Customer Reviews

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book 6 years ago on holiday and I couldn't put it down. I tell you this just to let you know that although the subject matter may appear "heavy", hooks style of writing makes the most complicated theories and intellectual of thoughts on Womanism/Feminism easy to understand and entertaining.

This a thought provoking read. For example her theory on the propagation of miscegenation ( the law that banned interracial marriage and our current negative attidudes towards this today) really made me think. Briefly, she theorised that as white men held the key to power the law was brought in not to protect white women from black men but to stop black women marrying white men. If say a black woman married the President she would also have access to power via her direct access and ability to influence the most powerful man in the world.

hooks as a writer is brilliant, she's inspiring, informative and imaginative. Which must be quite difficult given the subject matter she deals with. Start with Aint I a Woman and you'll go onto read her whole library. Enjoy.

Those who would dismiss Hook's scholarship and arguments as substandard are truly threatened by the radical observations she makes about the world and black women's relationship to it and in it.

The "Clif Notes" version Hooks has been maligned for by her critics have been practiced openly by white feminists (and predominantly white groups) so I honestly cannot see what the criticism is about unless it is the particular ideas themselves and not the way they are phrased. Hook's work is radical because it forces readers to deal with the less than favorable aspects of American history.

Confronting the real truth about America and the way it has historically treated and maligned women of color (and how they moblized against this) can be a challenging read, but only if the reader comes in with a defensive mind, prepared to discount the work anyway. Individuals with an open mind should love the pages of this now-classic work.

I have always loved this book and it's practical insights on gender roles and a multifaceted approach to reproductive rights. Although Hooks is pro-choice, she reminds us that legalized abortion should be only one aspect of reproductive rights, and freedom from sterilzation abuse and full information on contraceptives is also important. It is a testament to Hooks and other activists that this paradigm has been adopted by the general feminist movement.

True women's liberation involves the liberation of all women from all artificially constructed notions about gender and ethnicity. While we as a nation have historically seen the civil rights movement as primarily for black men, and the feminist movement as being for white women, we have silenced and subjugated the black feminist who has one foot in each of these communities and is going to weave together her own experiences.

White males are of course the real reason that there has been racism within feminism. As bell hooks so courageously describes, white male eurocentric patriarchy has compromised white feminists, who have in turn eclipsed the brave work of so many Black feminists. As a white feminist, I am proud to be a reader of bell hooks. Such superb writing can only make me wonder why white males like Christopher Hitchens and John Leonard are filling up the pages of the Nation, when what we need are fabulously courageous voices like that of bell hooks.

Hooks' book gives the beginning student of African-American women's history a strong and solid foundation upon which to build their knowledge. The book's contents bring to light many historical details that have been left out of American history courses but their effects are still present in our society. Hooks establishes the historical reason for the rift between White feminist and Black women, and does so without blame.

I alternately loved and hated this book. bell hooks makes me angry, but this book challenged my mind and my thinking. This is a must read for anyone seeking a solid foundation in feminist theory and writing. hooks explains the challenges facing black feminists like no one else can. While at times I do find flaws in her assumptions and logic, pushing the limits is the only way to secure positive change.

bell hooks clearly illustrates how the black woman is the dual embodiment of racial and gender injustices. This is the author's forum to address significant social and political issues that continually render African-American women invisible and devalue their experiences collectively, as well as individually. She manages to do this in a effective and unbiased fashion. hooks' delivers an irrefutable arguement that will encourage readers to open their hearts and minds to confront their own internalized racism, sexism, and classism.

This one changed mine. I urge all young women of color to read this book while you are still in high school or college. Do that for yourself. I urge all other humans to read it as soon as you can. It's the seminal work of bell hooks career, which continues to enlighten and enrich all of us. Unlike some other "classic" works, it deserves the designation, for it remains as timely today as it was at publication.

Her observations are wise. Her grasp of history is absolute. Her ideas stimulate intelligent and loving thought, conversation, and action. Read this book.

This book helped me understand that there is, indeed, a place for me in feminism as a black woman. It also solidified the glee I feel in being a black woman. I accept the challenge to continue the legacy of my sisters of color.

This book was really good. Bell Hooks gave an incredible view on how are world works. Being a young black female with a lot of growing still to go i found this book helpful on how I deal with life. And how i handle my "Evertday" trials

Simply wonderful, detailed, in depth history of the Black woman in America. bell hooks details the Catch 22 situations Black women have faced and continue to face.

It was not are usual type of reading but well worth it.