Bell Hooks: Her Methods Will Hook You

             Imagine you are walking along and encounter a river that you need to cross. There are two bridge options: one with some planks of wood missing here and there, and one is a mere tightrope. Well, this is similar to the fight for women’s rights of white Bourgeois women vs black women. White women walk the bridge with a few planks of wood missing here and there—they still face sexist challenges but in comparison to the mere tightrope that black women face it is a much easier path. Bell Hooks is a black woman of the 1980s who fought to pave a new, sturdy bridge for everyone, regardless of race or gender. 

While there were many women’s rights advocates of the 1900s, the unique tactics of Bell Hooks is what makes her such an influential figure of the time. Not only did she fight for women’s rights, but she encouraged many women to join the feminist movement, many of which were initially hesitant due to the term “feminism” having ambiguity and no true definition. Her first tactic was intersectionality, which focused on making the different challenges white and black women faced an intersectional issue, rather than a separate issue. When different races come together to share their backgrounds, identities, and class, they can work together to face their challenges. Hooks also emphasized that there is so much more to an individual than just these qualities. Many women of this time were looking at black women’s rights and white women’s rights as two different fights, while Hooks sectioned them together. By working together, there is a much bigger group fighting for a similar cause, thus a bigger force pushing for change. 

The second key tactic of Hooks was her emphasis on engaging men and boys in the fight for women’s—both black and white—rights. Men are the ones who have the majority of the power in our patriarchal system. As much as women advocate for equality, without men on their side it will be almost impossible to make true social and law changes. Another key tactic was focusing on sexual violence. Sexual violence is another way for men to control women, which is ultimately the foundation of patriarchy. It goes so much deeper than just not allowing women to vote or not paying them the same as men. Hooks focused on these issues, in women of ALL communities, classes, and backgrounds. That is what made her methods so effective, and they did have visible results. She was able to get a vast amount of women, especially black women, to join the feminist movement. Therefore, as we continue this fight even today, we must remember the most influential figures of the past, such as Hooks, and even take notes on their strategies to apply them today.