The Blue Stockings bell hooks

Upbringing

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.” GLORIA JEAN WATKINS Born: September 25, 1952

Adopted the name of her great grandmother as her pen name in order to bell hooks “Honor the unlettered wisdom of her foremothers.”

“A world where folks were content to get by on a little, where Baba, mama’s mother, made soup, dug fishing worms, set traps for rabbits, made butter and wine, sewed quilts, and wrung the necks of chickens.” HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY

bell hooks Working as a telephone operator provided her with an education of an alternative sort, she worked almost exclusively with a community of working-class black women.

It was in her role as a teacher that she felt she was doing her most important work, she knew that for a people who had been both historically and legally denied the right to education, teaching was one of the most substantial forms of political resistance. bell hooks

bell hooks currently lives in New York City and remains an important figure in the fight against racism and sexism in America.

~ She loved being a student, she loved learning! ~ ‘a place of ecstasy – pleasure and danger’ ~ bell hooks’ teachers were black women who she feels were on a mission. They were committed to nurturing intellect so that their pupils could become scholars, thinkers or cultural workers. bell hooks education

School integration 1960’s bell was transferred to an integrated school that was the complete opposite of her first school. All white teachers who she judged were not interested in transforming the minds of their pupils but simply transferring irrelevant bodies of knowledge. The knowledge they were supposed to soak up bore no relation to how they lived or behaved.

First major book on Education, Teaching to Transgress, published in TEACHING TO TRANSGRESS It is a collection of essays exploring her ideas that is written in a very personal style, giving examples from her own experiences. This is quite deliberate as she intended to be read by a diverse audience covering anyone interested in the practice of education. She argued for a progressive, holistic education – engaged pedagogy

bell hooks goes on to stress the demands this places upon educators in terms of authenticity and commitment. Nearly ten years after the publication of teaching to transgress, hooks produced a sequel entitled Teaching Community with a subtitle of A Pedagogy of Hope. This book develops themes in the earlier book and in particular the process of building community in the classroom.

FEMINISM

“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” The problem is sexism. WHAT IS FEMINISM?

“ As all advocates of feminist politics know most people do not understand sexism or if they do they think it is not a problem. Masses of people think that feminism is always and only about women seeking to be equal to men. And a huge majority of these folks think feminism is anti- male. Their misunderstanding of feminist politics reflects the reality that most folks learn about feminism from patriarchal mass media.” -bell hooks

Forget the idea that Feminism is anti-man. Embrace the concept that “Feminism is for everybody.”

~Reproductive Rights- free love, contraceptives/abortions, classism ~Beauty within & without- clothing, make-up, body diversity, breast cancer, eating disorders ~Feminist Class Struggle- Reformist vs. Radical/Revolutionary feminist thought. ~Family & Parenting- abuse from the patriarchy bell hooks- feminism

Legacy

bell hooks believes in the interconnectedness of issues in society and likes to take a connected view rather than the traditional separation. She relates things as they work as a whole, ignoring the separates to form a complete way of looking at things. For example, she refers to the "White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy". This is a good example of issues that are traditionally kept separate, but are brought together by hooks to show how they are connected. She teaches a way to view the world as a whole, an entirely new school of thought that people can apply to their beliefs. Interconnectivity

In choosing to become a teacher, bell hooks found her calling and found a way that she believed would make the most profound change in the world. It was among the most influential forms of political resistance that she could ever have chosen. In teaching, she introduces her students to a new way of thinking and helps them find their voice.

In her belief that education sets you free, bell hooks sets the example for women—and people—everywhere. By educating yourself you are setting yourself free. That is something everyone should have, no matter their age, race, or sex. This is the ideal that bell hooks leaves behind.

In addition to this, bell hooks is a strong voice for the female population—especially colored women. She is never afraid to stand up for her beliefs, never afraid to be the voice that’s heard in regard to the rights of women. She is a strong role model for anyone (though especially women) that wants to stand up for equality.

“WE ARE RARELY ABLE TO INTERACT ONLY WITH FOLKS LIKE OURSELVES, WHO THINK AS WE DO. NO MATTER HOW MUCH SOME OF US DENY THIS REALITY AND LONG FOR THE SAFETY AND FAMILIARITY OF SAMENESS, INCLUSIVE WAYS OF KNOWING AND LIVING OFFER US THE ONLY TRUE WAY TO EMANCIPATE OURSELVES FROM THE DIVISIONS THAT LIMIT OUR MINDS AND IMAGINATIONS.”

“We must continually remind students in the classroom that expression of different opinions and dissenting ideas affirms the intellectual process. We should forcefully explain that our role is not to teach them to think as we do but rather to teach them, by example, the importance of taking a stance that is rooted in rigorous engagement with the full range of ideas about a topic.” –bell hooks

She has won several awards and received nominations. These include: Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics: The American Book Awards/ Before Columbus Foundation Award (1991) Ain’t I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism: "One of the twenty most influential women’s books in the last 20 years" by Publishers Weekly (1992) bell hooks: The Writer’s Award from the Lila Wallace—Reader’s Digest Fund (1994) Happy to Be Nappy: NAACP Image Award nominee (2001) Homemade Love: The Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year (2002) Salvation: Black People and Love: Hurston Wright Legacy Award nominee (2002) bell hooks: Utne Reader's "100 Visionaries Who Could Change Your Life" bell hooks: The Atlantic Monthly's "One of our nation’s leading public intellectuals" Awards

In short, bell hooks is a strong voice for equality, in regard to both race and gender. She teaches her students—which through her books and lectures, is everyone—that it is okay to have beliefs and not be afraid to share them. You will always meet people who are different than yourself, and that is alright. The important thing is that you show everyone respect, give yourself the freedom to express your beliefs in an intelligent, fair, and open way, all while being true to yourself and being proud of who are.