Alexa Strom April 14th, 2023 WS 247 1002 Words Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot, published on February 25th, 2020, offers a bold and insightful look at mainstream feminism and its failure to address the needs and concerns of women from marginalized communities. It is a very thought-provoking novel that exposed me to many issues I had not previously been aware of. Kendall, a writer, speaker, and activist, argues that mainstream feminism has been vastly dominated by affluent and privileged white women. These so-called feminists tend to solely focus on issues that predominantly impact them, such as equal pay and representation in politics while dismissing the experiences …show more content…
She contends that these problems must be addressed in conjunction with other social and economic challenges since they are essential to establishing true gender equality. The book is divided into several chapters, each of which centers on a specific topic related to Kendall’s idea of hood feminism. She examines issues such as the criminal justice system, reproductive rights, food insecurity, and the impact of poverty on women's lives. She also explores the concept of intersectionality and how it applies to feminist activism, arguing that we cannot talk about gender inequality without also addressing racism, classism, and other forms of oppression. Her inclusion of intersectionality is really the cherry on top because you can’t have genuine feminism without …show more content…
Drawing from her own experiences, Kendall provides a deeply moving account of what it means to be a Black woman navigating the complex landscape of feminism. Through vivid descriptions of her upbringing in a disadvantaged neighborhood and the challenges she faced in mainstream feminist spaces, she brings to light the often-overlooked struggles of women who are too often marginalized and downright silenced. Kendall's personal stories not only add emotional weight to her arguments but also ground them in the real-world consequences of the issues she discusses. Through her compelling narratives, she forces readers to confront the ways in which racism, poverty, and gender discrimination intersect to create a system that systematically excludes and harms some of the most vulnerable members of society. In this way, "Hood Feminism" stands as a testament to the power of personal storytelling to inspire empathy, understanding, and
Some may live through being sexually abused, live in extreme poverty, or even fall victim of being physical or verbally abused. Whatever the reason is, this book shows an outlet for these struggles. The only way we can help others fight these intersectionality issues is by knowing your privilege and using it to help the oppressed with no voice. In Brittney Cooper’s article “Feminism’s ugly internal clash: Why its future is not up to the white women” she states that “the future of feminism is not up to the white women. Not by themselves anyway”.
The predominant ideas put forth in the piece from the Combahee River Collective were those that addressed the shortcomings of the feminist movement to include all women and to address the full range of issues that oppress individuals and groups of people in our patriarchal society. This greatly furthered my ongoing development and understanding of what intersectionality is, what its goals are, and how it can help everyone instead of the predominately white, cisgendered, heterosexual, upper middle class women that composed and continue to compose a large portion of the feminist movement. One of the biggest shortcomings that are addressed in this piece focused on the racism within the feminist movement and its limited or even minimal efforts
Nishka Maheshwary Jackie Reitzes Writing the Essay Section 50 28 April 2015 Exercise 5 Dear Adya, Recently, I have been reading a collection of essays by Ellen Willis that I have found to be quite intriguing. No More Nice Girls explores sex, gender, and feminism over a variety of essays, and displays a strong tension between how most feminists/activists believe action should be taken and what the author herself believes should be done regarding the issue. In each essay Willis confronts liberal and cultural feminism, and critiques the progress that has been made over time through her diction and witty questions, thus allowing the reader to see her true intentions of the argument. Willis strongly opposes the idea of cultural feminism,
This essay examines how intersectionality impacts Black women, examining their various levels of struggle and the tenacity that defines their path. Crenshaw contends that comprehending intersectionality allows us to see the diverse identities of minority women and better grasp how various oppressive systems interact to produce compounded discrimination. She highlights the significance of viewing race, gender, and other social categories as linked components of one's identity rather than as separate and isolated issues. Black women reside at the intersection of race and gender, which exposes them to a unique set of issues that are sometimes disregarded or misunderstood. Black women face racism and sexism in predominantly White nations, making their experiences complex.
The generic feminist movement consists of “white, middle-class heterosexual women” (Tong 42). These women focus on their needs, and neglect the specific needs of many women of color, who are often of a lower socioeconomic standing. White feminists focus on liberating the oppressive “housewife role,” (Tong 214) and fail to even attempt to include minority women who may in fact dream of a life in which they were able to stay home with their children. White feminists “fail to realize that it is possible to oppress people by ignoring their differences” (Tong 214). This issue makes it difficult for many non-white women to relate to or desire to be a part of the feminist movement.
What is feminism? Why is it so important? Do you experience feminist matters today? All of these questions are very prevalent to your daily lives in the 21st century and can be answered in numerous stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Story Of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. These questions can also be answered in theoretical articles and books such as Literary and Cultural Theory by Donald Hall, “The Agony of Feminism: Why Feminist Theory Is Necessary After All” by Nina Baym, and “Western Feminism In A Global Perspective” by Violet K. Dixon.
In Gloria Steinem’s, “Our Revolution Has Just Begun,” Steinem addresses many different aspects of feminism, including the myths surrounding it and the hard evidence of sexism in the world today. This is closely linked to standpoint theory, defined as “different social and historical situations give rise to very different group and individual experiences and theories about those experiences” (WL, G-6). Steinem offers many valid criticisms of modern society and the stereotypes and myths surrounding feminism and women’s culture. For instance, she offers two main stereotypes that are common misconceptions of feminism today. The first stereotype is that feminism is only for white women of the middle class, and the second is that the feminist era
It is crucial for feminism, specifically white feminists, to acknowledge the shortcomings of the movement. Kendall argues that white women must recognize their privilege and how it can be used to perpetuate oppression. She notes that white women are not just “passive beneficiaries” of racist oppression. Instead, they have actively participated in white supremacy and racism. Throughout history, the myth of white women lacking the power to oppress others has been perpetuated.
In September of 1979, Audre Lorde, poet, spoke about the impossibility of dismantling the patriarchy through oppressive means. The black feminist woman, Lorde, who has cancer at the point of this speech, uses ethos, pathos, and logos in order to guilt the audience into making a change of how black feminists are represented. Ethos is the building of the author's credibility in order to become more persuasive because people tend to believe people who they deem likable or respectable. “I agreed to take part in a New York University Institute for the Humanities conference a year ago, with the understanding that I would be commenting upon papers dealing with the role of difference within the lives of American women: difference of race, sexuality, class, and age. The absence of these considerations weakens any feminist discussion of the personal and the political.”
In his exclusive essay for Glamour, titled “President Obama Says, “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like”, former president Barack Obama shares his views as a feminist, as well as how it has impacted his life as a son, husband, father, and president. He states how growing up with a single mother, supporting his wife, and raising two daughters has inspired and formed his views as a feminist. Throughout his life, he has seen the progress of women’s role in society enhance over time and he claims that right now is an “extraordinary time to be a woman”. Though there is still room for improvement on women 's rights, our country has made great progress in the act of women’s rights, according to Obama. During his presidency, he admits that he was working on creating policies to further the equality of women and their rights.
Black feminism issued as a theoretical and practical effort demonstrating that race, gender, and class are inseparable in the social worlds we inhabit. We need to understand the interconnections between the black and women’s
It either includes all women, or it’s not feminism” (Makers). She frequently reminds individuals that it was disproportionately women of color, especially black women, who created the feminist movement. She contends that erasing black women’s integral contributions disgraces the founders of the movement and eradicates the efforts of feminism’s true founding
Black female feminists have experiences that are identical to those of white female feminists D. Feminism can be threatening to black men* Citation: Combahee
Kareen Harboyan English 1C Professor Supekar March 15, 2018 Word Count: Crenshaw’s Mapping the Margins: The Marginalization of Women of Color Analyzed Through Generalization and A Feminist Lens Crenshaw's Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color expands on the multifaceted struggles of women of color and the generalizations ingrained in society that limit women of color and keep them in a box. In this text, Crenshaw builds on the concept of intersectionality which proposes that social categorizations such as gender and race are intertwined and have great influence on one another.
Afro-American women writers present how racism permeates the innermost recesses of the mind and heart of the blacks and affects even the most intimate human relationships. While depicting the corrosive impact of racism from social as well as psychological perspectives, they highlight the human cost black people have to pay in terms of their personal relationships, particularly the one between mother and daughter. Women novelists’ treatment of motherhood brings out black mothers’ pressures and challenges for survival and also reveals their different strategies and mechanisms to deal with these challenges. Along with this, the challenges black mothers have to face in dealing with their adolescent daughters, who suffer due to racism and are heavily influenced by the dominant value system, are also underlined by these writers. They portray how a black mother teaches her daughter to negotiate the hostile, wider world, and prepares her to face the problems and challenges boldly and confidently.