bell hooks: Dig into Feminism

Two days ago was bell hooks’ birthday, who was one of the outstanding black female writers from whom I learned about black feminism.

bell hooks is the pseudonym of Gloria Jean Watkins, who was born on the 25^th of September, 1952, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States of America and died on 15th of December, 2021. She was a writer, scholar, and activist who studied and critiqued topics such as race, gender, class, and identity of black women. She studied at three universities where she obtained her degrees, master’s and doctoral ( Green, 2021).

Bell hooks has developed the Elbell hooks Institute where she hosts discussion with other scholars, orators, and activists about topics such as patriarchy, feminists, racism, violence, spirituality, and so on. For example, she has guest speakers as Gloria Steinem, Berttina Love, Damon Young, and others. This institute has become an international reference to discussions on these topics.

“One reason women have traditionally gossiped more than men is because gossip has been a social interaction wherein women have felt comfortable stating what they really think and feel. Often, rather than asserting what they think at the appropriate moment, women say what they think will please the listener”.

bell hooks, All above Love

Her thoughts are centralised on some of these points:

• Feminism is not only equality. It goes beyond this, is to finish sexism and oppression. Men are not our enemy, it’s the patriarchal system. We need to change it, not to adapt it.
• She animates that it’s important to dig in more to feminism, not to stay with what is heard on the media. Go beyond to understand that is not about women that want to be equal to men or create an anti-men movement.
• It’s important to confront and transform our inter-enemy that has been instilled in us as a child before facing the sexism system. For example, to judge one and another and be hassled among ourselves.
• She argues that it’s important to establish a feminist-gender equality education policy at school, so future generation of women and men can grow up without sexism.
• Sisterhood is a significant tool to combat and transform the system.

If you like to read and want to learn more about black feminism I recommend you dig into to her books:

Ain’t I a Woman?

Writing Beyond Race

When Angels Speaks of Love

Where we Stand: Class Maters

All about Love

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics and more.

Have you read one her book? Share with us!