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Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, bell hooks chapter 11
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, bell hooks chapter 11
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, bell hooks chapter 11
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Feminism is for Everybody
The following paragraphs are an excerpt from a paper written about the political and social theories of bell hooks. These sections focus specifically on her newest book, Feminism is for Everybody.
Throughout her works, hooks maintains a firm belief in the accessibility of the theory she seeks to situate within society. To that end, hooks’ latest work, Feminism is for Everybody, is an accessible book that outlines the basic tenants of a radical feminist theory. More inclusive than many of her other works, this book attempts to address an audience that is completely unfamiliar with feminist thought. In the introduction, hooks discusses the rampant misconceptions surrounding the movement. In her encounters with people on a daily basis, she finds that:
“When I ask these same folks about the
feminist books or magazines they read, when
I ask them about the feminist talks they have heard,
about the feminist activists they know, they respond
by letting me know that everything they know about
feminism has come into their lives thirdhand [sic], that
they really have not come close enough to the
feminist movement to know what really happens,
what it’s really about. Mostly they think feminism
is a bunch of angry women who want to be like men.
(vii).
It is these misconceptions that hooks feels must be corrected. Only in this way will the everyday relevance of feminism become clear. Hooks goes on to explain that this book is an effort to answer the question “what is feminism” in a clear, concise way that is not reductive to her readers (viii). She stressed the failure of the feminist movement to produce a multitude of works that are accessible and useful in many arenas.
Many of the chapters in Feminism is for Everybody recapitulate and simplify the arguments put forth in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Hooks attempts to diffuse common myths surrounding the feminist movement, and to that end, she suggests ways the movement may become all-inclusive. In the section entitled “Feminist Masculinity” hooks discusses the dichotomy perpetuated by Second Wave feminists who sought to classify the male as the “enemy”. The polarization of men as the “oppressor” and woman as the “oppressed” propelled the women’s movement initially, but it was not long before women were able to step back and realize that the system itself was flawed (68).
“I have no idea what a feminist is although I have heard the term before,” said Stewart. I told her not to feel bad because I did not know the meaning of the term until I took the class and gave her bell hooks’ definition. Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. Although they do not have to be an activist, they should be pro-choice. “With that being said I don’t consider myself a feminist but I am pro-choice. I give advice and let others learn from experience. A person is going to do what they want so I don’t push my opinion off on others.” While others have a clue to what a feminist is but do not fully understand their purpose. “I think a feminist is someone who wants more equal rights for women but take it to the extreme,” said Nia. I explained to her that a feminist does not have to be an extreme activist. Her response was “I still don’t consider myself a feminist because I don’t really care about trying to make a change for women’s rights. I think it’s as good as it is going to get,” said
In her 2013 article featured on The Feminist Wire, “Dig Deeper: Beyond Lean In” bell hook describes “the feminist movement based on women gaining equal rights with men” (661). This essay is a response to Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?” which encourages women to aim for positions of leadership and power. Sandberg’s definition of a feminism is gender equality with an existing social system. Hook contrasts Sandberg’s definition of feminism and makes it her own “one that does not conjure up a battle between the sexes” (662). Since men and women are both greatly influenced by sexist social norms and ideals, it is important
Feminism is a word that is stock-full of implications, and has many misconceptions. Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti attempts to give a broad overview of what feminism is, and how you should feel about it (hint: it’s positively). The book is directed primarily towards the younger generation, and talks about a variety of issues relevant to the feminist movement today and in history. The weaknesses of the book include the casual writing, the assumptions Valenti makes, and the contradictory statements that are consistently made. The strengths include providing an entertaining, broad overview of feminism, and discussing ways to contribute to gender equality. Overall, the book is more likely to be a positive experience for high-schoolers that identify as women then college-aged individuals looking for a critical analysis of issues society faces in regards to gender inequality.
Whereas hooks’s personal experience srenghtens her ethos, a certain rigidity used in addressing the audience simultaneously weakens her credibilty. For example, hooks’s tendency to label academics and groups unlike herself pushes the reader to see her as self-righteous. She separates people into classes of those she percieves as right and those she sees as wrong. Thus, she creates a smaller audience of readers and weakens her message. This tendency causes her argument to sound one-sided and prevents a formation of common ground. hooks’s efforts to help others preserve the background that "enable[s] one’s self development in the present, that sustain[s] and support[s], that enrich[s]" however, prevents her voice and opinions from being ignored (91).
During the second week of class, we were instructed to read a reading written by Bell Hooks titled “Come closer to Feminism.” This reading is what I consider to be a very important addition to this unit. Unit one is all about Making waves, Confronting Oppression. According to Frye, it is a fundamental claim of feminism that women are oppressed (Frye, 1983). Before taking upon this reading, my understanding of the feminist movement was not nearly as clear as it is now. After reading this short handbook, I too agree that feminism is for everybody.
In this essay, Gay deconstructs the stereotypical view of a feminist, by showing that you can be a feminist, even if you’re not in the small box the rest of the world thinks you should be in, in order to qualify as a ‘feminist’. Throughout the essay, Gay uses several quotes and stories from other women who are either afraid to say that they’re feminists, or don’t quite understand you don’t have to be in the limiting ‘box’, even though in their moral beliefs and actions, these sourced women are, in fact, feminists. According to Gay, if we didn’t have this stereotype, then maybe more women with diverse lives and views would be able to ‘come out’ as
When comparing the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Betty Friedan, and Bell Hooks, I assert that both Gilman and Friedan stress that college educated, white upper- and middle-class women should have the incentive to fight against and alter the rigid boundaries of marriage; however, Hooks in her piece From Margin to Center argues that Friedan and other feminist writers during the second wave had written or spoke shortsightedly, failing to regard women of other races and classes who face the most sexist oppression.
Food allergy is a prevalent health condition wherein the body mistakenly identifies certain foods as harmful. According to the Food Allergy Research and Education or FARE, approximately 15 million Americans have food allergies and the numbers are continuously rising. Steering clear of foods that can trigger allergic reaction can be tough, thus it is important to educate yourself on what causes the allergy and how to avoid them. Following are several tips that can help avoid mild to life-threatening allergic reactions:
Allergies are hypersensitive immune responses to substances that either enter or come in contact with the body. In layman's terms allergies are, a food or natural substance. These include pollen, ragweed, peanuts, shellfish and pet dander are recognized by the immune system as a threat.
In the United States, over three million people are diagnosed with food allergies every year, and over 50 million people have an allergy to some type of food. This number includes one in every 13 children. Most people are born with their allergies; however, allergies can develop at any age, and that is what happened to me. I developed an allergy when I was 14 years old. It was then that some troubling and deleterious side effects started happening to me. When people develop food allergies, their immune systems overreact to normally harmless food proteins. (foodallergy.org). These attacks can affect people in a multitude of ways; they can cause hives, difficulty in breathing, stomach aches, and many more symptoms.
Hooks begins by stating that Feminism in the United States did not emerge as a result of victimized, underprivileged women who faced sexist oppression so much so they have internalized it , but in fact by bourgeois upper-class white women whose idea's of equality were far different. She begins this criticism with Betty Friedan, a leading figure in the women's movement and the author of the classic The Feminine Mystique claiming that the book ignored the difficulty and even the existence of non-white, poor women with the assumption that her concerns were harmonious wi...
Feminism is the movement for removing inequalities from society. Women imbued with a spirit of radicalism understand that a liberal feminist attitude, despite the seeming slowness of change that accompanies it, may transform a community more rapidly than a revolutionary approach that alienates those to be convinced and, thus, extinguishes the possibility of improvement. (Weaver 49) Feminists confront the problems of their society in hopes of altering society to be equal.
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...
...edients in the food) they can be prone to an asthma attack. Common food allergens are nuts, milk products, and shellfish. “Food allergens can be particularly dangerous because they often lead to asthma attacks very quickly. In rare cases, they can cause anaphylaxis (swelling of the throat and difficulty breathing)” (Asthma). So someone with asthma shall check with a chef or anyone who cooks something they are about to eat. Asthmatics also should check the ingredients label on anything they buy, which is always provided on the back on the wrapper, box, and etc.
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.