Title & author
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Synopsis
Released in February 2020, Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot quickly became a lauded read not just for intersectional feminists, but for all individuals. Using a powerful combination of statistics, research, and personal experience, Kendall dives into today’s feminist movement to critique its focus on white women and, as a result, its perpetuation of white supremacy.
Who should read this book
everyone
What we’re thinking about
“Ultimately the question has to be not only ‘what women are we empowering?’ but also ‘what are we empowering them to do?’” (164)
Trigger warning(s)
Physical violence, sexual violence, eating disorders, sexism, mental health, racism, transphobia
Released in February 2020, Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot (Viking, 2020) quickly became a lauded read not just for intersectional feminists, but for all individuals. “It’s not going to be a comfortable read, but it’s going to be an opportunity to learn for those who are willing to do the hard work,” Kendall writes in the introduction (Kendall, xv). Expanding upon Kimberlé Crenshaw’s 1989 “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics,” in which the famed scholar, lawyer, and activist, coined the term “intersectional,” Kendall dives into today’s feminist movement to critique its focus on white women and, as a result, its perpetuation of white supremacy.
From the start, Kendall sets up the accessibility of the text, as “the hood taught me that feminism isn’t just academic theory. It isn’t a matter of saying the right words at the right time. Feminism is the work that you do, and the people you do it for who matter more than anything else” (xiii). Hood Feminism is meant to be read by not just scholars and college-educated individuals. Instead, it’s meant to be read by anyone who claims they are a feminist, or anyone who wants to be a feminist. This approach leads to an impactful combined usage of statistics, research, and personal experiences. More than once Kendall shares her own history, detailing moments from her life through adolescence in Chicago’s Hyde Park through present day. “I do know that I need to listen to the women in those positions, follow their lead on what would help the most and what would be detrimental. They are the experts in their own needs, and I can recognize that those needs being different doesn’t make them less important” (241-2). As Kendall powerfully makes clear, research and statistics are nothing without the input of those facing the issues we need to change. Speaking to the individuals who are living through something and dealing with it first hand is the only way to really know what solutions will be meaningful.
There’s a review by Gabrielle Union for the title that reads, “This book armed me with hard facts and compelling arguments that I can bring to this all-important fight.” Hood Feminism is organized by issues, chapters focusing on housing, food insecurity, domestic violence, and more. In each chapter, Kendall breaks down why these issues must be considered feminist issues, how white feminism has failed women facing such issues, and suggestions for how intersectional feminism can advocate for and support improvement. “Proponents of things like a soda tax hold their plans up proudly, but never talk about why soda is such a staple in homes where food insecurity is a problem… a can of regular soda has 39 grams of sugar...Frappuccinos? Some can have as much as 102 grams,” (37-39). She highlights examples that are often lauded by the mainstream, particularly politicians and members of the media, as revolutionary, pointing out the flaws in the arguments, particularly how they continue to disadvantage women of color and benefit white women and men.
“Feminism needs to create room for marginalized communities to talk about more than reactions to educational failures and delinquency, and instead talk about what can be done to create a space for kids of color to thrive” (83). Feminism is not just about advancing the rights of women-- particularly white women-- but about supporting all women, including (and most definitely not limited to) Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, trans, nonbinary, queer, femme, disabled, young, and elderly. It’s about supporting women at every stage of life to help them survive and uprooting the systemic and structural systems in place that, from birth, prevent them from doing so.
By expanding feminism’s focus onto these often not-discussed topics, Kendall displays the importance of intersectionality. That it’s not just a matter of the people, but the various aspects of life that impact those people. And the approach encourages us to expand the conversation beyond the pages of her book, to find other areas we advocate for that don’t take into account everyone impacted by them.
Environmentalists and climate change activists, for example, typically fail to acknowledge that climate change disproportionately impacts people of color. And when they do acknowledge it, how far do they go to advocate for real change that will support these communities? Take the recent supreme court ruling, for example, on the new Appalachian Trail pipeline. Not only is it an environmental issue, but it’s largely passing through low income areas and communities of color… including a town originally settled by freed slaves after the end of the Civil War. How often did that narrative enter mainstream media?
And feminists, too-- including the often lauded Ruth Bader Ginseburg-- failed to advocate for those communities. This just reinforces that we all must listen to Kendall, listen to Crenshaw, listen to the women who have been telling us for years now what we’ve been too ignorant to hear. Feminism is not a trickle-down system, it’s not about waiting for one group to succeed so “we all succeed.” We must confront our privilege. We cannot claim to be activists or to support something if we are not taking everyone who is impacted into account.
“So white feminism is going to have to get comfortable with the idea that until they challenge their racist aunts, parents, cousins, and so on, it is definitely all white women who are responsible.”
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How did Kendall’s combined use of statistics, personal stories, and research advance your understanding of the text?
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