For this weeks reading I decided on to blog about Ch 64. Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression. (bell hooks ) I chose this reading because it highlighted the ways certain forms for feminism have contributed to many forms of oppression. It asks the important question what does equality look like for everyone. Not everyone gets the same equality; that depending on your gender, race, class and sexuality it dictates how society will treat you.
Not everyone is treated equally in that is why it is important to include an intersectionality view. The authors discussed people’s views on what feminism means and why it is a disservice to lump everyone has the same. “Most people in the United States think of feminism or the more commonly used term ” women’s lib” as a movement. that aims to make women the social equals of men. This broad definition, popularized by the media and mainstream segments of the movement raises problematic questions. Since men are not equals to white supremacist, capitalist’ patriarchal class, structure, which men do women want to be equal to? Do women share a common vision of what equality means?” Hooks (pg 360) The simple broad definition dismisses the factors of race, class, gender, and sexuality as I stated earlier before. White women are not quick to call attention to race because they were not being affected by racism. While women who were non-white and lower social class, did not benefit from the women’s liberation movement. They were seeing in their every day lives how the men in their family were oppressed. The factors need to be address in order for all to be equal.
I was not surprised that some women have a hard time calling themselves feminist. I was the same way due to its history. Like those before me that did this work. I did not want to be associated with a movement that had racists undertones. I saw it mainly as a white women’s movement. It was not until I got to college I understood what feminist meant. I thought; just like in the reading that its “anything goes”. In the reading this form of feminism is defined as apolitical in nature and tone. Most liberal women find this form of feminism to be appeasing which romanticizes the notion of personal freedom; which is a more acceptable than a definition that emphasizes radical political action. (pg 361) Hooks
Sources cited: Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Catalano, D. C. J., DeJong, K. “S., Hackman, H., Hopkins, L. E., … Zúñiga Ximena. (2018). Readings for diversity and social justice (4th ). New York: Routledge.