progressing the feminist movement

Throughout learning about bell hooks in a few classes at Govs, I am reminded of her intellectual and analytical look at history and the present day, relating philosophical high critical theory to moral behavior and our interactions with others. She was not only a writer and artist but an educator both in and out of the classroom, influencing those around her by fostering a pursuit of deep thinking about themselves and others. I believe her commitment to education is critically important, as continuously growing and learning with the changing world is vital in molding our own experiences and views to resonate with ourselves and our relation to the world. As she says in Sexism, a commitment to feminism as a way of working against sexist oppression in all ways - through dismantling the ideology of Western culture and cultivating a society that fundamentally values people over economic and material gains - would only be possible “if each individual participant acquires a critical political consciousness based on ideas and beliefs.” Personal anecdotes and experiences can connect us further with the passion of a movement, and bell hooks’ dedication to exploring all human experiences and treatment by society to highlight collective issues and fight them is indicative of this.

I watched a talk where bell hooks discussed how racism feels like an assault on one's sensibilities, compared to sexism, which is far more woven into the fabric of our daily lives that she says is “harder for people to resist.” Like I discussed the importance of listening and learning about others’ experiences and our own to inspire a more comprehensive thought process, I noted this statement and thought of the many ways, like at Govs, where sexist ways are systematically normalized, and opposition is downplayed and disvalued by figures that otherwise claim to support equality.

When we talked with Mr. Carson about intersectionality, I thought of how this highlights the importance of factors that play into our treatment in society and how they compile with one another, reinforcing that forming an interconnected knowledge of our own life in relation to the social, political, and historical factors is critical to supporting and connecting with ourselves and the experiences of others in pursuit of an equitable world. The feminist movement must acknowledge and expand interconnectedness to be successful, just like the “imperialist-white-supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy” has proven to only gain power through its own interconnected ideology among pillars of power. To combat this web of power, the opposition must grow and expand by furthering its own connections, reminding me of how in 2015, Laverne Cox was credited with adding “cis” and “heteronormative” to bell hooks’ target of interconnected power structures to dismantle, joining hooks and other women throughout the history of movements defined as feminism in pursue of expanding the influence and support of feminism for the cognizant dismantling of all inordinate and destructive systems.