41 pages • 1 hour read
bell hooksA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
In the Introduction, hooks introduces herself and describes her pride in her work as “a writer, a feminist theorist, a cultural critic” (xi). She acknowledges that her descriptions of herself as a writer and a cultural critic are generally well-received, but her declaration that she is a feminist theorist generally seems to invite discord from her listeners. At this point in a conversation, hooks
tend[s] to hear all about the evil of feminism and the bad feminists: how ‘they’ hate men; how ‘they’ want to do against nature—and god; how ‘they’ are all lesbians; how ‘they’ are taking all the jobs and making the world hard for white men, who do not stand a chance (xi).
From these encounters, hooks learned that feminism is widely misunderstood, so she has written this book in order “to have an answer to the question ‘what is feminism?’ that is rooted neither in fear or in fantasy” (xii).
hooks declares that “the problem is sexism” (xii) while acknowledging that “females can be just as sexist as men” (xii). hooks points out that men “do benefit the most from patriarchy,” (xiii), and though “[m]ost men find it difficult to be patriarchs” (xiii), it is possible that “they fear letting go of the benefits” (xiii).
By bell hooks
Ain't I A Woman
Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism
bell hooks
All about Love
All about Love: Love Song to the Nation Book 1
bell hooks
Feminist Theory
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center
bell hooks
Killing Rage
Killing Rage: Ending Racism
bell hooks
Salvation: Black People And Love
Salvation: Black People And Love
bell hooks
Teaching Critical Thinking
Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom
bell hooks
Teaching to Transgress
Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
bell hooks
The Will to Change
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
bell hooks