No More Nice Girls

April 13, 2020
Canadian journalist McKeon follows F-Bomb: Dispatches from the War on Feminism with a trenchant assessment of modern feminism’s successes and failures. Asserting that true equality will only come from women and minorities working to create it outside of patriarchal systems, McKeon critiques the “power gap” that prevents female politicians and corporate executives from acquiring real authority or escaping gendered harassment, the “infantilizing drivel” of a #GirlBoss confidence industry that tells young women they can overcome structural iniquity by trying harder, and women’s workspaces that cater to the white and affluent. Promoting “a new vision of power that values qualities such as collaboration and consensus building,” and an end to the idea that women should be beneficiaries rather than agents of change, McKeon praises N.Y.C.’s Feminist Camp and 18-year-old Zambian activist Natasha Mwansa’s unapologetic demand for more youth and female involvement in policy decisions. McKeon is most enlightening on subjects matching her specific background, including Canadian gender politics and the power dynamics of the internet, but her plea for women to build “oppositional power” will resonate with feminists of all backgrounds. This witty and uncompromising call to action pushes the right buttons.

February 15, 2020
Canadian journalist and author of F-Bomb (2018) McKeon takes a long hard look at why women continue to struggle with patriarchy. While she points out that the number of women in political power and top executive positions isn't as dire as often reported, she also notes that those women are held to much higher, if not downright impossible standards, from their male counterparts. The problem, McKeon asserts, is that women are coming up short because they're playing by the rules established by the patriarchy. as well as operating under the false assumption that women can change these patriarchal systems simply because they wish to do so. She cites women-only spaces and companies founded and run by women as positive advancements, while acknowledging that they're not without pitfalls as well when they exclude women of color or non-binary people. "Equality is not a DIY endeavor," McKeon writes, positing that if the systems are to change, men and women must dismantle them together. Her vital, keenly insightful work is a must-read for anyone hoping to contribute to these changes for the better.WOMEN IN FOCUS(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)