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hooks talks about the idea that arose from black women attempting to achieve something in their American patriarchal society and how they became single mothers who took care of the children and supported themselves economically. Many historians and philosophers have referred to this attempt as a period when a matriarchy was forming in the black community. hooks explains that a matriarch is not simply when there is no man in the household, but when the woman is economically secure. The economic situation of women, especially black, hooks argues, has never been secure in the United States. These black women were forced to acquire very low-wage jobs when they either had no husband or the husbands refused to work at this low-wage job because it
May begins by exploring the origins of this "domestic containment" in the 30's and 40's. During the Depression, she argues, two different views of the family competed -- one with two breadwinners who shared tasks and the other with spouses whose roles were sharply differentiated. Yet, despite the many single women glamorized in popular culture of the 1930's, families ultimately came to choose the latter option. Why? For one, according to May, for all its affirmation of the emancipation of women, Hollywood fell short of pointing the way toward a restructured family that would incorporate independent women. (May p.42) Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, for example, are both forced to choose between independence and a happy domestic life - the two cannot be squared. For another, New Deal programs aimed to raise the male employment level, which often meant doing nothing for female employment. And, finally, as historian Ruth Milkman has also noted, the g...
“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
The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.
Lareau’s main argument in the text is that when children grow up in certain environments, parents are more likely to use specific methods of child rearing that may be different from other families in different social classes. In the text, Lareau describes how she went into the home of the McAllisters and the Williams, two black families leading completely different lives. Ms. McAllister lives in a low income apartment complex where she takes care of her two children as well as other nieces and nephews. Ms. McAllister never married the father of her two children and she relies on public assistance for income. She considers herself to be a woman highly capable of caring for all the children yet she still struggles to deal with the stress of everyday financial issues. The Williams on the other hand live in a wealthier neighborhood and only have one child. Mr. W...
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
Kuttner also agrees, “a lot of ugly realities were concealed by “traditional values”; the legal and economic emancipation of women was long overdue, and the task now is to reconcile gender equality with the healthy raising of the next generation.” (124). Before the 1890s, females had no other options but to live with their parents before marriage and with their husband after marriage. They couldn’t work and if they did, their wages were way lower than men.
In the chapter Homeplace: a site of resistance of Bell Hooks’ book Yearning, Hooks explains her feelings toward the deprivation of equality in African Americans, specifically women. She shows in several ways how women were deprived of their rights to raise a family, grow a home, and other privileges that white families had over black families. Hooks’ argument was valid for the time while she was a child, however, when the chapter was written, the the percentage of women in the work force had grown dramatically. Thus her argument seems biased due to her experiences as a child (Hooks).
After reading the “Introduction to Women’s Studies Concepts” power point the pieces from hooks, Hull and Smith, Kimmel, and Yap are important to feminist literature because they all talk about a different aspect of feminism. In Talking Back by Bell Hooks, the woman explains how it was not okay for her to speak or ask whatever she wanted. “In the world of the southern black community that I grew up in, “back talk” and “talking back” meant speaking as an equal to an authority figure” (1). In the past women were not allowed to just speak their mind it was ‘wrong’. This story demonstrates the black racism involved with feminism. People opened their ears to what the black men had to say, but they could easily block out what the black women had to say. The Politics of Black Women’s Studies by Hull and Smith also dealt with black racism taking place. The men were sexist and the white women were racist. Where did this leave place for the black women? In Men and Women’s Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promise by Kimmel sexism and racism. This short story talks about how women’s studies lea...
The article Straightening My Hair by Bell Hooks makes her argument of finding the reason of why African American women straighten their hair. She first states that Black Americans straighten their hair because it is the stage of transformation; it closes the door of innocence and opens the door to adulthood. Slowly, she starts changing her views. She comes up with the statement that African Americans do not straighten their hair for reasonable reasons, but to imitate the characteristics of white women. She informs that black people repeat this process because they have low self-acceptance of their roots and background, and that they have lost beauty in themselves. My argument against this statement is that it is erroneous to claim that the straightening of African American hair is misinterpreted as their acceptance into the white community; straightening of hair is the symbolism of impending womanhood, closing the door of innocence, and sharing a time to meditate by relaxing your soul.
He mentions how far women have come since his grandmother's day, but realizes the country as a whole has more room to grow. He mentions how tough it can be for women to juggle a demanding career while raising a family. Both text reference what honor motherhood is but they also admit the demanding workforce can determine how successful a mother they can be. Women today may not face slavery, but they face double standards that limit them to be successful professionals and parents.
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:
There is a lot of misrepresentation of the black society as a whole in the media. The reason that this is true is because the mostly white society accepts this and prolongs s this misrepresentation in the media. Toni Morrison and bell hooks share some of the same ideas on sexism, racism and conformity. This American society is made up of mostly whites. The whites have an extreme effect on how the stereotypes of today relate with media.
For hooks, Sandberg is just a rich white lady who no idea about poor-middle class black women/women of color. hooks believes that, “We must understand that challenging and dismantling patriarchy is at the core of the contemporary feminist struggle- this is essential and necessary if women and men are to be truly liberated from outmoded sexist thinking and actions” (662). hooks thinks that Sandberg’s vision of individual women leaning in at the corporate table does not include any clear statements of which group of women she is speaking to and about. hooks criticizes Sandberg’s text saying that it offers the reader no understanding of what men must do to unlearn sexist thinking (663). Another point with which hooks critics Sandberg’s book as a hole is, “She is simply taking old ideas and giving them a new twist” (664). Now, as we have seen, we know that hooks doesn’t side with Sandberg. But, she doesn’t necessary side totally against Sandberg either. There are other older female feminist advocates who blatantly denounced Sandberg’s work and boldly announced their refusal to read her book. But unlike other feminists, as a feminist cultural critic, hooks found the eagerness with which Sandberg was viciously attacked from other feminists disheartening. In all, as a critic, hooks finds Sandberg restating some point every other feminist makes and as a feminist hooks agrees with Sandberg about the social norms in
In the essay of “Learning in the Shadow of Race and Class”, Hooks illustrates her experiences of racism, oppression, and rejection during her college year due to the huge differences of her race and social class. She was isolated by her roommates at a local college. They trashed her room and would not communicate with her at all. However, she still stayed strong and believed in herself. She started making her way out. Finally, she got into Stanford where the place she thought it would let her get away from those immature whites girls, but it brought more problems. Bells experienced the same stereotype at Stanford that was caused by her race and social class. Hooks said, “Uncertain about whether I had managed to a make it through without giving up the best of myself, the best of values I had been raised to believe in—hard work, honesty, and respect for everyone no matter their class—I finished my education with my allegiance to the working class intact” (294). Since Bell Hooks grew up in a low income family, she was forced to live her life with less opportunities as others do. Under the finical pressures, she has to stop her desires of wanting things that are unable to possess. Even
Hooks’ writing gains credibility from her use of historical context and expert opinions. One of the biggest factors is that she was from the south where white people thought of blacks as Bohemians that had radical ideas of becoming a nation of multicultural equality. The examples of these thoughts is valid because she was a young black girl at the time and witnessed it first hand. In the 1950’s through early 1960’s segregation was at its peak measure so...