Bell Hooks in her article, Postmodern Blackness explores the relationship between Postmodernism and African American experiences. Hooks recognizes the exclusion of “others” in postmodern literature in a number of ways. One being there is not a single identity or place for “difference” or “Otherness”. Hooks argues that black folks come with not one, but multiple identities, as any other race does as well. “Racism is perpetuated when blackness is associated solely with concrete gut level experience,” claims hook. This one identity is seemingly inseparable from black folks (disregarding any other sort of information that may play a role in their identity) to postmodernists, rather than opening up conversation of the multiple identities that affiliate with black folks. …show more content…
She essentially begins to criticize postmodernism as a whole – the theorists and the theories.
One argument she has is that master narratives are written by “voices of white male intellectuals” and are therefore, not accurate in comparison to a theory that can be written by a black theorist of real black experiences. She describes the act of reading postmodernists’ theories about postmodern blackness as, “outside looking in”. Even essays and articles written by black folks are reacting towards high modernism, in which black women seemingly do not have a role in the black cultural production. Overall, she argues that without direct contact and experiences of the “other” we move in a direction that supports radical liberation struggles by allowing white theorists to write about their experiences for them. This results in readers believing what these “voices of white male intellectuals” pick and choose to publish as their conceptions of “Otherness”. An example she provides in the article is rap; hooks uses rap as an example of where young black folks highlight their voices. She encourages this beyond rap, beyond critiquing postmodernism
even. In this article, she criticizes past theories and essays presented to the world, but she does not stop there. After she presents her criticism of postmodernist theory, she does not dismiss it. Instead, she believes the solution is to embrace humanistic experiences. She does not want to demolish postmodernism but she wants for black folks and oppressed minorities in general to voice their struggles. This will allow postmodernism to move away from appropriation and assumptions towards reinforcing postmodernism to include black folks and oppressed minorities. She notices rap to be the only current outlet black folks use to voice their struggles from their point of views rather than the white male choosing what he would like to convey; it is a genre black folks have turned into a doctrine. hooks believes we can go beyond this, and voice it in more than just rap; maybe even the white-male dominated discourse of literature.
In the article, “A Letter My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes both ethical and pathetic appeal to address his audience in a personable manner. The purpose of this article is to enlighten the audience, and in particular his son, on what it looks like, feels like, and means to be encompassed in his black body through a series of personal anecdotes and self-reflection on what it means to be black. In comparison, Coates goes a step further and analyzes how a black body moves and is perceived in a world that is centered on whiteness. This is established in the first half of the text when the author states that,“white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence,”
She illuminates the hidden causes of the harsh sexism in rap music lyrics and argues that one needs to look deeper to understand why the misogyny exists and how women in her culture need to respond and also start taking responsibility for its existence in order for changes to begin to take place. In the article “ From Fly -Girls to Bitches and Hos “ the dysfunction of our black men is evident, but somehow it’s seen and admired manliness and success. For example the life of Notorious BIG was one of the rap kings that live a life of jail, sex , drugs and murder that “ the seeming impenetrable wall of sexism in rap music is really the complex mask of American often wear both to hide “ . Joan Morgan was vivid as to show the pain men must be feeling so badly that they had to use disrespectful slurs and hateful comment says their music lyrics. I agree with the fact that in today’s society the "bitches and hos" have become the norm. From my perspective that many guys often believe that is how all women act and that they are all pimps and
In his essay, “On Being Black and Middle Class” (1988), writer and middle-class black American, Shelby Steele adopts a concerned tone in order to argue that because of the social conflicts that arise pertaining to black heritage and middle class wealth, individuals that fit under both of these statuses are ostracized. Steele proposes that the solution to this ostracization is for people to individualize themselves, and to ‘“move beyond the victim-focused black identity” (611). Steele supports his assertion by using evidence from his own life and incorporating social patterns to his text. To reach his intended audience of middle-class, black people, Steele’s utilizes casual yet, imperative diction.
“On Being Black…” is an autobiographical essay discussing the black working class and how in order for black women to “have-it-all” they must have a career, home, and husband. But when Bonner refers to the younger generations, they find flaws with the working class’ expectations on becoming middle to upper class. The Young Black generation challenges the ideology of what it means to “have-it-all,” while dismantling institutional racism to create their own ideological racial uplift. In both works, she questions racial categorization and the divisions among class amongst African Americans, a reoccurring theme for her later
In the novel, the author proposes that the African American female slave’s need to overcome three obstacles was what unavoidably separated her from the rest of society; she was black, female, and a slave, in a white male dominating society. The novel “locates black women at the intersection of racial and sexual ideologies and politics (12).” White begins by illustrating the Europeans’ two major stereotypes o...
Bell hooks covers an abundance of issues through different class, race, gender and nation. In her article ‘Feminism A Movement to End Sexist Oppression’ she begins by discussing the oppression of mainly black women who are in a lower class. Hooks discusses if men become associated with the feminist movement it would mainly affect the upper class and middle aged white women while just scratching the surface for working-class and poor women. In the recent article ‘Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination’ bell hooks discusses the oppression about the racism faced by black people. I find it that this article is more non-intersectional because we are only talking about black people in general. We can only assume that hooks is discussing racism faced by poor black people because they were servants. Further into the article however hooks does focus on African Americans and we read upon what their impression of the white man could be. Hook also looks as students and how racism occurred in one of her class discussions. Finally, we look at the view of two black women and how they faced racism. The first woman was Njeri from ‘Every Good-Bye Ain’t Gone and how her grandfather was run over by 2 white guys. The second woman was Sethe from ‘Beloved’ by Morrision and how she killed her young because she didn’t want them to grow up in a world of terror. I found it that hooks did not say specifically who she is talking about like in her article ‘Feminism A Movement to End Sexist Oppression’ but is targeting the topic of racism all
In her article "Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination" bell hooks argues that the distance between the white and black races created a tense relationship between the two. This tension caused a multitude of problems that are still present today including systems of domination, stereotypes of one another, white naivety of their privilege and fear of white individuals. Similarly, Ruth Frankenberg 's article "White Women, Race Matters" discuss these issues but from the perspective of a white feminist. Many of the same points can be connected to hooks ' arguments because the main aspects with races focus on the idea that whiteness is a perspective in which we see ourselves, others and society and also that whiteness continues to remain
writers are ‘doubly marginal’, being female and a writer in prison whereas at the same time black women suffer threefold- as a woman, prisoner, and African American”(Willingham 57). Although both of these women are prisoners, one of them is viewed as prison writer and another women is viewed just as prisoner. Beside they being treated just by their race, even in an African American society, the perception of looking imprisoned men and women are different, African American women are subjected for gender difference. Willingham mentions the thought of a African American woman, “African American men are almost made martyrs and heroes when they come out of prison but when African American women go back to their communities, the are not only unfit people, they are also marked with the title of unfit mother, and it’s hard to trust us”
By writing Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery Bell Hooks gave black women a chance to relate to one another on issues that we are often afraid to express. In PSC 318 we often discussed the stigma of being a “strong black woman” and the negative aspects of that stigma. In my eyes thee is nothing negative about being strong and there is surely nothing negative about being a black woman. But, as a black woman we are looked at providers, caregivers, mentors, mother figures, a shoulder to lean on and much more. Bell Hooks touches on the touchy subject in the black community and that is mental health. Often times as black people we worry about physical health and spiritual health, in the black community our answer to everything and anything going wrong in our lives is to pray about it. Yes, God can heal and help us but Bell Hooks tells us in writing Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery that we need to take care of our mental health as well as pray. Black women rarely go to therapist to talk about their problems because they are so worried about helping everyone else handle their problems.
black feminist scholars focuses more on Fanon’s later works and his active involvement in the struggle for decolonization. She discusses the work of La Rue and Beale, to scholars that were personally invested in the African American Freedom Struggle of the 1960s and 70s and who were critical of the selective application of Fanon some of their male allies displayed (83; 85; 87). In order to provide a more contemporary comparison, Sharpley-Whiting ends her discussion with bell hooks interpretation of Fanon. However, in doing so, she largely dismisses her explanation of Fanon’s contemptuous presentation of Capécia, which hooks links to his difficult relationship to his mother
We, the audience, are entertained and interested by the interviews, the balls and the featured persons. bell hooks sees audience enjoyment as exploitative and says, "...It is this current trend in producing colorful ethnicity for the white consumer appet...
In her book Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black, bell hooks describes how she helps her students find their voice within her classroom.She discusses her use of authority to enable her students.For her, teacher authority is a necessary part of helping her students find their voices:
bell hooks in her essay, Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination, describes whiteness as terror for all those who are not white. Hooks’ approach can be intersectional in that she seems to support the black women like herself, whose sufferings are two or threefold; black, female and sometimes poor. She reiterates that just because imperialism, colonialism and apartheid are either over or illegal, it does not mean that their invisibility has seized to reach out to squeeze the life blood from the necks of the oppressed. Ruth Frankenberg’s essay on the other hand, is mainly about white women, as she describes them as oblivious to the enigma. Frankenberg was a British born author who lived in the United States. Hooks lives with racism and deals with it daily, whereas Frankenberg’s
Being a black woman in this society and seeing how sexism is the number one seller in this society makes it really hard for Mclune (2015). Mclune (2015) discusses “Notes of a Hip Hop Head” by Kevin Powell stating “Socioeconomic” is the reason for the sexism in the hip hop field and it is a way to keep the black females quiet (p.222). Kevin Powell states “But just as it was unfair to demonize men of color in the 1960’s solely as wild-eyed radicals when what they wanted, amidst their fury, was a little freedom and a little power...” (Mclune, 2015, p. 221-222). Mclune (2015) clarifies that Powell completely overlooks that females also have a hard life and an insufficiency, yet they still have to overlook the objectification that black men bring to the table. Even though sexism is not the answer, it will always sell no matter
Although the work does not specifically address writing in a direct sense, it teaches lessons about writing as a means of addressing problems within society. As an African American woman who graduated from Harvard, Dickerson creates a commentary on the problems faced by African Americans. This has allowed Dickerson to address a specific problem faced in her own life, the shooting of her nephew. In one sentence Dickerson is able to capture the essence of the entire piece, "We barely wonder about or discuss the brother who shot him because we already know everything about him” (Dickerson, 49). Here you see Dickerson making a statement about the racial issues being faced by African Americans at the time. In this piece, the reader can see the tone of the story change from serious, to almost mad or frustrated. As an author, Dickerson is trying to communicate to a reader what it is like to experience a traumatic event such as the shooting of a close relative. It is this realization that allows Dickerson to make the connection between this specific event and the broader idea of what it is like for an African American living in an era heavy with racism and hate. Also, throughout the piece you see Dickerson change as a person when she is writing. This is important for a writer because it demonstrates exactly how writing and expressing oneself can alter a person. It was incredible to see what was, at first, a strong speaker, become a broken soul because of the shooting of her nephew. Through her writing, Ms. Dickerson was able to inquire into larger issues, simply using a specific incident. This is one of the key points of the writing. Through the use of a specific incident, Dickerson has been able to broaden the topic and make the reader truly understand the reason for her