Reactions to Hooks’ Feminism is for Everybody Essay -- Essays Papers

Reactions to Hooks Feminism is for Everybody I am not a feminist simply because I was raised in a feminist household. I am not a feminist because I am an independent, educated woman. I am not a feminist because I am a bitter female, nor because I am a woman scorned. I am not a feminist because I hate men, nor because I am a lesbian nor because I like to listen to the Indigo Girls. To the contrary I love men and I am not a lesbian. While I agree with hooks that womens liberation movement is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression (viii), I believe that her definition of feminism states the goals of the movement rather than very defining the term itself. In my mind, feminism is a synonym for equality. I am a feminist because I believe in the equality amongst men and women, plane and simple. No hidden agenda, no gimmicks, no tricky explanations. Sounds like an easy enough concept to comprehend. So why then is feminism such a misunders as well asd and feared notio n? Why has this ism in particular become the new f- cry of pop culture? Equality is a word commonly associated with American culture it is a long-standing theme of our history. This does not make a great deal of sense to me. After all, America was established on the premise that all MEN are created EQUAL. The term men is very specific as is the rest of the wording of the Constitution. It is doubtful that the founding fathers of our country meant this to take men and women or else they would take a shit stated exactly that. It is only in the latter half of the past century that this equality was extended to include the upright treatment of all peoples, regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity. America was first settled in large part by religious outcasts seeking a saf... ...y ain movement. hooks encourages her readers to demand alternatives to patriarchal, racist, and homophobic culture, and to imagine a different future. Her book literally speaks to everybody, asking readers, w hether they are feminist or not, to take look at feminism in a new light, to see that it touches all lives. No longer will people (men or women) have the excuse that feminism is too complex to understand, nor will they be able to get by on third-hand knowledge (as hooks refers to on vii) of the topic. As hooks intended, I finally have a book to hand to all of my friends (both male and female) who gave me strained looks because I lived on Mt. Vernon last year or because I am more than free to admit that I am proud to be a feminist. hooks shows that feminismfar from being an outdated concept or one curb to an intellectual eliteis indeed for everybody.