On December 15, the world lost an iconic writer, feminist, scholar, and Black woman by the name of bell hooks.
She passed away at the age of 69 at her home in Berea, Kentucky. Purposely lowercased and intentionally influential, bell hooks shaped what it meant for Black women to not only be considered in discussions about feminism, but be the Black woman speaking about feminism.
Many people have taken to Twitter to share what they have learned from her written works over the past week and a half. Here are some of the most impactful ones:
1. On liberation:
bell hooks made it all seem clear & uncomplicatedly possible. by 'it' i mean those very basic components of liberation: care, attention, change, love. in a world of "it's all very nuanced/in need of a 87 point plan/ committee" mother said "not really, just act right, here's how"
2. On vocabulary and concepts:
If you've ever considered gender in relationship to race, class &/or any other identity-- If you have ever used the word 'marginalized'-- If the phrase “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” tracks for you-- you owe a debt to bell hooks. She shaped us all.
3. On the definition of feminism:
bell hooks’ definition of feminism is the only one I’ve used for 10 years because it’s the best and the clearest. Feminism isn’t an identity and it’s not whatever you want it to be. It’s the struggle to end sexist oppression, and anyone can do it.
4. On friendship:
“Deep, abiding friendships are the place where many women know lasting love.” —bell hooks
5. On the importance of writing:
bell hooks said, "It is not simply a question of finding time to write—one also writes against time, knowing that life is short...that life is not promised—that it is crucial for a writer to respect time."
6. On love:
“we use the word love in such a sloppy way that it can mean almost nothing or absolutely everything.” - bell hooks
7. On solidarity:
When bell hooks sat down with Laverne Cox and later invited her to the bell hooks Institute, it was the first time I ever saw a black scholar or intellectual of any stripe extend an arm of acknowledgement and solidarity to Black trans women. That was a defining moment for me.
8. On patriarchy:
bell hooks made it clear that men also die from patriarchy. Tht patriarchy leaves men emotionally unequipped to deal with themselves or the world. She taught me that patriarchy is not innate, bt LEARNED & TAUGHT, sadly sometimes by mothers and sisters to their sons and brothers.
9. On grief as an expression of love:
what bell hooks particularly gifted me is a language of grief that is situated in love. her insistence in thinking of love and grief as symbiotic forces, as practices that depend on one another, has impacted me for the rest of my life. grief is the greatest expression of love.
10. On men:
“If men were socialized to desire love as much as they are taught to desire sex, we would see a cultural revolution.” —bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
11. On the importance of Black women's voices:
“No Black woman writer in this culture can write ‘too much.' Indeed, no woman writer can write ‘too much’ … No woman has ever written enough.” –bell hooks
12. On accessibility:
bell hooks was a perfect example of a person in academia but knew that the vast majority of the people who needed the information weren’t in those spaces. She made feminism accessible to everyone and worked to subvert it from something only white women had access to.