White Women

Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better

By: Regina Jackson, Saira Rao

Narrated by: Regina Jackson, Saira Rao, Deanna Anthony

Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

A no-holds-barred guidebook aimed at white women who want to stop being nice and start dismantling white supremacy from the team behind Race2Dinner and the documentary film, Deconstructing Karen.

It's no secret that white women are conditioned to be "nice," but did you know that the desire to be perfect and to avoid conflict at all costs are characteristics of white supremacy culture?

As the founders of Race2Dinner, an organization which facilitates conversations between white women about racism and white supremacy, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao have noticed white women's tendency to maintain a veneer of niceness, and strive for perfection, even at the expense of anti-racism work.

In this book, Jackson and Rao pose these urgent questions: how has being "nice" helped Black women, Indigenous women and other women of color? How has being "nice" helped you in your quest to end sexism? Has being "nice" earned you economic parity with white men? Beginning with freeing white women from this oppressive need to be nice, they deconstruct and analyze nine aspects of traditional white woman behavior—from tone-policing to weaponizing tears—that uphold white supremacy society, and hurt all of us who are trying to live a freer, more equitable life.

White Women is a call to action to those of you who are looking to take the next steps in dismantling white supremacy. Your white supremacy. If you are in fact doing real anti-racism work, you will find few reasons to be nice, as other white people want to limit your membership in the club. If you are not ticking white people off on a regular basis, you are not doing it right.

©2022 Regina Jackson (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Deconstructing white women and white supremacy has never been more necessary than it is right now, and I am always looking for ways to learn, grow, shut the F up, and listen. This book gives you the tools to do just that.”–Chelsea Handler

“This book dares to tell necessary truths. The kind of truths that can save lives, and if heard with an open mind and heart—may even help save the soul of this lost nation.”–Frederick Joseph, author of New York Times bestsellers Patriarchy Blues and The Black Friend

"In their recent The New York Times bestseller White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How To Do Better, Jackson and Rao are clearly more interested in confronting and challenging the subtle yet devastating ways that racism shows up than soothing, coaxing and coddling individual egos."–Forbes

An honest and life changing look at yourself

This book made me look inwards in ways I have not done before. I am deeply grateful for the words and the time to reflect. It has never been clearer to me how destructive whiteness is and how urgent it is for white women to start working to dismantle white supremacy and stop trying to be perfect.

I wish I knew all of this sooner.

This was an excellent book. As a white person who identifies as CIS gender woman, living in the United States- or in this world for that matter- there are so many biases I live in (and continue to choose to live in) every day of my life that uphold white supremacy. Regina and Saira opened my eyes, my heart and my body’s response to the responsibility I hold within my white privilege and my own racism. Now I know better and will continue to work to do better. Any white woman that does not like what these authors have to say honestly just speaks volumes; the more you disregard them, the more BIPOC suffer and the more we (white women) suffer within our own racist behavior. We can not heal our own selves until we grapple with what Regina and Saira have to say. No one can be healed; their message is at the heart of what this world needs. Please read this book and do not wait another minute.

This book is a gift

It’s not a feel-good gift — it’s much better. It’s truth. We are all being harmed by white supremacy. I appreciate the honesty and courage of the authors.

Incredible and critically important

A gift, thank you to Ms. Jackson and Ms. Rao for the direct laying it on the line. Every white person should read this - women and men. I’ve done classes, books, exercises to try to understand my own racism (whiteness). This book showed up so much that I’ve missed and gave me a voice for going forward.

True

an honest and clear description of how we as white women are racist in everyday life. I appreciate the time and energy that was put into this book. well written, genuine, and much kinder than we deserve.

MUST READ

I’m so grateful that Regina and Saira wrote this book. It explains so much and has been such a gateway into understanding white supremacy culture. This is a must read for all white women, especially those who profess to care about about equity and justice.

leaning into the discomfort

worth your time, worth your attention, worth the reflection, worth the changes, worth the pain.

As a black woman, I appreciated the information.

love the stories from the different women. help me to realize that these type of things happen to all of us, and how to deal with them

Must read

At times uncomfortable, but in a good way. This book is a no nonsense guide to the system of white supremacy in the US and specifically how white women perpetuate these systems of oppression. I challenge all white women to read or listen to this book and pay close attention to your own reactions. If you feel defensive? That’s a sign that you have work to do. Changing ourselves in a society that bolsters us won’t come naturally, but the work needs to be done.

Every White Woman Should Listen!

A giant thank you to the authors who took the time to write this book. I plan to listen to it again (& again) & use as a resource/reference as I continue to learn how to do better as a white woman