.”

Nguyen deconstructs mean girl feminism in order to move beyond the politics and cliques it creates. She hopes that feminism eventually will be decolonized and lead to a feminism that will benefit the subaltern and eventually lead to mean girl feminism’s dissolution because it will no longer be relevant.

After the first and second wave of feminism, there is post-feminism. This study is an attempt to unite all eras of feminism into a world where women can treat each other as equals without the intrusion of class and color or even religion.

This is a great book discussing modern feedback with examples everyone knows or feels a direct link to. Although parts were a bit long winded, I could see this being used in a college course

An informative read for every white woman who is a feminist!!!!! It covers multiple topics or themes with real world examples. Very well-written!

As a white woman who identifies as a feminist, this felt like a really important book for me to sit down with. It left a lasting impact on my thoughts regarding mainstream feminism and I will definitely be sharing with others in this demographic!

I had noticed that there has been a shift lately in how people interact and present online so it was really interesting to see the different dynamic in this and how feminism has changed with the Mean Girl mentality.

Such a great book for the modern women on feminism and how girls treat and socialize with o e another in society. I found it to be such an engrossing read snd I look forward to sharing more thoughts snd discussion points soon.