The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

The term “feminism” represents a variety of sociopolitical movements that seek to establish equality for the sexes. In the US, the first wave of feminism in the 19th and early-20th centuries focused primarily on women’s suffrage. The second-wave, which began in the 1960s, emphasized causes such as women’s lack of fulfillment as wives and homemakers, their attainment of equal rights in the workplace, reproductive rights, domestic violence, and the critique of patriarchy. As a Black queer feminist, hooks pointed out that racism, anti-gay bias, and elitism were inherent in this phase’s centering of white, straight, middle- and upper-class women. She helped broaden the scope of US feminism to include those who previously felt excluded from it, including men. hooks also argued that feminist movements too often place singular attention on women without recognizing men’s need for feminist reform or their own victimization by patriarchy. This argument is the core purpose of The Will to Change.

Unlike patriarchal masculinity, feminist masculinity maintains that strength in men is characterized by caring for and loving others. Feminist masculinity provides an alternative to patriarchal masculinity. Rather than rejecting masculinity altogether, hooks suggests that feminist masculinity does not require a denial of emotions and of the self.