Analysis Of Audre Lorde And Bell Hooks

Persuasion is a key focus in many essays, stories, commercials, and other forms of media. There are many methods to this, one of which is rhetorical devices. Bell hooks, the author of Feminism is for Everybody, writes to persuade the reader to her own cause: feminism. She uses rhetorical devices, which can be used to persuade—or dissuade—readers in comparison to the writer’s own point of view.

Social groups can affect both genders based on the norms of society shown in Zora Neale

Women and men are born equal. However, females are receiving unequal judgement and unfair treatment in the society, and thus Marilyn Frye brings up the notion of “oppression”, claiming that women are oppressed. Throughout the essay, I will first give the definition of Frye’s oppression and then list 5 critical qualifications to be considered oppressed. After that, I will explain my appreciation on Frye’s perspective on elaborating oppression using the “bird cage” analogy. I will support Frye’s “double-bind” argument for sexism followed by flaws in the argument. Furthermore, I will point out some social group are mistakenly placed inside or outside the parameters of oppression, once the theory of oppression extends over other marginal groups.

Patriarchal domination causes the oppression of women worldwide. As time has gone on, there continuously seems to be arguments as to how men and women are different and therefore unfit to attain the same rights. The differences between the genders can be either biological or socially constructed. However, these views are important to feminists because they make all the difference in the way they articulate their arguments and fight for equality. In bell hook’s essay, “feminism: a transformational politic” she argues “the insistence on difference as the factor which becomes the occasion for separation and domination and suggest the differentiation of status between males and females globally is an indication that patriarchal domination of

Gender roles have been a hotly debated topic in the most recent years, especially the role of women in society. Women have had set expectations that they are believed to conform to, which is shown in many pieces of film and literature. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the life of a man in the upper class in the 1920’s, as well as women in the 1920’s. The movie The Princess Bride, written by William Goldman, visually explains the treatment and expectations of women, and especially focuses on the “damsel in distress” stereotype.. Roxane Gay’s “Bad Feminist” explains the stereotypes against women and ways women can come together and fight these constraints. Based on these sources, societal expectations take away from each individual’s identity, forcing women to conform to society's standards. In order to fight against these expectations, women have banded together and formed movements against these standards.

bell hooks, renowned black feminist and cultural critic criticizes the lack of racial awareness in her essay, Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination (1992). ‘bell hooks’ is written in lower case to convey that the substance of her work reigns more important than the writer. From a marginalized perspective, hooks argues that sites of dominance, not otherness is problematic and critiques the lack of attention that white scholars pay to the representation of whiteness in the black imagination. Critical feminist scholars Peggy McIntosh and Ruth Frankenberg identify their own whiteness as a dominant discourse, but share a critical departure from hooks with the notion of whiteness as terror. hooks aim is not to reverse racism, but discuss her position to authentically inform readers about how she experiences racism. Furthermore, systems of oppression are manufactured by human thought and thus the site of the Other is always produced as a site of difference. Gender, race, sex, class, disability, and geography are situated differently in social structure, but dominant groups assume they share the same reality though they cannot experience it. In consequence, the Other cannot hold a singularized identity of their own and the binary structure succeeds in containing racialized bodies in place. What happens to those bodies when they cross boundaries of the binary? hooks recounts being routinely disciplined back into place when crossing the border; however, dominant white

Through this book, the most important point she puts emphasis on is the acknowledgment of the complex interlocking of classism, racism and sexism. Bell Hooks is not a poor working-class any more,

While sexism is no longer as overt a practice as in the past, it is arguably just as pervasive. bell hooks’ life as an academic has been spent trying to breakdown the existent sexist barriers, which have prohibited women from achieving equality with men.

The dominant group—men, white people, upper and middle class people, and heterosexuals—are considered the “norm” and all assumptions are created off of this “norm.” The media today creates the “norm” by showing boys and men as being tough and manly, and girls and women as passive, yet also sexy and sophisticated. Also, in school we are taught that girls should not take woodworking class, and instead should take cooking or health classes. By learning these rules and roles of our gender at school and in society, we are reinforced by what we have learned at home. The article about the cycle of socialization justifies that the media, our cultural practices, and the assumptions on which our society is built “all contribute to the reinforcement of the biased messages and stereotypes we receive.” The messages from the media, culture, and our own homes have embedded in our minds what is accepted in society and how to act. In the cycle of socialization, the institutional and cultural level of socialization is enforced constantly; therefore, the people who go against societies “norms” are immediately oppressed. The results of the cycle of socialization are disturbing, for the majority of society plays their roles and simply does nothing to change the “norm.”

Firstly, Frye discusses the etymology of the word ‘oppression’ stating that it has its elements from the word “press”, 1983, p: 2. She then gives imagery in order to demonstrate that the word is very restrictive in nature as if something were; “caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict or prevent the thing’s motion or mobility”, (Frye, 1983, p:2). Frye makes the point that he first criterion in defining oppression is that the oppressed is restricted or limited in some manner, giving the sense that they have been moulded, immobilised or reduced. She exemplifies this notion with the following comparison using her theory of the “double-bind” theory. According to Frye, in the United States, young women, are locked in a bind where if they exhibit that they are heterosexually active, then she is explicitly regarded as “loose, unprincipled or a whore”, 1983, p:2. The woman may then feel that she must hide her behaviour from her parents who are likely to look down on her for her promiscuity. She will also face criticism by her peers as being an “easy lay” and put down in comparison to her friends who practise more restraint, (Frye, 1983, p:3).

In the Feminist Theory, bell hooks provide vivid examples and assertions on how mainstream feminism exclude the issues of women of color. Mainstream feminism in America pertains to the ideals of “white, middle-class privileged woman” as they “reinforce white supremacy by negating the issue of race and class amongst woman of color” (hooks, 2000, pg. ). Due to not fulfilling the attempt to gain equality, as they may claim to do, it also can be an organization that displays “narcissism, insensitivity, sentimentality, and self-indulgence” (hooks, 2000, pg. 3). As mainstream feminism shuns the needs and interests of African-American women, it allows current social issues and inequalities to persist.

In the article "Understanding Patriarchy” by Bell Hooks, the ideology of patriarchy is presented to her audience while she explains some of the basics of feminism and how they relate to current challenges to gender roles. Hook begins the article by establishing her relevance to the topic by giving specific examples of her childhood living in a patriarchal home. She explains in detail some of the occurrences growing up in an isolated area in a home with patriarchal views and how they affected her. Hook then transitions into her professional life as a feminist and shows her views on patriarchy, gender roles, and gives a possible solutions to the societal issues brought about by patriarchy. The relevance of patriarchy is brought to the forefront in this article addressing the cultural denial of patriarchy by society. Hook explains how children growing up even in single parent families or non-patriarchal families still get patriarchal ideologies from the world around them. Approaching the end of the article Hook begins to go into detail on the impacts of patriarchal views on both men and women. Hook references patriarchy’s impact on gender roles. She pleads for the acknowledgment of patriarchy and its harmful effects on society and focuses on its effects on males. Hook concludes by giving a solution to the ill effects of patriarchy, stating it must be taken seriously, and addressed by men and women alike.

In Transnational Cycles of Gendered Vulnerability: Theory of Global Gender, Alison Jaggar argues that across the globe, women are entrapped in cycles of poverty, abuse, and disenfranchisement of multiple varieties. Part of her argument emphasizes women 's lack of education, which contributes to their inability to find work, escape abusive relationships etc. While I agree that women worldwide are continuous victims of vicious patriarchal oppression and subjection, and that said despotism should be viewed as a universal injustice, Jaggar’s particular view of the role of education, race, socioeconomic status and sexuality is fallacious. Her criticism of Susan Moller Okin’s theory of gendered vulnerability relies heavily on her perceived privilege of the “traditional woman” in the United States that Okin was describing; White, upper class, and heterosexual. In doing this, Jaggar subsequently downplays the education levels and accomplishments of minority women, portraying their setbacks as correlated to race, or class, instead of gender. Additionally, she dismisses the subjective plights of white, straight, rich women, implying that they are not included in the realm of oppression and subjection to patriarchy because of the advantages they have in other spheres. This leads to a cycle that discredits and stigmatizes most women. I will be arguing that even though privilege in other spheres appears to transpire into an advantage in the sexual sphere, to use this as the basis of a

Oppression signifies an authority over another group, disengaging that particular group from the rest of society. “The term oppression encapsulates the fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life in our society” (Bell, 1997). In one way or another every individual experiences some form of oppression, whether it be through race, sex, gender, religion, age, wealth and/or sexual orientation. These cultural minorities experience inequality where a dominant culture casts its authority and power through exercises of unjust and cruel methods; these methods have been experienced through the Women’s Movement, the

During the 19th century, women were controlled by a male dominated society. The women were in pure agony knowing that there was no faith for them to have a crucial change in civilization. This could often lead to “clinical depression” in which a human could feel lonely, empty, confounded and miserable. In this time period, women’s role in society was to be simply mothers and wives. A world where women had rights, control, and power was a fantasy. According to Hall, he states, “Key to all feminist methodologies is the belief that patriarchal oppression of women through history has been profound and multifaceted” (Hall 202). In other words, it is known that the male takes complete cruel supremacy over the years in our history. In The