The Feminist Killjoy Handbook
The Radical Potential of Getting in the Way
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
A renowned feminist thinker argues we need to get in the way of happiness, our own and other people’s, to build a more just world
Do you refuse to laugh at offensive jokes? Have you ever been accused of ruining dinner by pointing out your companion’s sexist comment? Are you often told to stop being so “woke”? If so, you might be a feminist killjoy—and this handbook is for you. In this book, feminist theorist Sara Ahmed shows how killing joy can be a radical world-making project.
Presenting sharp analysis of literature, film, and influential feminist works, and drawing on her own experiences as a queer feminist scholar-activist of color, Ahmed reveals the invaluable lessons of the feminist killjoy, from the importance of asking questions to the power of the eye roll. The Feminist Killjoy Handbook offers an outstretched hand to feminist killjoys everywhere and an essential intellectual guide to the transformative power of getting in the way.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Feminist scholar Ahmed (Complaint!) delves into popular culture, literature, and philosophy in this fervent manifesto. Arguing that feminists must embrace a "feminist killjoy" ethos (a reference to the way feminists are often perceived as scolds and spoilsports), she draws on the work of theorists, activists, and poets—including Roxane Gay, Angela Davis, and Adrienne Rich—to reconstruct the negative archetype as an empowering ideal. She provides guidance for feminist killjoy activism, citing as an example her own support for students who lodged sexual harassment complaints at the University of London, where she worked, leading to her resignation in 2016. Through a process of analytical inquiry, Ahmed defines numerous "killjoy truths" ("if happiness requires turning away from violence, happiness is violence"; "discomfort reveals worlds"), which are gathered in a section at the end of the book. She writes with conviction and dedication, and while the narrative's framework is theoretical (deploying such terms as "affect aliens" and "exteriority"), Ahmed brings impressive clarity to a field of study that is often opaque in the hands of others. Admirers of Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts should take note.
