Feminism has many definitions depending on who is speaking. Bell Hook’s recognizes this fact when she wrote `Feminism: A Motion to End Sexist Oppression` . Indeed. as the rubric presuppose. Hook defines feminism as the battle to stop sexist subjugation. She established this definition by looking back at how the broad and/or middle class feminism nowadayss inappropriate current definitions of feminism. Hook argued that ‘it is needfully a battle to eliminate the political orientation of domination that permeates Western Culture on assorted degrees ( Dilk et al. . 2001 ) ’ .
Such political orientation that she referred to includes capitalist economy. supremacist and patriarchal political orientations that eliminate women’s perceptual experience of equality as a group. She farther elaborate that the definition trades with a ‘commitment to reorganising society so that self-development of people can take precedency over imperialism. economic enlargement and stuff desires ( Dilk et al. . 2001 ) ’ . Hook’s focal point on self-development high spots the fact that it is non merely biological similarity that group adult females together instead there is an undermining ground that most adult females portion in common which is greater than societal position entirely.
Hook farther emphasis that single women’s rightist should get a political consciousness based on the thoughts and beliefs to stop sexist subjugation ( Dilk et al. . 2001 ) . Hook position feminism as a political position. which contemplates the different point of view of the society and the planetary radical political relations. She concluded that the purpose of feminism is non entirely for adult females but a battle to transform the lives of different persons in a meaningful manner.
Hook believes that the ‘foundation of feminist battle must be solidly based on a acknowledgment of the demand to eliminate the implicit in cultural footing of sexism and other signifiers of group subjugation ( Dilk et al. . 2001 ) ’ . Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of Our Own’ illustrate that the ground that work forces and adult females differ significantly has its root in money. Money is tantamount to power and/or ability to act upon other people. Indeed this is a really broad manner of contemplating the position of adult female.
It is the primary difference that a white middle class adult female can place and fault for whatever subjugation that she feels or experience. However. Hook believes that this reading or suggestion is weak and merely put frontward the demands of white coloured women’s rightist. Hook farther argued that work forces differ in societal categories. in race and/or colour. in ethnicity and domination. White adult females singularly focus on the demand to emancipate themselves from social favoritism against adult females. but discriminates other adult females based on other criterions aside gender ( Dilk et al. . 2001 ) .
Woolf described in her essay the different cases that show how adult females are kept off from several privileges. She metaphorically used the lawn grass in the beginning of her essay to depict how much privileged work forces are and how they keep and/or concept regulations so as to maintain adult females out of the their manner ( Dilk et al. . 2001 ) . She besides identified several cases in history. utilizing existent and fictional characters. which demonstrate how adult females treated and kept in the dark. every bit good as how their thoughts are loss and are non acknowledge due to the exclusive fact that they are born adult females.
Woolf’s statement about alteration show her belief that inequality and societal favoritisms are prevailing due to the uninterrupted subjugation of adult females. which dates back since the beginning of clip. She elaborated the fact that giving adult females a suites and money of their ain is a great alteration in history that instrumentally give manner to the possibility of creativeness. Therefore. ‘A Room of One’s Own’ ( argued that alteration should be geared towards something that is good in itself. Hook besides put frontward that the ‘ability to see and depict one’s ain world is a important measure in the long procedure of self-recovery ( Dilk et al.
. 2001 ) ’ . This can be reiterated in how Woolf conducts her statement. She foremost seek to depict what it is about adult females and fiction that bothered her or how she see these footings in the context of her world. However. as most white women’s rightist argued. Woolf besides portrays the idea that the position of being adult female is a common experience. in all adult females. which separate them from adult male. In the manner Woolf relay the narrative of the storyteller in the essay. she present how world is shaped and dominated by males.
With this respect. both Hook and Woolf advocate the fact that adult females subjugation does non ensue from biological science. instead there are political. economical and cultural factors that affects adult females position. However. they differed significantly on how the issue shall be resolved. Bing a white middle class. Woolf is somehow ignorant of the type of subjugation that colored adult females experience. However. the mere fact that white adult females. despite holding their position and privilege during that clip. already experience and experience that they are oppressed and that they are in desperate demand to be liberalized proves that subjugation is blazing and rough.
Hook inquiries the position of Liberal and bourgeoisie women’s rightist because it does non give a full history of what feminism should turn to. Alternatively. it leads to adult females know aparting other adult females based on other factors beside societal equality with work forces. A adult female individuality. which is describe by Woolf. is presented by Hook as lacking and insufficient to voice out and group adult females together under one name: feminism. Work Cited: Dilks. S. . Hansen. R. and Parfitt. M. Cultural Conversations: The Presence of the Past. Bedford/ST. Martin’s. 2001.
