I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Someone really needed to say everything in this book. I’m surprised it took as long as it did, but I am awfully grateful that she said it now

4.5 stars

Another great book by the eloquent Ijeoma Oluo. She deftly tackles many of the ways that white male supremacy permeates our society. Obviously, this book was written before the Pandemic and George Floyd’s Murder. I’d love to hear the author’s thoughts on those topics.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm a big Ijemoa Oluo fan, and I already use her other book So You Want to Talk About Race in my courses. This book is the perfect intersectional look at whiteness and masculinity. This book is more "academic" than her other book, but it still has the same readability and style that Oluo is known for. The book covers a wide variety of topics, including Biden's record with busing, the history of Buffalo Bill, and white men's attacks on higher education, all with a combination of in-depth history and personable examples. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to understand how whiteness and masculinity are intertwined in the U.S. today.

I want to write a more thorough review of the book and explore some of the concepts in it, but I need give it a few read-throughs before I say I'm finished. But right now, I do want to give some "brief" thoughts about why you should read it.

Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre explores history and personal experiences, not so much to prescribe to a solution as much to recognize symptoms of white supremacy and the patriarchy, and especially how those two enjoin, (including how these systems harm white men themselves). I think Ijeoma Oluo's Mediocre is going to provoke interesting conversations when it's released. I fear that many people will simply cherry-pick parts of the book without examining it in its totality to meet their preconceived opinions. Ijeoma Oluo doesn't deserve a half-assed reading, even if you don't think you'll agree with everything she says.

I fear that white men won't pick it up (but they should) and those that do, won't be reflective about it and instead become overwhelmed by white male guilt as exemplified by know-it-allism. I say this as a white guy who was afraid to read the book because in my head mediocrity is a concept and word specifically designed to oppress people through structures and ideals of better-than-you. Even after reading the extremely well-done "So You Want to Talk About Race?" I was worried she would simply call white men mediocre and call it day. Why? Because I too buy into society's bullshit whether I like it or not.

There are many books about white rage, white male rage, male rage, men's insecurities, white men's insecurities, but what Ijeoma Oluo adds is her particular approachable style and a contemporary context that doesn't forget how the past's informs our actions and behaviors today, specifically in regard to how we as white men treat and view people who are not coded into picture perfect images of white supremacy and the patriarchy as not worthy of being heard or alive.

I don't just want to encourage everyone to read it but to read it more than once. I've read it once and upon my second reading I've already discovered parts I've missed and various subtleties. The prose is not complex or remotely obscurantist, it's just that it's an extremely approachable book, with approachable prose, and it's not hard to blow through it and miss some of the points. This is not criticism of the writer, she crafted the prose wonderfully. This is more of a warning for those of us who have internet age inspired impatience or white guy guilt taking over our brain.

“These injustices are not passed down by God; they are not produced by any entity greater than ourselves. These oppressive systems were built by people – with our votes, our money, our hiring decision – and they can be unmade by people.”

Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo is brilliant. Part history, part sociological study, part personal narrative, she expertly combines these three perspectives into an indescribably necessary text for our times. I think there will be many readers (particularly white readers like myself, possibly mostly men) who will dismiss this book without reading it, making assumptions about what it will say. I hope those readers will give it a chance.

Oluo describes the way white men in the U.S. live in a society crafted by them and for them. I think many of us think this means white men have fewer problems than the rest of us, particularly compared to people who are marginalized on the basis of more than one identity they hold. But Oluo points out that this socialization of white men leads to a cycle of harm: when you are taught that all your needs and desires should be by default, but the systems are designed to prevent us all from meeting our full needs and desires, any barrier you face feels like a failing. We can all understand feeling angry or unseen when adversity rears its head at us; but in a society which says, “white men can achieve anything,” adversity feels like an indicator that white men aren’t receiving their due. This breeds resentment and anger, and it is often misplaced. She tracks this theme through expertly researched history and astute observations of current events in politics, education, voting, housing, worker's rights, sports, and more.

Oluo speaks to a cultural moment in which many people are afraid of each other. We wonder if we have an acquaintance who is the next school shooter, we question is our male boss will make untoward comments, we realize that we are often one powerful person’s decision away from homelessness, or joblessness, or even death. We wonder why on earth so many people can be swayed by populist leaders, particularly when those most swayed don’t experience the same difficulties as others who have the most valid frustrations with U.S. society. But this is not a new phenomenon. We are experiencing the result of hundreds of years of socialization, much of which we do not notice because it is so second nature. Oluo makes that socialization salient, and helps us recognize what is in the air we breathe, so to speak. And once we notice it, she reminds us – humans created this moment, and we can imagine and create better, too. She notes that anger and resentment and a desire for power at the cost of others is not inherent to whiteness or maleness, but these traits have been intertwined with both concepts. She imagines a liberation where white men can live free from their inner turmoil of self-expectations and anger and the rest of us can live free from their outward aggression resulting from years of hurt and lies.

I am thankful to Oluo for taking on the draining, difficult task of recounting centuries of violence, trauma, and hatred. I am grateful to her for remaining steadfast when she is attacked for speaking truth to power. And I encourage every person in this country to read this book, and to wonder why she takes such harsh criticism if her words were so blatantly untrue. Truth makes power uncomfortable, makes power lash out. This book is truth. Thank you, Ms. Oluo. Thank you to NetGalley Books for the opportunity to read and review.

This is an excellent book that is extremely relevant. Racism is systematic what keeps it in place is white supremacy which occurs in all facets of the society we live in. Only an understanding how it influences every portion of society can we truly heal the World of this epidemic. I would highly recommend this informative book.