During times of crisis, authors have taken to writing books, folktales, poems, essays, and more to discuss political resistance and social unrest. Since we have BookTok, we now have access to titles striving to make change in uncertain times. With this, we reflect, asking, what do these books and their authors have to say about our world?
When the world is in distress, authors put their thoughts down and write about what’s happening around them. Many novels touch on topics such as racism, sexism, misogyny, feminism, & LGBTQIA+ issues. Topics of war, governmental overreach, fears of a dictator, fascist ideology, authoritarianism, and oppression shed light on current societal standings. Stories unite the themes of life and humanity that we experience.
Books are a part of resisting. Reading other people’s thoughts and experiences opens us up to the stories we didn’t know we were a part of. The resistance to fascist oppression can often lead to discomfort. Yet understanding how our systems are historically set up to hurt people is crucial, despite and perhaps because of the discomfort.
Why be political? Can we just avoid it?
BookTok has been alive with conversations about politics. However, some people believe that BookTok should be a safe space for everyone without bringing real life into it. Are reading spaces meant for only wholesome discussions?
The truth is that reading is political, and books are too. Pretending that they aren’t is a harmful mindset that stunts change and preserves oppressive institutions Marginalized communities can’t escape political discussions, as their mere existence is political. To create change and be a better ally, you must stay educated and aware of political discourse. Separating books from politics is not only impossible but dangerous. In a video, Kevin Norman explains how books are inherently political for marginalized folks, as well as the importance of others speaking up for them.
@kevintnorman Books and Politics. They will always exist together. #books #booktok #bookworm ♬ original sound – Kevin T. Norman
It is a privilege to be able to ignore oppression. When it isn’t happening to you, it can seem less important to recognize and fight against. However, for those who experience it firsthand, it is overwhelming and blatant. Oppression can’t be stopped by ignoring the parts that make you uncomfortable. Resistance is choosing to say the uncomfortable parts out loud, because they need to be said.
Identifying fascism, dictators, and bigotry
Many aspects of the Trump presidency and MAGA fan base are reminiscent of fascism. The Trump administration certainly looks to authoritarian governments with admiration. Understanding such regimes from the inside is crucial to resist the worst that is happening in the US.
How to Spot a Fascist by Umberto Eco
How to Spot a Fascist by Umberto Eco is based on the author’s upbringing in the Mussolini-led dictatorship in Italy. Having grown up in a fascist Italy, Eco uses his life’s experiences to dispel myths, creating a checklist for everyday people to track the rise of fascism. The fourteen criteria serve to identify if anyone, from an elected official to a loved one, is a fascist. Umberto Eco’s list uncovers the veil of deception and replaces it with the clarity of reality. Implementing change requires us to fix the myriad systems that are set up to fail people and keep fascism in power.
The Trump phobia of difference in others, with its emphasis on race, gender, sexuality, weakness, and disability, is fascist in nature. A repeated use of Orwellian language to distort, harm, and discourage critical thinking is also notable. An obsession over conspiracy theories, rejection of modernism, and belief that learning is regression, not advancement, are all likewise signs of fascism.
The administration has already severely cut funding to public news organizations like PBS, NPR, and WFUV that have criticized the administration’s abuse of power. Resistance to the Trump administration’s false views of news organizations is essential. In fascism, the free press doesn’t exist, ensuring that whatever the government and its supporters say is synonymous with truth. Thus, we have to fight for the press to stay free.
LGBTQIA+ and feminist issues throughout history
A 1940s Bible with a verse retranslated to replace the word child with the word man is the origin of most modern anti-LGBTQIA+ activism. The verse “thou shall not lay with man” engendered long-term harm, with queer people being likened to pedophiles.
The Catholic Church then had to contend with accusations of child abuse, which lessened these accusations for a time. Meanwhile, the patriarchy uses division to hold power over all women. When you disenfranchise one sect of women, you put all of them at risk. Pinning women against each other perpetuates oppression and repels resistance.
Outrage by Ellen Jones
Ellen Jones’s Outrage is a deep dive into the history of LGBTQIA+ related issues in the UK and the US. In her book, Jones gives a scathing review of LGBTQIA+ issues as she divulges the history of queer life and society. Outrage doesn’t mince words; it calls out blatant misinformation. Jones highlights historical cases of violence to showcase how the community survived attempts at erasure. Outrage is more than just a book but a form of resistance, calling out the homophobia and fascism that continues to fuel the fire of anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric.
Anti-LGBTQIA+ individuals still use queer people as a scapegoat for child Ironically, some of these people have been arrested for insidious crimes against children themselves. Disrupting this narrative by exposing its lies and hypocrisy constitutes a step against oppression and and toward resistance.
The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed
The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed is a guide for inciting practical change as a feminist by tackling the bigotry itself. Ahmed relays the slippery way that bigotry eludes accountability and how it takes root when it goes unpunished. By explaining how to counteract harmful discourse and knowing when to be a killjoy, Ahmed helps readers resist sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and racism.
Bigotry is a snowball rolling down a mountain, growing bigger and bigger on the way down. One-off comments turn into full-blown stigma unless properly resisted, allowing microaggressions to solidify in people’s minds. Letting these things go is not an option.
Knowing when to fight and when to rest
Rest is important for fighting oppression. It enables the necessary meditative work to combat fascism. When we focus on the constant drudgery of life, we forget what it’s all about: living. But if we are rested, we can better support our communities and fight the oppressive systems in our lives.
Rest rejects the constant capitalist machine of our world. Even if only temporarily, it subverts the power that oppressive systems have over us. Resting is powerful; it’s ours to have and enjoy. To forge a path to freedom, to truly resist, you need to rest.
Rest Is Resistance by Tracy Hersey
In Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey, the author argues that rest is a form of rebellion. The book unpacks capitalism, racism, and white supremacy, while connecting them to racist violence, labor exploitation, the history of enslavement, and health disparities. Secondly, the manifesto reveals how trauma, grief, and exhaustion impact facets of modern life. Hersey portrays rest as a protest to oppressive systems and a method of sparking change.
By using books to band together, we can wrest back the power that the system attempts to take from us. Uplifting our black and brown neighbors strengthens our communities against further harm from fascism. We are stronger when we are united, and that is what fascism fears the most.
What’s race got to do with it?
Race and racial violence are inextricably linked to how people view themselves and each other. Historically, white people wielded systemic power over non-white people. The fight for equality threatens this falsified image that white people developed to feel superior.
White bodies have systemically policed people of color to conform to a desired aesthetic to survive. Twentieth century ads for hair straightening and skin lightening products pressured women of color to adopt the white norm.
Moreover, homophobia and transphobia run rampant in some black communities due to generational fears of AIDS and violence, as well as the repeated failures of the justice system to protect children of color from predators. Yet continued anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric only perpetuates the harm, as many predators end up being white, Christian, and straight. Honoring the black trans women who fought for LGBTQIA+ rights is an important first step in fighting racism, homophobia, and transphobia.
Sexuality, gender, and race
White cisgender women led the early feminist movement and excluded black, LGBTQIA+, and underprivileged women. It was an unspoken belief that feminism was reserved for the privileged. In LGBTQIA+ communities, black lesbians, trans men, and trans women are still frequently omitted from conversations, though they experience violence at a higher rate.
White women need to speak out against microaggressions and legislation that disproportionately affect people of color in their day-to-day lives. The privilege we hold is real, and our voices can be the ones to break the glass ceiling for all women. Anti-LGBTQIA+ figures argue that queerness is new and unnatural, but these identities have existed as long as people have.
Indigenous tribes of the past accepted queer members, even believing that trans and nonbinary people were closer to God and making them high priests and shamans. Catholic colonizers of the “New World” who rejected their beliefs. Indigenous men were and are bullied for their sacred long hair, which was cut at residential schools during “reeducation programs” that inflicted generational damage upon indigenous communities across North America.
Reading for connection and liberation
Reading is more rebellious now than ever before. Going to the library is a great form of resistance, as it supports one of your community’s most integral spaces for learning, social services, and other gatherings. Additionally, Libby is a free resource that provides audiobooks without making you leave the house, and it still supports your local library.
Reading is fundamental to win the war against fascist ideologies, bigotry, and stigma. Staying informed on important and relevant topics improves your ability to form a resistance and fight misinformation and microaggressions. To address white fragility, have productive conversations amid bigotry, and produce meaningful change, just pick up a book. Learning about LGBTQIA+ and queer people, BIPOC, women, and other marginalized identities is a show of support.
We need to protect each other and ourselves. Be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community and the queer people you love, listen to the different kinds of women in your life, and resist fascist ideologies and bigotry. Go rest, go join the resistance, go fight, and go read!
