Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism

“Black activists defined freedom as gaining the right to participate as full citizens in American culture; they were not rejecting the value system of that culture. Consequently, they did not question the rightness of patriarchy.”

hooks argues that Black male patriarchy is a direct reaction to white male patriarchy and a desire to be a part of the dominant culture of racial imperialism. Black men are socialized to associate self-worth with overt and aggressive masculinity. This correlates with the theme of The Impact of Patriarchal Culture. For Black women, Black male patriarchy offers another layer of oppression. Black women are targets of stereotypes and victimization by white men, Black men, and white women—all of whom buy into patriarchal rhetoric. The Introduction establishes hooks’s straightforward writing style; one of her concerns as an academic is accessibility, and she uses repetition and clear language to make her text understandable.

“No other group in America has so had their identity socialized out of existence as have black women.”

One of the important ramifications of The Intersectionality of Racism and Sexism is the way it forces Black women into a position of invisibility. The term “Black” is often applied only to Black men, while the term “woman” is used to describe white women. The discrimination of language is shaped by both white supremacy and