Representing Whiteness In The Black Imagination By Bell Hooks Summary

Tannen begins her essay with the description of three different women, marking each of them in their own way and finishing that sequence by explaining that there is nothing to be marked of the men. Throughout the entirety of the essay she explains how society puts pressure on women and that the markings aren 't only on the female appearance but with the names they identify with, and even genetically. In the essay by Bell Hooks, Hooks immediately jumps into the controversy. She states that race and ethnicity “spice up” the norm of culture in today’s society by metaphorically voicing that “eating the Other” establishes power and privilege. In order for the white supremacists to keep order and control they must first exploit the Others, based on Hooks essay racist domination is inevitable and a mutual recognition for racism was required for any form of legitimate interaction without denial and a sense of fantasy.

All three articles show that people are treated based on their race and the white race is deemed as more important where as the black people are deemed as degenerate and unimportant. Society has deemed one race to be superior and it is clearly shown. Black people have to live in fear and white people are born with certain privileges and opportunities back then. The main objective of the article “Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination” (1997) by hooks is twofold: a) to inform the people of what “whiteness” really means and b) to let others view the term “whiteness” from different standpoints. Because of the scrutiny that Black people was subjected to from the Whites, material was written in order for the Blacks to survive in the White

What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.

As echoed in Bell Hooks’s We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, the culprit to the Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) movement is masculine patriarchy which, in turn, reinforces racism and oppression. The general public fails to recognize that BLM stemmed from oppression to black males, not the black community as a whole. Furthermore, even though this movement is intended to fight anti-Black racism, it is focusing on the empowerment of black women.

The speech Ain’t I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth and the interview with Kimberle Crenshaw on Intersectionality deal with the topic of intersectionality and black feminism. The authors want to prove how black women then and now struggled with being represented in the feminist movement and in society as a whole. The authors explore racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and how the two intersect together.

In her writings, Audre Lorde emphasizes on the significance of an intersectional approach by arguing that when women fail to acknowledge their differences, they become divided (118). Referring to white feminists of the 1960s, she argues that when they ignore the actuality of their white privilege, women of colour become the “other” whose experiences are too different to understand (Lorde 117). Speaking to black feminists who are silenced by white supremacism, she highlights the importance of a self-defined identity in which every aspect of an individual must be embraced in order to confront institutional struggles (Lorde 120). Similarly, Hooks has condemned the entire process of the 1960s feminist movement, arguing that white women expect women of colour to be an ally in their feminist movements without trying to understand their experiences (141). She also emphasizes the exclusion of black feminists in the movement by stating that the essence of a protest is to benefit unprivileged individuals, yet much of those people are either silenced by white feminism or too occupied supporting their families (Hooks 136). Therefore, third-wave feminism arguably emerged because second-wave feminism lacked intersectional rhetoric, motivating black women to establish more inclusive

At the beginning of the semester when I was asked if I was a feminist, I thought the answer was pretty obvious. I didn’t consider myself a feminist, nor did I ever think I would ever become a feminist, but what I didn’t understand about feminism, was that I didn’t truly understand what it meant to be a feminist. After months of studying gender, I now have a better understanding of what it exactly means to be a feminist. In my opinion, a feminist is someone who wants equal rights for women and men, and what I mean by equal rights, is equality across the board, which includes the political landscape, religious landscape, the free market, the jobs market, ETC. Although that definition is not one that is widely accepted in the academic environment,

White women who advocate white feminism often maintain their crusade of moral superiority over white men at the expense of non-white women (Sholock, 2012). bell hooks argues, “many white women who daily exercise race privilege lack awareness that they are doing so,” furthermore they “may not have conscious understanding of the ideology of white supremacy and the extent to which it shapes their behavior and attitudes towards women unlike themselves” (hooks,1984, p.56).

Discussions of loving blackness in hooks’ class stems from her reading of Nelia Larson’s novel Passing. hooks wants to discuss Clare’s love of blackness and the consequence of her love for her race. She writes, “I asked the class to consider the possibility that to love blackness is dangerous in a white supremacist culture-so threatening, so serious a breach in the fabric of the social order, that death is the punishment” (9). Death in society can be literal, but it can also take other forms, such as isolation and self-segregation. hooks’ students’ stark refusal to discuss loving blackness is a testament to these impediments and how they have been fixed in the minds of citizens white and black.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of feminism is” the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities” How dare us women ask for equality? Does that make us man haters? The definition of feminism debunks all the misconceptions that media actively wants us to believe in. Bell Hooks, gives us an insight of the definition of radical, and reform feminism in her book “Feminism is For Everybody”. Per Hooks, radical feminism is to transform the existing sexist system “Revolutionary thinkers did not want simply to alter the existing system so that women would have more rights. We wanted to transform that system, to bring an end to patriarchy and sexism.” (Hooks 4). On the contrary, reform feminism believes in altering the existing system”From its earliest inception

Feminism is the movement that promotes equality for men and women in political, economic and social issues. Feminists believe that women are oppressed due to their sex based on the dominant ideology of patriarchy. Going against social norms of patriarchy will result in liberation for women, men, minorities, and gays. There are many different types of Feminism, which includes Liberal, Radical, and Social Feminism. Liberal feminism is reformist who believes in the viability of the present system, which includes education and employment. These types of feminists believe that oppression exists because of the way in which men and women are socialized, which supports patriarchy and keeps men in power

Yet, where it gets interesting is Urban Dictionary defines feminism as “The belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. These people can be either male or female human beings, although the ideology is commonly (and perhaps falsely) associated mainly with women. The basic idea of Feminism revolves around the principle that just because human bodies are designed to perform certain procreative functions, biological elements need not dictate intellectual and social functions, capabilities,

Feminism is the approach to equality and equity through sex, gender, and gender expressions. It should include everybody which means LGBTQ community and all different types of women. We should also include are allies who can be men because ultimately feminism helps them by getting rid of toxic masculinity. This feminism is described in a Washington Post article “ is shaped less by a shared struggle against oppression than by a collective embrace of individual freedoms.” Feminism in today’s world is more about inclusiveness and identity while still being about equal opportunity and woman rights. The problem is that people have stereotypes about feminist women and the idea of this “radical” feminism. That we are about being in a higher position than men. Really, it’s about putting men in the position that women have been at forever but all we want is to be in the same position along with men. Or in some cases to destroy they exploitative system that causes this in the first place.

Feminism has been a major topic of controversy over the last decade. It not only discusses the equality of women, but the equality of all. This includes, but is not limited to, of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, people of different races, and different ethnicities. In the last century, there has been a war on inequality. All people were created free and equal and our country, and even the world, should uphold these basic human rights. However, today this is not about white feminism or feminism in general, but of feminists of color and how they feel either unrepresented or underrepresented by White Liberal Feminism.

My first understanding of feminism was as a movement for the equality between men and women. This is a problematic view of feminism because it enforces the gender binary and theoretically only benefits women. My understanding of feminism grew as my understanding of oppression grew. The world is not simply women being oppressed and men benefiting from this oppression. The oppression that feminists are fighting is vastly more complicated. I see this oppression not just as the oppression of women but also of femininity. This enforces a macho mentality in male-gendered and masculine presenting people and enforces the oppression of people with feminine qualities. Because this oppression affects everyone, everyone stands to benefit from feminism. I have also learned that this oppression does not affect everyone equally. Different socio-economic standings, race, gender identity, sexuality, age etc. change how people experience oppression and the severity to which they face it. I have privilege in that I am white, middle class, cisgendered, American, english speaking, (sorta) able bodied, mentally stable to an acceptable point, (mostly) heterosexual, etc.