Slavery
bell hooks (intentional lowercase by the author's convention) argues that slavery is the origin of many of the issues that black women face. She argues that slavery made black women incredibly vulnerable to physical, sexual and psychological abuse, and created damaging stereotypes and attitudes.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are a key motif in this text. The author addresses the damaging stereotypes of black women, who were associated with lust, sexuality, and corruption during slavery. Stereotypes about black people were also created during the Jim Crow era, which has had a long-lasting and damaging cultural impact. These stereotypes have led to vicious attacks against black women.
Voice
The author argues that the voices of black women are not heard in feminist discourse. Instead, she argues that the movement is run primarily by white women, and does not acknowledge the unique experience of black women. She argues that many texts are written about American women, but include only the voices of white American women, therefore excluding the voices of black American women. As hooks writes, "My experience as a young black female was not acknowledged. My voice and the voices of women like me were not heard."
Ana
In the text, hooks recounts the story of a young black woman called Ana. She fought against a white man who attempted to rape her but was punished for fighting back. Ana represents the injustice against black women at the time, and the many women that this happened to.
