How Non-Fiction Gave Me White Male Confidence: Reading as a Tool for Education and Resistance
By Florenne Earle Ledger
I’ve had countless discussions (and some arguments) about feminism with strangers, acquaintances, and even family. During these conversations, I always wished to have some kind of statistic or fact to stump these people and magically change their minds, to stop them from writing me off as another angry feminist. After trying to find that perfect piece of ‘evidence’, I started to wonder: why is it that women and marginalised people always have to defend their opinions more than others? As though believing in fair and equal treatment of everyone is something that needs proof to be viewed as a good basis for society.
Sadly, a small portion of the male population finds it funny to wind up women about feminist issues and watch them get increasingly worked up. This kind of mindset is encouraged by Andrew Tate and other far-right voices online. I can’t think of a parallel example where women, LGBTQ+ or people of colour would have any kind of ammo to use against men to belittle their life experience as a form of entertainment. Generally speaking, I don’t think conservative white males have to defend their perspective in the same way as left-wing people – they are accepted as the default. Whilst I’m sure far-right men who feel ‘silenced’ by wokeism would disagree with me, because left-wing politics is often seen as financially impractical and based on purely emotions, it’s often questioned more than the view that social order should go back to how it was in the 1950s.
The widespread belief that it’s ‘a nice idea to treat everyone equally, but it isn’t practical in our current economy’ leads socially liberal people to get overlooked. We’re just too young and naive! Soon, we will understand why cutting spending on public services, doing nothing about the climate crisis and shunting the blame for the state of our country onto immigrants, rather than holding our incompetent government to account, is deemed acceptable.
My growing disappointment and anger towards governing bodies worldwide have led me to find a new love for non-fiction. Not just for the obvious reason that it’s interesting to learn about things I’m passionate about, but because it arms me for better conversations that can be constructive and reminds me that there are people out there who agree with me. Unlike lots of men, I haven’t been socially conditioned to believe I am right all the time. Whilst I can be outspoken about certain things, I have always battled with insecurity that I don’t know enough to share my opinions about the political or societal issues I care about.
Coming from a conservative area in the UK, deep down I always feared I only believed in left-wing politics because I was just trying to be different to the people around me. Even though I knew this wasn’t the case, it was an intrusive thought cycle that made me fear I was a bad person. When I got to university, even though I firmly believed in the socialist ideals people were talking about in my social circles, I still kind of felt like a fraud. It was like I didn’t know enough to claim this as my opinion, even though I strongly aligned with it.
Having read more non-fiction, I found evidence to reaffirm my beliefs. The voices of far-right men who write me off as an angry feminist or a naive lefty no longer ring true in any sense. I now know that my beliefs, which I previously worried were an overly emotional response not fully founded on facts, are opinions developed after learning about the systemic oppression of women, LGBTQ+ people and minority groups. Non-fiction has helped me feel the confidence in my opinions that so many men are born with.
No one should feel they need to read a certain number of books or know XYZ about something to talk about it but educating ourselves (whatever our views) is something I strongly feel everyone should do. Compassion for other people is so important, and learning more about what led us to where we are forces us to confront truths contrary to what the ruling class want us to believe. Governing bodies want us to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world to reaffirm that they know best, but history shows they don’t. Learning more about things you care about is an empowering experience and gives us the chance to resist things we don’t agree with.
Learning doesn’t have to be an experience you go through alone. Discussing books or podcasts with friends and finding out more together helps strengthen your understanding and makes you feel less alone. Today, aligning with the far-left can feel isolating, especially as Labour becomes a more centrist party. Creating my own circles of resistance and education has helped me stay hopeful for positive change, a privilege I am granted as a white cis-gendered woman. Feelings of isolation and lack of representation are tenfold for trans people, disabled people and people of colour.
If you’re feeling lost or disheartened as the world continues to spiral and become increasingly divisive, actioning change and educating yourself further might help you regain a sense of purpose and control in your life.