1 of 1 copy available
Winner of the 2022 ABA Silver Gavel Award for Books
From the woman who gave the landmark testimony against Clarence Thomas as a sexual menace, a new manifesto about the origins and course of gender violence in our society; a combination of memoir, personal accounts, law, and social analysis, and a powerful call to arms from one of our most prominent and poised survivors.
In 1991, Anita Hill began something that's still unfinished work. The issues of gender violence, touching on sex, race, age, and power, are as urgent today as they were when she first testified. Believing is a story of America's three decades long reckoning with gender violence, one that offers insights into its roots, and paths to creating dialogue and substantive change. It is a call to action that offers guidance based on what this brave, committed fighter has learned from a lifetime of advocacy and her search for solutions to a problem that is still tearing America apart.
We once thought gender-based violence—from casual harassment to rape and murder—was an individual problem that affected a few; we now know it's cultural and endemic, and happens to our acquaintances, colleagues, friends and family members, and it can be physical, emotional and verbal. Women of color experience sexual harassment at higher rates than White women. Street harassment is ubiquitous and can escalate to violence. Transgender and nonbinary people are particularly vulnerable.
Anita Hill draws on her years as a teacher, legal scholar, and advocate, and on the experiences of the thousands of individuals who have told her their stories, to trace the pipeline of behavior that follows individuals from place to place: from home to school to work and back home. In measured, clear, blunt terms, she demonstrates the impact it has on every aspect of our lives, including our physical and mental wellbeing, housing stability, political participation, economy and community safety, and how our descriptive language undermines progress toward solutions. And she is uncompromising in her demands that our laws and our leaders must address the issue concretely and immediately.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 28, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593451472
- File size: 309107 KB
- Duration: 10:43:58
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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January LaVoy's narration precisely reflects Anita Hill's call to effect real change in the institutional acceptance of gender violence against women, men, and nonbinary individuals. LaVoy expertly delivers Hill's cringe-worthy examples of actual instances of mansplaining, victim blaming, flat-out denial, and gaslighting, showing how these tactics reinforce society's complex structures of sexism, racism, and misogynistic attitudes. While Black women experience a higher instance of sexual harassment than white women, transgender and nonbinary people are also particularly vulnerable. Hill draws parallels between the Kavanaugh hearings and Dr. Ford's allegations of his sexual misconduct and her own devastating dismissal by senators and VIPs at the Thomas hearings. Hill's deeply affecting work to promote a progressive women's agenda is made even better by LaVoy's intelligent presentation. This is a must-listen. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from July 5, 2021
Gender-based violence is a systemic problem that, if left unsolved, will be passed “onto our children like some cruel inheritance,” according to this incisive and impassioned account from Brandeis law professor Hill (Reimagining Equality). Recounting her career as an anti-sexual harassment activist after testifying against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991, Hill details how universities protect their finances and reputations by creating anti-harassment policies that provide institutional cover without changing student experiences, and contends that young people have “inherited university and workplace cultures where gender aggression is practiced to the point of normalization.” She also highlights problems with relying on the criminal justice system to protect the survivors of sexual abuse, noting how racist stereotypes lead to the dismissal of allegations made by Black and Indigenous women, in particular. Throughout, Hill relates her personal experiences to the bigger picture, describing how the public response to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh recapitulated her own experiences decades earlier, and expressing disappointment that Joe Biden’s 2019 apology to Hill did not address the impact her hostile treatment by the Senate Judiciary Committee had on the national psyche. Hill’s inspiring personal history, eloquently constructed arguments, and dogged persistence in shining a light on the topic make this an essential look at the fight against misogyny. Agent: Wes Neff, LeighCo.
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