bell hooks theory

• Why does bell hooks not use capital letters for her name?


  personal choice she makes because she doesn't want to define herself by her name which she created for herself
• what’s her theory centred around?

  women and feminism
• what is feminism according to bell hooks?


  the struggle to end patriarchal oppression, she believes feminism is this struggle to try and stop societies being dominated entirely by men and to try and fight for equality
• what does bell hooks believe?


  feminism is not just a lifestyle choice, you need to be politically active to be a feminist, you need to be someone who is going out and campaigning for, fighting for and doing something in society to change things
• what does bell hooks say about the oppression of women?


  its not a simple thing, you cant just say women are discriminated against and lump all women together in one category because she believes there are levels of discrimination and oppression and that we have to appreciate and understand those levels to be able to understand what its like for all women
• what does bell hooks say about women being discriminated against?


  women are discriminated against and are often oppressed within most cultures and societies, but she wants people to understand that discrimination and oppression is very closely tied to things like ethnicity and class. a women from one class may be discriminated more than a women from another class for example- women with less money are oppressed more than women with more money
• Who draws attention to the black female experience in her work?

  bell hooks
• What does hooks contend about the silence regarding black femininity?

  It has been sidelined during cultural changes
• How did the black civil rights movement of the 1960s affect black women?

  It neglected their experiences
• What did the feminist movements of the 1970s fail to address according to hooks?

  Black female experiences were left undefined
• What does hooks seek to explain about the silencing of black women?

  Reasons for their sidelining during key movements
• What did black women construct to escape stigma according to hooks?

  Sisterhood mirroring white feminist ideals
• What conservative ideals did black women embrace in the 1950s?

  Conformity and domesticity
• Why were black women reluctant to join the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s?

  They embraced conservative female ideals
• How does hooks describe white feminism's racism?

  It excluded black women from suffrage movements
• What did white feminists decline to acknowledge in the 1960s and 1970s?

  Black women's experiences and racial concerns
• What does hooks suggest about mainstream media representations of black women?

  They are largely absent
• How are magazine beauty ideals typically constructed according to hooks?

  To be white
• What does hooks argue about black masculinity in media?

  It dominates representations of the black community
• What did the UCLA diversity report reveal about black female roles in 2018?

  Only 56 lead roles were played by black females
• What questions can help diagnose the ethics of absent black femininity in set texts?

  • Which texts lack representations of Black femininities?
  • Does absence suggest exclusion or marginalization?
  • Are Black females excluded at the expense of black males?
  • Does exclusion symbolize lack of power?
• What stereotype does hooks associate with over-sexualized representations of black women?

  Jezebels
• How have Jezebel stereotypes affected black women according to hooks?


  They have been internalized by black women
• What historical role have black women been preoccupied with according to hooks?

  Domestic service
• What does intersectional media aim to achieve?

  • Explore interlocking nature of oppression
  • Highlight white male privilege
  • Outline economic oppression
  • Give voice to invisible social groups
  • Celebrate otherness
• What event prompted the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement?

  The acquittal of George Zimmerman
• What does the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter represent?

  A rallying call for protests
• What are the key concepts of intersectionality according to hooks?

  • Interconnected oppression
  • Dominance of white viewpoints in feminism
  • Social hierarchy placing white men at the top
• What does hooks suggest about the representation of black women and men?

  They are shaped by historical forces
• How have feminist movements of the twentieth century been characterized according to hooks?

  Dominated by a white viewpoint
• What social hierarchy does hooks describe?

  White men at the top, followed by others