This is Michael Maxwell with the Sioux City Public Library and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seyward Darby.
Seyward Darby wondered what attracts some white women to hateful groups that most of us would recognize as regressive at best when it comes to women’s rights. In Sisters in Hate, Darby shares what she discovered with readers. Sisters in Hate profiles three women from today’s White Nationalist scene- only one of whom had renounced her racism and antisemitism at the time she was profiled. I was shocked by how open these women were about their behavior, and how completely willing they were to show their ideological cards. Part of the reason I enjoyed this book, I must confess, was the jaw-dropping spectacle of these women saying such reprehensible things.
The meme of the “pick-me girl”, which Dictionary.com describes as a “...woman (who) will do anything for attention or acceptance, similar to a small child who desperately wants to be chosen or noticed” really applies to the women readers meet in Sisters in Hate. There are many interesting twists of logic that can lead someone down a conspiratorial path to extremism, and Darby does a great job of showing how racist women's bad logic often differs from their male counterparts in ways that hide its misogynistic roots. These “sisters in hate” join White Nationalist circles for a cheap sense of purpose and validation, and these groups tell them what they want to hear- which makes them feel like they are in control.
Check out Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seyward Darby and other journalistic deep dives at the Sioux City Public Library today!
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