Bell Hook's Feminism Is For Everybody

“If my generation was too naïve, the generations that have followed may be too practical. We knew too little, and now girls know too much.” (Sandberg. Pg. 646) In the past, the call for women’s rights was heated as much as it was alive; many women today believe that they no longer need feminism in their lives. The misconception that feminist ideals are outdated has lead modern women to fall short in their desire to accomplish more. Sheryl Sandberg refuels feminist goals in the article “Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid.” She addresses lack of females in the work force, as well as, the way society prompts boys compared to girls. Bell Hook, in contrast, provides a deeper understanding of feminist ideals, along with, an in depth analysis of Sandberg’s work. The articles written by Bell Hook and Sheryl Sandberg express each woman’s perspective on modern feminism; although they both call for action, Sandberg focuses on the inequality between the sexes, while Hook broadens the overall argument to include topics such as race, sexuality and class equality.

The author's purpose was to use the main characters to make the reader think of what abortion actually means and what our rights are to our own bodies. Since I have read this book, it’s showed me that everyone's meaning of life is different and that we have more rights than we might think. “We have a right to our lives! We have a right to choose what happens to our bodies”

Finally, hooks used the strategy of cause and effect in her writings. She writes “Since our society continues to be a primarily ‘Christian’ culture, masses of people continue to believe that God has ordained that women be subordinate to men in the domestic household.” (hooks, pg2) By writing this, she effectively analyzes the cause of the problems, and why our culture continues to be sexist. For those who have scientific minds, this statement carries

(History in dispute) In addition, middle-class Americans were still debating whether married women, let alone teenage girls, should use contraception. This illuminates how little information was provided at this time, and how an unwanted pregnancy might yield confusion and controversy. (History in dispute) Abortion, as it still is presently, was a controversial action for one to take. Many believed in the idea of “immediate animation”, where when the first fetal movement is felt, it has been “infused with a soul” (Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113). It is very much apparent why killing a fetus “infused with a soul” might render one to disapprove. Terminating a pregnancy is killing unborn human life, and this concept inspired people to Those who believed in ideas like this would advocate against giving women access to abortion, or at least disapproved them doing so.

Susan Sherwin’s view on abortion is primarily focused through the lens of feminist philosophy. Her article focuses primarily on how the feminist view provides more holistic, and less cold view on the topic of abortion that is more inclusive of the mother. The feminist view of abortion is primarily focused on looking at the factors that affect the mother through the process of the abortion, such as a woman’s feelings around the fetus, is conception, her partner, and her obligations. These are all factors that are not usually thought of by non-feminist thinkers. This is usually because the discussion around this topic is, as the author puts it “generally grounded in masculinist concepts of freedom (such as privacy, individual choice, and individuals’ property rights with respect to their own bodies)” (Sherwin.1997, 100). This view, as she puts it, primarily focuses on the morality and legal aspects of abortion. The basis of Sherwin’s paper centers around a feminist model from which to look at abortion. This model takes into account the emotional impact that an unwanted pregnancy has on the woman, who will be impacted most by this event. It gives sole power of design to the woman, who “may make mistakes in their moral judgements, but no one else can be assumed to have the authority to evaluate and overrule their judgements”. (Sherwin.1997, 102) Sherwin also advocates against the division of the mother and the fetus as separate entities during bioethical discussions. This also

Bridgewater (2009) discusses the relevance of slavery in the pursuit of reproductive freedom. Silliman et al. (2004) in the textbook advanced the definition of reproductive rights beyond abortion. Silliman et al. (2004) was more specific in discussing the struggle and efforts of a specific group (Women of Color) in fighting through the different forms of oppression placed on their reproductive rights by the White community. Silliman et al. (2004) discussed the roles of federal population policies in encouraging racism and discrimination against black women.

In Feminism is for Everybody, hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of her own personal experience. In my opinion, hooks’ book is perfectly poised to become THE OFFICIAL “handbook” or “cliff notes” to feminism. Although it’s short, Feminism is for Everybody is powerful. It addresses all of the most prevalent issues facing the contemporary feminist movement, everything from where feminism stands, reproductive choice, beauty, violence, race, class, work, all the way to where feminism will go in the future. She uses simple, direct language to express complex issues. However, that is not to say that she “dumbs-down” such topics. Rather, she makes them more comprehensible to those not as familiar with feminism as a discipline. This book offers everyone (man or woman) a chance to explore feminism. It serves as an eye-opener to all those “would be” feminists who are afraid to label themselves as such for fear of being called a man hater or worse, a lesbian! She dispels these myths and others, forcing her audience

In chapter 12 of Feminism is for Everybody, Hooks talks about the early feminist movement. Hooks explains that in the beginning of the feminist movement women began the movement out of anger and resentment of men who they felt oppressed by. Some women took the route of hating men and wanting nothing more than to oppress men. The majority of women realized that the problem was not men but rather the sexist ideologies and standards that men were made to take on. Mass media choose to focus on the feminist women who placed their priority on hating men. They called them lesbians and man haters.

Within the excerpts of writing Sheryl Sandberg and bell hooks offer us, their focal point is feminism. Although this is the case, their reasonings for being a feminist are quite different. Sandberg focuses on rising in the career field as a woman, and hooks argues against her writing because she has a narrow definition of being a feminist. There are strong arguments for either side as to which is more correct.

The speech ”A Women’s Civil Right” was written in 1969 and the feminist author Betty Friedan delivered it. Betty Friedan was a proponent of the modern women’s movement and claimed that women in 1969 and onwards should not be trapped in the stereotypical housewife role. Friedan was convinces that social barriers in the society kept women imprisoned in “the housewife trap”. She wanted women to have better career opportunities, introduce equality with men and to eliminate the illusion of “the happy housewife”. This specific speech announces that abortion should be a part of a women’s civil right.

Abortion is a decision that takes a physical and mental toll on a woman and leaves its residual effects long after the act has passed. As an ardent feminist with precise acumen to ills against women, Anne Sexton’s poem “The Abortion” breathes life into a topic long smothered by societal standards, subsequently giving a voice to the women left without the will and strength to speak out for their rights. Sexton’s sparse use and strategic placement of refrain emphasizes the controversial topic at hand and provides structure to the poem in terms of its repetitive nature and predictive syntactical structure, shedding light on the trials that females face that go unnoticed by their male counterparts through one woman’s experience, one woman that

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.

An important concept described by Hooks in Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics is the feminist movement that was the challenging of the idea of what beauty is. Hooks wrote “Challenging sexist thinking about the female body was one of the most powerful interventions made by contemporary feminist movement. Before women’s liberation all females young and old were socialized by sexit thinking to believe that our value rested solely on appearance and whether or not we were perceived to be good looking, especially by men. Understanding that females could never be liberated if we did not develop healthy self-esteem and self-love feminist thinkers went directly to the heart of the matter; critically examining how we feel and think about

In the context of the essay’s claims of intersectional awareness, a meaningful aspect of this principle lies in its acknowledgement of the American Eugenics Movement, a period of forced sterilization of women of color that is frequently neglected in the dominant narrative regarding reproductive justice. As author Andrea Smith argues, hegemonic feminism’s investment in paradigms such as the ‘pro-life vs. pro-choice’ debate “reifies and masks the structures of white supremacy and capitalism” which have historically stripped “the other” of self-determination in their reproductive decisions (Smith 2005: 120). Behind the entrenched stance of ‘pro-choice’ lies a history of sterilizing contraceptives given to women of color without informed consent, and behind ‘pro-life’ lies one of stigmatization and criminalization of women of color who “are less likely to have alternative strategies for addressing unwanted pregnancies” (Smith 2005:130 & 134). Therefore, it is vital to note that the platform demands “the freedom to choose both whether to have children and when to have them,” while also alluding to a discriminatory history which has served as a source of complication in regards to these mainstream concepts (IWS

The nineteenth century remains one of American history’s most pivotal and revolutionary time periods, particularly in regards to women’s reproductive health and bodies. Despite increased availability of knowledge about women’s bodies and birth control, many women found themselves unable to control the trajectory of their own reproductive lives. This paper primarily seeks to challenge and complicate a monolithic understanding of women’s pregnancy as “illness.” Pregnancy, as a personal event, differed greatly between women as is indicated by a dynamic range of stories that show the variances between how women interpret their pregnancies and the ways that those around them, including relatives and medical professionals, interpret their pregnancies. In addition, the concept of “confinement” as treatment for illness associated with pregnancy has very different implications between enslaved women and middle to upper class white women.