In “Feminist Politics: Where We Stand Now” by bell hooks, the writer mentions that because feminism was made more acceptable, women no longer needed to fundamentally challenge or change themselves or the culture. I think this is particularly resonant because It is always the easiest option to stay in one place, to fall victim to our “creature comforts.” Without asking questions or raising our voices, there is no path to any actual change. Why are so many women comfortable with being comfortable when there are so many women who aren’t? I think that if you are aware of an inequality or injustice and you have the means, status, class ranking, etc. to use your privileges to lift those without them, feminism truly means that you use them not to your own advantages, but to better the “women’s experience” as a whole.
In Audre Lord’s piece, a concept that I also found interesting is that of social control: that women have only been encouraged to recognize differences between themselves and men. This is ingrained when we are children in elementary school, even with something as innocuous as cooties. Young boys and girls are given the impression that there are imaginary lines between the “two genders.” This is not only detrimental in development for children who do not fit into the gender binary, but gives them the impression that there should be a line in the sand separating male/female. I have found that this has only snowballed the older I get.
