Saturday, December 20, 2014

“Feminist Manhood”, by Bell Hooks, an inclusive solution

My final project is on Feminist Manhood. This is the title that Bell Hooks gave to one of the readings we had in class. I have decided to work on this subject because I see it as an inclusive solution to some of the problems of oppression in our society. This solution uncovers one dominator, patriarchy. As Bell Hooks says, “… men were not the problem, the problem was patriarchy, sexism, and male domination” (109).

This affirmation, as I see it, is an invitation. Most men, we are expected to hold on to very defined and strict role in society outline by patriarchy. One of these definitions of manhood asks men to oppress women. As men, we are expected to delimit and control women’s life so that we, men, can control most of the resources. In other words, it seems as though we have the need to reduce the competition for this resources. Furthermore, patriarchy extends this power of control and divides men into race, thus only a determined race group may have access to resources and benefit from them.

As Hooks says, “patriarchal culture continues to control the hearts of men precisely because it socializes males to believe that without their role as patriarchs they will have no reason for being. Dominator culture teaches all of us that the core of our identity is defined by the will to dominate and control others … In the dominator model the pursuit of external power, the ability to manipulate and control others, is what matters most. When culture is based on a dominator model, not only will it be violent but it will frame all relationships as power struggles” (115).

The author also explains that, “patriarchal masculinity teaches men that their selfhood has meaning only in relation to the pursuit of external power; such masculinity is a subtext of the dominator model … before the realities of men can be transformed, the dominator model has to be eliminated as the under laying ideology on which we base our culture … Clearly, ending patriarchy is necessary for men to have collective liberation. It is the only resolution to the masculinity crisis that most men are experiencing” (116).


Therefore, men have set expectations in a patriarchal society. Men are hurt when we refused to comply with oppressive roles. We, men, are also hurt if we don’t fit in the racial parameters defined by patriarchy. We, men, need to think outside patriarchy and work in partnership we women so that we can have the opportunity to discover our true self and have a fair chance to success.

Flyer: cover and last page

















Flyer: inside pages
















The following is a like to an article about male celebrities that are thinking outside patriarchy:


Work cited:
  • Hooks, Bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and LoveNew York: Atria Books, 2004. Print.

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