Right at the beginning the author states that the book's goal is to provide an accessible "guide" to feminism for all. She merely chooses to use 'white supremacist capitalist patriarchy' as a refrain so as to hammer this information into our brains. Yes the recurrence of this phrase gets dull after a while, yes it is somewhat annoying but no it is not irrelevant. Especially since bell hooks seems to support the branch of feminism which brings the concept of equality for everyone (including homosexuals) in all walks of life - sexual, economic, social and religious - under its envelope. Honestly, I could go on for quite a while here pointing out the inaccurate, offensive and nonsensical bits, but I won't.

Problematically, for the most part feminist thinkers have never wanted to call attention to the reality that women are often the primary culprits in everyday violence against children simply because they are the primary parental caregivers. While it was crucial and revolutionary that feminist movement called attention to the fact that male domination in the home often creates an autocracy where men sexually abuse children, the fact is that masses of children are daily abused verbally and physically by women and men. Maternal sadism often leads women to emotionally abuse children, and feminist theory has not yet offered both feminist critique and feminist intervention when the issue is adult female violence against children. In a culture of domination where children have no civil rights, those who are powerful, adult males and females, can exert autocratic rule of children. All the medical facts show that children are violently abused daily in this society. Much of that abuse is life threatening. Many children die. Women perpetuate this violence as much as men if not more. A serious gap in feminist thinking and practice has been the refusal of the movement to confront head-on adult female violence against children. Emphasizing male domination makes it easy for women, including feminist thinkers, to ignore the ways women abuse children." It is neither particularly accessible, nor does it really help as a guide. Thankfully, I know history fairly well, particularly the history of feminism, so I knew what the author was talking about in most cases, but for a person who does not know much history this book will be a torture. It is jumbled, inconsistent and badly written, but let me start at the beginning. A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving....There can be no love without justice.—from the chapter "To Love Again: The Heart of Feminism" Defiende en cada punto la importancia de tomar en cuenta la interseccionalidad de la raza y la situación socioeconómica junto con el género, de lo contrario no se llegara a ningún lado, el patriarcado continuara fortalecido y el feminismo debilitado. Además hooks justifica porque El Feminismo es Para Todo el Mundo, porque no es como piensan muchos y lamentablemente algunas supuestas feministas, que es una confrontación de mujeres contra hombres pues eso solo reproduce la política patriarcal de divide y vencerás, porque los hombres también pueden ser aliados, ser feministas y defender la causa, ya que el patriarcado también les afecta, así como a los niños y los ancianos. “La seguridad y la continuidad de la vida en el planeta requiere que los hombres se hagan feministas.” hooks también remarca en la importancia de crear espacios feministas en la educación o en el hogar, en hacer del feminismo algo accesible a todos y no una cuestión elitista que solo ciertos intelectuales puedan entender.Hooks nos habla del sexismo, machismo, sororidad, racismo, lesbofobia, transfobia y lucha de clases dentro del propio feminismo. Es uno de los libros más libres y llenos de claridad que he leído. Y es que, como señala continuamente, primero tenemos que deconstruirnos nosotras para después poder destruir, juntas, el sistema patriarcal, racista, lesbófobo, tránsfobo y clasista, en el que las mujeres no se ayudan, se atacan. Creo que esto es algo bastante esencial y que sigue siendo necesario a estas alturas. Hasta que no aprendamos a que se tienen que atacar los discursos, no las personas. Hasta que no aprendamos a que todas tenemos los mismos derechos y todas tenemos una voz. Hasta que no aprendamos a que nuestras diferencias nos hacen más fuertes, no más débiles. Hasta entonces, habrá que seguir luchando no solo contra el sistema, también contra los discursos dentro del feminismo. Wow, for a short book, without too many five dollar words, this work is extremely thorough and requires a lot of work and contemplation on the part of the reader. Her book, “Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics,” was written in a very similar tenor as the previous book I posted about, “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center.” The difference is that the former is a discussion of multiple aspects of intersectional feminism, where as the latter mostly examines its theory. If I were to advise which book to read first, “Passionate Politics” is a little shorter and more accessible if you’re new to the topic. Either way, they are both excellent and consistent. Forse un po' anche per le dimensioni di questo volumetto, quasi un breviario ateo di preghiera, mi è venuta voglia di comprarlo in decine di copie da regalare. For instance, in the chapter on reproductive rights, hooks states that to be anti-choice is to be anti-feminist. So far, so good. But then she goes on and on about how she is personally opposed to abortion. Why? Why is that important in a book that is NOT hooks' memoir or diary, but claims to be an introduction to feminist theory. hooks own stance on abortion is irrelevant and shouldn't have been elaborated upon. Especially not when she spews nonsense about repeat abortions causing health problems etc. Or the chapter on radical lesbians, where she claims that some women "chose" bisexuality, as if a person can choose their own sexuality.

Me encantó este libro, porque me parece que la visión desde la cual habla bell hooks, una mujer afroamericana, se refleja mucho en las diferentes situaciones que pueden vivir las mujeres que vienen de distintos entornos en Latinoamérica. Algunas tienen más privilegio, mientras otras tienen trabajos mal remunerados, y van quedando al margen. Toca este tema, y como es importante la solidaridad entre mujeres no solo en el hablar de feminismo, y como hay algunos temas que si son ineludibles en el feminismo, como el derecho al aborto, a la educación, etc. In this engaging and provocative volume, bell hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed to equality, mutual respect, and justice. Kalimat tersebut menciptakan miskonsepsi bahwa seksualitas bisa dipilih dan seksualitas hanya terdiri dari dua spekrum: straight dan suka sesama jenis.Setidaknya sudah tiga buku dengan buku ini yang kubaca perihal perempuan dan feminisme. Semakin ke sini, aku semakin sepakat dengan pemikiran-pemikiran feminisme yang ternyata salah-kaprah disampaikan oleh media massa sehingga membuat orang awam melipir lebih jauh dari konsepsi dasar feminisme. Also, while I appreciate the personal and historical context, one has the feeling she is often airing personal complaints against the wrong version of feminism taking over. Her complaints about feminism are kinda hard to cover in a brief review. She makes some interesting points, but still seems to harbor a lot of resentment toward those feminists who have it all wrong (according to her). This would be the substance of an interesting essay, and her personal experiences within feminism would make for an interesting memoir. But then that brings us to the issue of, is this really the right context? We have not amassed enough testimony to let the world know the sexual pathologies and horrors women endured prior to the existence of dependable birth control. It evokes fear within me just to imagine a world where every time a female is sexual she risks being impregnated, to imagine a world where men want sex and women fear it. In such world a desiring woman might find the intersection of her desire and her fear. We have not amassed enough testimony telling us what women did to ward off male sexual advances, how they coped with ongoing marital rape, how they coped with risking death to deal with unwanted pregnancies. We do know that the world of female sexuality was forever changed by the coming of feminist sexual revolution." Yang paling fatal menurutku ada pada kalimat "Perempuan-perempuan heteroseksual yang memilih hubungan sesama jenis karena benar-benar merasa kecewa dengan laki-laki sekarang bergabung dengan para lesbian radikal." hooks applies her critical analysis to the most contentious and challenging issues facing feminists today, including reproductive rights, violence, race, class, and work. With her customary insight and unsparing honesty, hooks calls for a feminism free from divisive barriers but rich with rigorous debate. In language both eye-opening and optimistic, hooks encourages us to demand alternatives to patriarchal, racist, and homophobic culture, and to imagine a different future.

I read the phrase "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" so many times that it stopped having meaning. (Also: this is what I mean about the language not being the most accessible). Selesai baca ini, aku ingin mengulik lebih jauh tentang feminisme terutama dalam konteks pemikiran dan praktiknya di Indonesia. Ada satu buku incaran yang sudah kucatat yang ditulis oleh seorang Indonesia.

Events

Buku ini diklaim bisa menjadi buku pegangan bagi orang-orang yang masih awam mengenai feminisme, dengan klaim bahwa buku-buku feminisme yang lain masih penuh dengan jargon yang kurang dimengerti oleh orang-orang yang masih awam mengenai feminisme.

Feminist politics aims to end domination to free us to be who we are - to live lives where we love justice, where we can live in peace. Feminism is for everybody." Butuh beberapa waktu untuk menyelesaikan buku 160 halaman ini. Selain begitu serius membicarakan paham sosialisme yang satu ini, buku ini menjelaskan perintilan-perintilan kecil tentang pemikiran dan praktik feminisme. Dengan begitu, pembaca seakan-akan diajak menguliti feminisme.Where I stand unconvinced is the idea that feminism is for "everybody." No ideology has every answer and the attempt to apply it everywhere always fails. Where said ideology is weak is where its downfall occurs. In this case it is the inability of feminism to be resolved with class, likely because class politics is often the central concern of men. This in turn limits what intersectionality can do politically. At the same time, there is no accounting for feminism's weak points. The feminism of the variety championed by Hooks, which has since become ascendant, will have unintended negative consequences. The persistent failure of thinkers, be they communists, Randians, or feminists to accept limitations on their ideology or account for possible future failure is depressing, but it seems inevitable. Este pequeñito gran libro logro darle un giro de 180º a lo que yo consideraba como feminismo, bell hooks (si, con minúscula) hace una revisión profunda del movimiento feminista en todos sus más importantes temas de abordaje como la violencia, las relaciones, la espiritualidad, etc. Rescata y aboga por un feminismo radical, como el único modo de realizar cambios sustanciales en las estructuras patriarcales, por su lado critica los movimientos reformistas debido a su carácter débil e incluso imitador del sistema opresor, de ese modo hace una constante critica a las mujeres blancas supremacistas que se han apoderado del feminismo como una causa que solo ellas pueden liderar, defendiendo intereses egoístas mientras invisibilizan a otras mujeres e incluso reproducen las mismas prácticas sexistas que en un principio defendían erradicar.