Complicit No More

“Complicit No More” is a collection of essays curated by Yasmin Gunaratnam. It tackles the crosscutting facets of complicity as they play out within our relationships to our bodies, each other, our communities, to media representations and to mobilisation.

- In “Toxic Wars” vs. Conscientious Feminism Minna Salami's draws upon cross-cultural activism and dialogue to offer 'Conscientious Feminism' as an antidote to 'toxic feminism' and an ethical 'compass that can be used to navigate the labyrinth of oppression'.

- Touched by Patsey's struggles in the Oscar winning film '12 Years a Slave', Karen Williams' describes how the film helped her to recognise and articulate the depths of latter day racism in her own 'Public Life of Intimate Violence'

- In 'Washing Our Dirty Linen in Public' Sukhwant Dhaliwal reflects on 25 years of Women Against Fundamentalism, a coalition of women brought together in the aftermath of the Rushdie affair. For Dhaliwal, control of women’s bodies and minds lies at the heart of all religious fundamentalism.

- Carolyn Wysinger takes us on a journey into the corporate workplace, where as the 'first boi in' her inventive transgression of gender dress codes also means getting used to 'the daily stares, the interested glances of some and the disdain of others.'

- Stunning traditional henna designs on hands, backs and legs are the subject of artist Hina Ali's photo essay, exploring skin as a 'repository of honour & canvass of oppression'.

- What use is diversity in popular culture when it still conforms to narrow aesthetic norms? Sunny Singh discusses women's "range of life stories, complete with joys and tragedies"

- In a vivid and sometimes playful account, cultural critic and 'master code-switcher' Désirée Wariaro explores racial mixedness. 'Ontological doubt' is a constant companion for the 'tragic mulatto' when 'much of the world is blind to the inherent genius of the way my body dissects and pollutes tradition.'

- Honour-Based Violence is part of a spectrum of violence against women that all too readily has become associated with certain cultures. Drawing from her research and activism Aisha K. Gill tackles the racialisation of HBV and women's complicity with it

- Professor Heidi Mirza reflects upon her involvement in black feminism and the changes she has witnessed over the past 30 years. She is hopeful about new generations of activists and reminds us that "black women’s activism has been central in tackling problems within our local communities."