Ugly Freedoms seeks to challenge the traditions of American freedom, emphasizing it is a seemingly moral ideal that in fact legitimizes harmful practices that subjugate and separate human existence. Elisabeth R. Anker labels this occurrence “ugly freedom,” using the word ugly to signify “offensive action.” Her term ugly freedom is twofold, representing the current form of freedom that offensively oppresses and secondly, action that is disparaged by the first version of freedom yet could liberate people from such oppression. It is this dichotomy that helps Anker challenge American freedom and propose counterpractices. Thus Ugly Freedoms can be viewed as a response to present-day political discourse in the United States, where the concept of American freedom is often used to justify actions that may dominate and neglect others.
Anker explores four crucial liberties she argues have shaped American freedom: individual liberty, Black people's emancipation, neoliberal capitalism, and human exceptionalism. She accomplishes...