Booktube is so…white 🤮

This might be not received well here, but I’m going to say it because I can’t not: Booktube is WAY too white. The amount of booktubers I saw put together February TBRs based on “the season of love” without a single book by a Black author during Black History Month while Black people are being attacked daily is absolutely nuts and yeah I’ll clearly say it: racist!!

The complete refusal to accept that books are political collectively by white booktubers paired with their either covert or overt racist tendencies to solely read books by white authors OR to only pick up more mainstream Black authors like Kennedy Ryan (whom I adore; absolutely no shade to that queen) is very telling. Because they’ll pick up a Kennedy book and give it 3.5 ⭐️s then say they just ~didn’t connect with it as much as they’d hoped~. Yeah, because you’re a racist 🤭

If white women—because that is who make up the majority of the Booktube space—are not going to be proper stewards of the responsibility that comes with platforming reading, which is an act of political resistance historically, especially for Black people, then they are not people I can trust, support, or empathize with. There is no way to explain this other than the fact that they’re racist. It’s not like they don’t know we exist. And it’s not like they don’t see what’s happening in the world.

With all that said, I really only watch TBR videos from the Booktube community these days because everyone talks about the same things: ACOTAR, Powerless, Fourth Wing, and Magnolia Parks. So it’s not like I value these people’s opinions or even regularly consume their content (I used to and stopped because the racism is way too blatant). I will also say I did come across literally two white booktubers who included some content for BHM without making it ~a thing~ so it’s not like it’s impossible for it to be done—most just don’t want to.

Even if I watch Black or POC booktubers sometimes they tend to follow the trend and read what bigger pages (read: white pages) are reading. The influence is insidious and intentional.

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤢🤮

Rant over 😮‍💨

ETA: I am not asking for nor expecting everyone to agree with me. But look within yourself and ask why you’re downvoting me for sharing my opinions on this matter as a Black woman, and if you feel the need to push back against what I’m saying—which is solely my opinion. Like please don’t make me feel icky about this space too if it’s meant to be a safe space to be snarky??