Living a feminist life

Sara Ahmed is known for her theoretical work on emotion, most notably for her monography The Cultural Politics of Emotion (Ahmed 2004) that was well received in Affect Studies and wider humanities. Until 2016, she held a position as a professor for Race and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK. She resigned from her position to protest against the university’s hesitant handling of a sexual harassment case.¹ If anyone has ‘street credibility’ as a feminist-of-colour scholar and activist, it is Sara Ahmed.

Her latest book contains an intense phenomenological description of the experiences of ‘diversity workers’ in universities. Living a Feminist Life features figures like the ‘affect alien’ and ‘killjoy’ that have already been received in a few Disability Studies publications (cf. Goodley, Liddiard, and Runswick-Cole 2018; Tsakiri 2018).

Ahmed understands feminist subjectivity as self-assigned intellectual and emotional work, as consciousness of situations that demand a response. Her intersectional approach asks how sexism, racism, heteronormativity as well as homonormativity are reproduced.

The book is divided into three parts that are framed by an introduction and two conclusions.

In the first part, ‘Becoming Feminist’, Ahmed describes the process of becoming a feminist. Reflecting on personal experiences growing up, the author argues that ‘Feminism Is Sensational’ (Chapter 1), and thus based on worldly experiences that can be difficult, painful and moving: ‘Through feminism you make sense of wrongs; you realize that you are not in the wrong’ (38). ‘On Being Directed’ (Chapter 2) analyses the way power operates when orienting us (also as parents) towards goals, objects and imagined futures that are supposed to make us happy: ‘Wanting happiness can mean wanting the child to be in line to avoid the costs of not being in line’ (51). ‘Affect aliens’ are not affected in the right way. In ‘Willfulness and Feminist Subjectivity’ (Chapter 3), the author deconstructs the notion of wilfulness as the gendered (and racialized) expectations of whose will (and subjectivity) will be read as legitimate and whose critique will be heard as imposing one’s will on others. The figure of the feminist killjoy is being blamed for pointing out something wrong: ‘When you expose a problem you pose a problem’ (37).

In the second part, ‘Diversity Work’, Ahmed frames diversity work in universities as feminist work and an ethnographic contribution to feminist theory. This part of the book sequels her previous monography On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (Ahmed 2012). When diversity workers as ‘institutional killjoys’ (99) are ‘Trying to Transform’ (Chapter 4) organizations that do not live up to their symbolic ideals (e.g. equality, diversity), they get into ‘Being in Question’ (Chapter 5): Diversity work is usually delegated to members of minorities; as the norms of an institution only fit certain groups, the legitimate presence of others is questioned. For some, mere existence becomes political labour. The organizational resistance to structural change and the unawareness of privileges makes diversity work frustrating; diversity workers regularly encounter figurative ‘Brick Walls’ (chapter 6) which have material consequences. As the organization is not transformed, its members are annoyed by the repeated pointing out of the need to change. A paper trail replaces action: ‘The work you do to expose what is not being done is used as evidence of what has been done’ (111).

In the third part, ‘Living the Consequences’, Ahmed elaborates on how to handle (mocking to hostile) reactions towards feminism. In her understanding, struggle also generates resources and energy in the form of creativity, bonds and hopeful utopias. In ‘Fragile Connections’ (Chapter 7) the author shows how locating causality is political – who damages and who is being damaged. It does not surprise, then, when relationships are shattered in the course of unsuccessful struggles against injustice. The ‘Feminist Snap’ (Chapter 8) is a reaction to pressure but is often misunderstood as violent: ‘Pressure is hard to notice unless you are under that pressure. Snap is only the start of something because of what we do not notice’ (189). Breaking free from exhausting relationships (and damaging ideas) makes space for new, sustaining bonds. ‘Lesbian Feminism’ (Chapter 9) explores new ways of women relating to women. Reactions to this refusal to identify with male culture are telling about sexism and compulsory heterosexuality.

Although the author is predominantly known for her work in Gender, Queer and Race Studies, Ahmed does reflect on dis/ability. She instances several examples that refer to accessibility and accommodation (109, 113–114 and 183–184), secrecy, silence and shame around disability (181) and able-bodied privilege (182). Further, she acknowledges the affinities of Crip and queer notions and politics, and calls for a Crip ethics:

we have to create room for bodies that do not obey commands, that do not move in straight lines, that lose their balance; a body that is less stable is less supported by a ground that is less stable. (182)

Her elaborations on speech and body politics around a visible or ambiguous minority status, passing and curious questions asked by strangers (115–134), on attributed sadness (49 and 194) and on being selectively affected by suffering (32) can easily be imported to Disability Studies.

Disability Studies has a lot to learn from this book – especially because of its hopeful turn in the two conclusions (‘A Killjoy Survival Kit’ and ‘A Killjoy Manifesto’) that invite us to embrace the position of the ‘killjoy’. Living a Feminist Life cuts across Sara Ahmed’s multi-faceted work addressing questions such as the following: why and how we are complicit with cultures that reproduce inequalities; how the political effects the personal right down to family life; how critique is dismissed; how negative notions can be reclaimed for collective political work; and so forth. The book can provide a rich archive for diversity workers and activists, and anyone wanting to understand how privilege works.

Living a Feminist Life is accessible to read due to the picturesque language, drawing on reflections of personal experiences throughout the author’s life: ‘This book is personal. The personal is theoretical’ (10).

Yvonne Wechuli
Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation,
University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
[email protected]

Notes

1 See https://www.saranahmed.com/bio-cv. Accessed 14 June 2019.