Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry - Book Report/Review Example

Overall, the book is quite perceptive and gives an account of the flawed assumptions in the minds of the public resulting in the portrayal of these women as stereotypes. By using references from other African American literature including Zora Neale Hurston and personal accounts, the author emphasizes how the stereotypes have resulted in the misrecognition of black women by others as well as themselves. This can be demonstrated from the example of the Field Theory which she gave so as to illustrate that the condition of black women is similar to placing them inside a crooked room where they either have to align themselves i.e. internalize the stereotypes or to stay upright no matter how crooked the surroundings are i.e. to stay as they are (Harris-Perry, 28).

Harris-Perry keeps returning to this example to demonstrate that despite these stereotypes (crookedness) some black women will be successful in remaining straight. The author uses various sources including writings of authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange as well as news articles, psychological research, and statistical data in order to separate the trends of public and private life in black women. The author uses these sources with the aim of demonstrating the misrecognition that has been a result of these faulty stereotypes.

Both secondary as well as primary sources have been used in the form of books however the references have not been properly cited so as to qualify it as a scholarly work as footnote numberings are done but not bibliography or references page has been included in the end. However, the absence of the bibliography does not affect the view of its credibility. The arrangement of the book follows a topical pattern with the presence of subheadings within the book. Since the structure of the information within the book focuses on the communication of the various messages that the author aims to communicate, the topical arrangement successfully accomplishes its goals.

Perhaps the use of indices and charts would have been helpful in demonstrating the statistical data so as to visually communicate the message. Their absence do not make much of a difference too as the references from various literary sources for example the books used are sufficient in delivering the meaning to the audience. The book cleverly organizes the book such that it adds to the theme of the book. The book starts and ends with the theory of Field Dependence to emphasize alignment or dis-alignment of black women with the crookedness which is the stereotypes.

The author, Melissa Harris-Perry is a political science professor at the Tulane University and is also an author, political scientist, TV host, and commentator who is quite famous for her commentary on television programs and the magazine, The Nation. She founded the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South and is currently working as the founding director at the same project as well. Based in New Orleans, the project works on finding out the racial as well as gender related factors that impact the political participation of black women in the South (Cooper Project, n.pag.).

By using various sources in her book, it can be said that the author uses facts to prove her arguments. The book being reviewed was published in 2011 by the Yale University Press. The book makes a very insightful attempt to demonstrate the problems of black women as