Through different examples, she draws a definite line between ‘ nice feminists‘ and ‘harsh feminists‘.
Kendall criticises the ‘ isms’ that do not strive to the innate idea of improving human lives. Gun violence, poverty, adultification (the racist act of seeing colored children as more mature than their age), gang culture, food insecurity, public housing, LGBTQIA+ rights, and violence against sex workers are some of the many issues the writer elaborates on.Īlso read: Book Review | Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women & Feminism By bell hooks Hood Feminism covers nuanced topics which are not often considered as a feminist issue in popular debates. It stirs the very foundation of human rights. It is a dangerous and gruesome way to treat anyone.
When others define freedom for you, you lose the agency to fight for what matters to you. The representation of different Black communities in the media also fuels in maintaining ‘ respectability‘ as a factor in deciding one’s safety. Mainstream feminism fails to see the harm this does – it propagates the narrative that Black women are inherently strong to protect themselves, and they don’t need protection from the law or system. In Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall usurps the conventional rhetoric that reaffirms stereotypes about Black women that paint them as ‘ strong and independent‘. Instead of addressing the issue at its core, they are often keen on asking the oppressed to stay strong
The author posits white supremacy as a barricade to the true motive of feminism, and extends the analysis to the other privileged sections of the society who define what constitutes a feminist issue for others. There is a paradox that often goes unnoticed if you take into account the organisations and bodies that work against any kind of discrimination. There have been attempts at smudging the edges of history to make it more convenient for those in power, squeezing in respectability politics and spreading shame and stigma around people who are socially positioned as not worthy of equal respect. In cases like groping or theft, a white woman’s statement is believed more often than that of a Black woman, or for that matter, even a Black man.
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