An eye-opener

books:

	• Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics bell hooks South End Press, 2000 - 120 pages average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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A Must Have

Im a young feminist and I adore bell hooks. Before reading hooks I was only familiar with one opinion of feminism: the white, upper-middle class, waspy side. Im totally digging reading another side of the story. Hooks' language is accessible but her ideas are complex. She tackles topics that I other authors overlook. By not limiting the scope of the discussion to body image, rape, and compulsory pregnancy, hooks starts a whole new conversation. The intersection of class, race, and gender has never been dissected more beautifully. Love it.

An eye-opener

Feminism is for Everybody represents HOPE: hope for a better future for women and men alike. It provides great insight on the meaning of radical, visionary feminism and a concise history of it, without overburdening the reader in any sort of heavy-handed academic tone.

This handbook was an eye-opener for me because I was not aware of how many women--not just men, have also contributed to the continuation of sexist thinking and actions. I was also surprised to learn how some women have created obstacles towards the goal of gender equality by stubbornly clinging to racial or homophophic thinking. It is quite a humbling thought to know that I have been guilty of some of the thinking she described, and which she described as having divided women amongst themselves.

What I liked best is how hooks provided a definition of feminism clearly and simply:

Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexual exploitation, and oppression.

I LOVE that! That definition gets right to the point. As I am growing more deeply passionate about women's issues with time, bell hooks' primer gave me a good introduction to what radical, visionary feminism means; she inspired me to want to share with others the importance that feminism has upon society, and that it IS indeed, for EVERYBODY.

I did find it to be somewhat wordy, and there were some spelling errors. Though this aspect was sometimes distracting to the flow of reading, it's quite minor in the whole picture. It is a good reference tool to return to in the future, and I will recommend it to anyone wanting to familiarize herself or himself to what feminism means.

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A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving....There can be no love without justice.-from the chapter "To Love Again: The Heart of Feminism"

In this engaging and provocative volume, bell hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed to equality, mutual respect, and justice.

hooks applies her critical analysis to the most contentious and challenging issues facing feminists today, including reproductive rights, violence, race, class, and work. With her customary insight and unsparing honesty, hooks calls for a feminism free from divisive barriers but rich with rigorous debate. In language both eye-opening and optimistic, hooks encourages us to demand alternatives to patriarchal, racist, and homophobic culture, and to imagine a different future.

hooks speaks to all those in search of true liberation, asking readers to take look at feminism in a new light, to see that it touches all lives. Issuing an invitation to participate fully in feminist movement and to benefit fully from it, hooks shows that feminism-far from being an outdated concept or one limited to an intellectual elite--is indeed for everybody.

bell hooks is the author of numerous critically acclaimed books on the politics of race, gender, class, and culture. A frequent lecturer in the United States and abroad, she is Distinguished Professor of English at City College, City University of New York.

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