Bell Hooks

Gloria Jean Watkins was a writer, activist and academic, most known for her influence on intersectional feminism and work on the position of Black women in society and feminist movements.

bell hooks biography

Fig. 1 - Bell Hooks.

Bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins) was born in September 1952 to a working-class African American family. She was one of six children. Her mother, Rosa Bell Watkins, worked as a maid for white families, and her father, Veodis Watkins, worked as a janitor.

Hooks grew up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, a segregated town. Hooks' experiences growing up in this town informed much of her later work on identity. For instance, in her memoir Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood (1996) hooks' described:

Hooks enjoyed reading and performing poetry readings at her local church while growing up. She was particularly inspired by poets such as Langston Hughes, Elizabeth Barret Browning, and William Wordsworth.

For the majority of her childhood, hooks attended a segregated school. Even though the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education made segregation illegal by federal law, many schools remained segregated until the late 1950s. African American students who attended desegregated schools often received racist backlash from their white peers.

Hooks graduated from Hopkinsville High School, a desegregated school, with a scholarship to Stanford University, from where she graduated with a BA in English in 1973. She continued her academic studies with a MA in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976 and a doctorate in English at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1983.

Outside of literary contributions to feminist discourse, hooks worked as a teacher. She first held several positions at the University of California, Santa Cruz, before teaching African American studies at Yale University in 1985. She took on a teaching role at Oberlin College, Ohio, in 1988, where she taught Women's Studies. In 1994, hooks' accepted a Distinguished Lecturer of English position at the City College of New York. A decade later, she accepted a position at Berea College, Kentucky.

Berea College set up a bell hooks Institute in 2014 and opened the bell hooks Centre in 2021, prior to her death in December that year, to preserve her legacy as a writer, activist, and teacher.

bell hooks feminist theory & intersectionality

The majority of hooks' work came to be defined by the concept of intersectional feminism. Hooks' first academic book, Ain't I a woman? (1981) addressed the intersection of gender and racial identity and the effect of this intersection on black women.

In 1984, hooks presented her feminist theory in her work Feminist theory: from margin to centre. In this work, hooks introduced the concept of interlocking webs of oppression, which underpinned how individuals are impacted by multiple systems of oppression related to the factors which make up their identity. Through this concept, hooks expanded on the traditional concept of feminism as a movement that promotes the equality of men and women, by critiquing the dominance of white women in the ideals and aims of feminism at the time.

Hooks recognised that white feminist academics focused their theories and work on systems of oppression relating only to gender, neglecting the oppression faced by women of colour. Additionally, hooks understood that by only addressing one form of oppression, without addressing the issues of racism or classism, the feminist movement undermined its own efforts to create an equal society. Each form of oppression relies on a cultural norm or acceptance of such oppression, as underpinned by hooks' critique of the role of the media in constructing and maintaining a white-capitalist-patriarchy by only representing the views and experiences of dominant social groups. From this, hooks argued that unless the feminist movement represented the experiences of all women and addressed all areas of oppression, the revolutionary change would not occur.

Thus, in her work, hooks proposed a new definition of feminism as a movement that intends to end the oppression and exploitation of women from all racial identities, classes, and abilities, among other areas of oppression. Through her recognition of how forms of oppression intersect and influence each other, hooks made feminism a more inclusive movement.

bell hooks key works & books

Let's take a look at bell hook's most famous works!

Feminist Theory from Margin to Center (1984)

Feminist Theory pushed bell hooks to the forefront of the feminist movement. In this work, hooks challenged traditional conceptions of feminism and had a long-lasting impact on the movement. She argued that the reliance of traditional feminism on white, middle-class experiences had limited the ability of the feminist movement to pursue women's liberation. As a solution to this, hooks presented a new definition for feminism as a movement inclusive of women of colour, disabled women, queer women, working-class women: all women.

Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992)

This collection of essays by bell hooks considers traditional narratives on Blackness in literature, film and politics and their role in forming oppressive systems. Hooks examines,

With a particular focus on these images in the media, hooks presents the argument that there is a need for alternative ways to perceive blackness and whiteness. From reconstructing conceptions of Black masculinity to loving your Blackness and Black features, hooks highlights the importance of representation as an aspect of intersectional feminism.

All About Love: New Visions (2000)

All About Love differs from hooks' more famous works; it focuses on our perception of love rather than issues of race, class, and gender. Hooks presents the argument that men have been socialised to distrust the value of love, while women have been socialised to place too much trust in love. This argument relates to hooks' earlier (and later) critiques of systems of oppression perpetrated by societal perceptions present in the media. Hooks covers multiple aspects of love in this book, including affection, respect, trust, and commitment. She examines how these aspects of love are influenced by social systems and advises how we can address our internalised conceptions of love.

bell hooks important quotes

Some important quotes by bell hooks include:

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984, p. 17):

Hooks highlights how there is a need for an agreed-upon definition of feminism for the feminist movement to succeed. By creating a unified feminist political movement, a sound foundation can be formed and built upon, allowing feminism to grow stronger. If the definition of feminism doesn't include all women or follow a consensus, the movement will be less powerful.

Loving Blackness as Political Resistance in Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992, p. 20):

In this quote, hooks presents the oppositional gaze as a form of resistance. Socio-political systems work to oppress Black people by discriminating against their hair, facial features, and skin. This discrimination, in turn, is used to justify other racist ideals which present Black people as less. By loving their features, loudly and proudly, Black people can fight against such systems of oppression.

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics (2000, p. 16):

Hooks re-states the argument she first presented in her work Ain't I a Woman (1981) and continued discussing and developing throughout her life. That feminism isn't truly feminism unless it is inclusive of everybody. If feminism continues to follow its traditional meaning as a movement intended to create equality between men and women, it risks excluding women of colour and other differences. This exclusion will prevent the feminist movement from reaching its full potential.