Mediocre

The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

De: Ijeoma Oluo

Narrado por: Ijeoma Oluo

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race, an “illuminating” (New York Times Book Review) history of white male identity.

What happens to a country that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? What happens when success is defined by status over women and people of color, instead of by actual accomplishments?

Through the last 150 years of American history -- from the post-reconstruction South and the mythic stories of cowboys in the West, to the present-day controversy over NFL protests and the backlash against the rise of women in politics -- Ijeoma Oluo exposes the devastating consequences of white male supremacy on women, people of color, and white men themselves. Mediocre investigates the real costs of this phenomenon in order to imagine a new white male identity, one free from racism and sexism.

As provocative as it is essential, this book will upend everything you thought you knew about American identity and offers a bold new vision of American greatness.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Oluo masterfully diagnoses the pervasive plague of white mediocrity. Mediocre serves as a call to action for every person, regardless of race or gender, to actively resist white male mediocrity's hold."—Kimberlé Crenshaw, Executive Director, African American Policy Forum, and Professor, UCLA and Columbia Law Schools

"Oluo is one of our great voices and Mediocre not only educates us, but it inspires us all to act and change the world for the better. But first, I need to read this book again. It's just that damn good."—Phoebe Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of You Can't Touch My Hair

"Mediocre offers profound truth in service of liberation. It cuts to the heart of white male supremacy, a system that is life-destroying for people of color and even for white men ourselves."—Matt McGorry, Actor, How To Get Away With Murder and Orange is the New Black, Activist, and Co-Founder of Inspire Justice

"In her illuminating new book, Ijeoma Oluo unpacks how 'mediocrity' is a privilege created and perpetuated by our obsession with white male superiority. Oluo deftly balances the cultural history of white western male myth-making with contemporary cultural criticism of the aggrieved white American man. It is a deft and thought-provoking book that contextualizes public discourse on race, class, and gender in America."—Tressie Mcmillan Cottom, author of the National Book Award Finalist Thick

"Once again, Ijeoma Oluo uses her elegant voice to speak directly to the root issues at the core of the United States' seeming inability to reconcile who we have been with who we had hoped to be. This book goes beyond how we got here, and digs into where we are, what we're going to do about it, and what's at stake if the people with the most power refuse to do better."—Ashley C. Ford, writer

"Nuanced, uncomfortable, and illuminating."—Washington Post

"Ijeoma Oluo's sharp yet accessible writing about the American racial landscape made her 2018 book, So You Want to Talk About Race, an invaluable resource for anyone looking to understand and dismantle racist structures. Her new book, Mediocre, builds on this exemplary work, homing in on the role of white patriarchy in creating and upholding a system built to disenfranchise anyone who isn't a white male."—TIME

"Ijeoma's revelatory and visionary new book confronts disturbing hidden histories that vibrate throughout our institutions and communities today. The connections and insights in Mediocre make it an essential read."—Austin Channing Brown, New York Times bestselling author of I'm Still Here

Do yourself a favor and read this book!

This book examines the trauma of white male supremacy on all people including white males. it is done with thoughtfulness and world class thoughtfulness. Ijeoma Oluo speaks in the direct yet hopeful spirit of the Hebraic prophets. Ijeoma Oluo, thank you for this work!

amazing writing amazing talent.

so smart, so thoughtful, extremely captivating. The work behind this book is so appreciated. Beautiful, thank you. 💛🙏💛

the system works as designed

A rare look at how racism and sexism have particularly shaped the modern white male.

I will encourage everyone I know to read/ listen to this.

The book we need right now

The writing is very easy to take in despite the loaded subject. It’s very helpful to have historical context for the behavior we see in headlines and in everyday moments. And definitely one of the best “read by the author” audiobook performances I’ve heard in a while.

powerful! an absolute must read

I cannot express how amazing this book is. as a white man reading it I was shocked, angry, ashamed, and so many more feelings but they were all 100% necessary. every single person with a shred of decency or care regarding racial inequality, white supremacy, and/or feminism absolutely should read this book

Masterpiece

Ijeoma Oluo continues to pull me up from the depths of exhaustion and apathy over the world we live in with her hard truths, wry takes, and the life giving balm of hope. Can’t recommend this book and her other writings enough. Please. Read . It. All.

Excellent perspective!

I learned a great deal. I respect the courage it took to share her personal experiences and understanding in addition to the information and historical perspectives.

A Much Needed Read for All

Thorough research. Clarity. Should be read by all who care about America's continued forward progress. The country needs more courageous women like her.

A heartfelt plea...

The fact that the author is also the voice talent makes for an authentic listening experience that is more cathartic testimony and heartfelt plea than simple narration - particularly in the way she describes and indicts the ideas and institutions of violence that are both promoted and commodified in America.

I believe what Oluo puts forth is bitter medicine - not only for white men to hear (particularly when their spirit is seized in the clutches of such despair and self-loathing)...but also in regard to the role that patriarchy plays in the perpetuation of violence and domination among all men (speaking as one) - in relation to ourselves, each other and everybody else.

Kudos Ijeoma...I salute your willingness to be so courageous, thoughtful and vulnerable in writing such an important book.

Excellent Excellent Excellent

If this was required reading for every white 16 year old in the US the world would be a different place