"It is obvious that many women have appropriated feminism to serve their own ends, especially those white women who have been at the forefront of the movement; but rather than resigning myself to this appropriation I choose to re-appropriate the term 'feminism,' to focus on the fact that to be 'feminist' in any authentic sense of the term is to want for all people, female and male, liberation from sexist role patterns, domination, and oppression."
hooks (lowercase usage intentional), a self-professed feminist, here tries to clarify her meaning by the term. In a world where people continually subvert social movements to benefit themselves, she wants to make certain that the pure motive of the feminist movement remains the focus. She doesn't shy away from a term that has been corrupted but insists that people listen to the original meaning of the title. To hooks, "feminism" means a commitment to equal treatment among all people, removing the dominant sexist patterns of tradition throughout history so that all people may enjoy the same opportunities and behaviors if they so choose.
"While it is in no way racist for any author to write a book exclusively about white women, it is fundamentally racist for books to be published that focus solely on the American white woman's experience in which that experience is assumed to be the American woman's experience."
In this quotation, hooks makes the point that one strain of experience can not be used to represent all experiences. Her example applies specifically to American racism. If a white woman writes a book describing her American life, Hooks thinks that's acceptable and great. If, however, that same woman states in her book that her experience as a white woman is the only American experience, then she is guilty of racism. Since the issues which affect minorities often vary dramatically from those of white people in America, the white person cannot safely assume that they know what they are talking about when it comes to the whole of their society.
"Racism has always been a divisive force separating black men and white men, and sexism has been a force that unites the two groups."
Racism is an issue that divides men between white and black. Unfortunately, both of those groups of men are united in their consistent sexism. If racism is wrong, then sexism is as well. The sad truth, according to hooks, is that they are treated fundamentally differently so that the black men who decry the inequality at the root of racism remain blind to the same inequality between the sexes.
"To be an oppressor is dehumanizing and anti-human in nature, as it is to be a victim."
Here, hooks explains the tricky nature of oppression. Those who have been made victims are told that they don't hold value as humans. In exactly the same way, the oppressors are also told the same. Oppression is born of hatred and hatred of insecurity. If those who commit hate valued their own lives as they should, then they would in turn value all people around them. There are no winners in the game of systematic oppression.
