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

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

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

White women, read this!

It says it in the title, we white women already know we have this racism inside us. Let’s read and listen to this book to hear it, sit with it and work on it. Do better, white women.

A power call to action!

Recommended by my fellow white girlfriends, I’ve gone on to recommend it to others…
This thought-provoking read is confronting and uncomfortable, but essential for anyone willing to acknowledge their own conscious or unconscious racism and challenge their personal biases.
A valuable resource that supports conversations about equity and efforts against white supremacy.

Awesome

Narration’s great. Message is powerful. Highly pertinent to how it is out there right now. Essential reading/listening, but be advised: put your own feelings and notions away in a pocket and keep ‘em there till you’re done. Let these ladies talk and you just listen! You’ll be glad you did.

Uncomfortable and that’s ok!

If there’s anything I have learned about dismantling racism within myself, it is that it is uncomfortable work. But just because I’m uncomfortable does not mean it’s not worth doing and not incredibly important. This book is like a slap in the face but one I desperately needed. There were so many times that the authors would say “. . . this is when you (a white women) say ‘Not me, I don’t do/think/say that’, yes you do”. And I would have been thinking to myself “well I dont do/think/say that” and I was called out each time. Beautiful written and incredibly important to read.

Oooof

Rough to hear. Especially the chapter on white feminism. I have a lot of changing to do. So many important messages but especially white silence is violence. And that looking through only gender is racist and privileged. Thank you.

Vital Read for White Women

So good. So important. Beautifully narrated. A generous offering of work for us all to learn from. I loved it so much and will share with all white women I know. So grateful

Deep Dive Into Truth

If you are not ready to face your own issues and insecurities about race, or are not ready to make serious changes in your life after learning truths, don’t read this book.

SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE, NOT REALLY

I'm a black Muslim woman, I feel what these writers are saying is so true! I payed attention to the things the writers saying and looking back see how the white women did and does these things..WOW YOU HIT IT ON THE NAIL LADIES..THANKS