Description
INNOCENCE & CORRUPTION by Aiyana Goodfellow is a unique political take on the social position of children – written by a teenager. In the history of all liberation movements, success is found in the elevation of the voices of the underclass in question. The experiences of youth are perhaps one of the last plights to be heard and this book is one of the first to explore it from the perspective of a young person.
If you believe that Black children’s lives matter, that we should protect trans kids or if you know disabled children should be able to live with dignity then please support this book!
INNOCENCE & CORRUPTION illuminates the oppression of children and teenagers: as both its own valid experience and as an inherent part of all kinds of institutional marginalisation in our world today. Weaving social theory, history, critical analysis, personal reflection, and practical action, teenage author Aiyana Goodfellow tears down adult privilege and forces the reader to reckon with anti-child ageism.
This book features a foreword by literary force Walela Nehanda (@itswalela) and an afterword by the wonderful Eshe Kiama Zuri (@eshekiamazuri), two experienced abolitionist activists and adult allies who understand that “Moving towards liberation means betraying your privilege. It means disappointing adults around you and breaking the adult conspiracy of silence.”
Reviews of INNOCENCE & CORRUPTION
“In the lineage of a book like Lessons from the Damned, Aiyana provides a relentless and original political and philosophical critique of the oppression of young people in England…providing a wide cultural basis to expose the fragility of our ageist, ableist and abusive society.”
– No More Exclusions, youth centred coalition movement
“This is hands down one of the best things I have ever read and is certainly one of the most aware. The selection of essays, although can stand alone, are best witnessed in the book’s wholeness. The influence of this work will be considerable, this is revolutionary writing at its best. Here we can see our society under a microscope, looking in detail at the way the world is reliant on anti-ageism and how that connects with more commonly understood and discussed areas of injustice.”
– Eshe Kiama Zuri, activist, doula and community organiser
“Aiyana deserves all the love and communal gratitude in the world for creating one of the most powerful, transformative writings I have read in my lifetime, that I believe will not only be eye-opening for every single person to read but also simultaneously healing, humbling, and overwhelming in the most impactful sense. Aiyana Goodfellow’s INNOCENCE & CORRUPTION is a revolutionary offering for the world that critically and creatively breaks down the oppression of children. This is staple reading for everyone.”
– Ayesha Khan, abolitionist microbiologist and organiser
Author
Aiyana Goodfellow is a writer, liberator, and DELINQUENT based in London. He generally writes and speaks about animality, Blackness, queerness, ageism and all its intersections. They are a Black, queer, neurodivergent creative who co-runs The Anima Print and is the co-founding director of NEUROMANCERS. They are the author of Radical Companionship: Rejecting Pethood & Embracing Our Multispecies World.
INNOCENCE & CORRUPTION, published by The Anima Print, was written between the ages of 15-16 and is their second published book.
www.aiyanagoodfellow.com | @aiyana.goodfellow
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