Comparison Between Bell Hooks Feminism, Essay Example

A Movement to End Sexist Oppression (1984) and Martin Luther King Jr. Letter From Birmingham Jail (1963)

The Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter that was a protest against racial discrimination by the Birmingham city government written by Martin Luther King, Jr. He was an American civil rights activist and had been imprisoned for playing a role in the Birmingham campaign, a non-violent protest, organized by the Alabama Christian Movement which was a Human Rights activist group. Bell Hook’s Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression is a call by Hooks, a feminist theorist and critic of popular culture, to stop the discrimination against women. In her writing, she criticizes and struggles with the systems of oppression, though she offers hope and encouragement to the readers (Sinapoli 156).

The Letter and Hooks’ writings are similar in the sense that they are both criticizing the oppression against different groups of people in the society. While King’s letter is criticizing the oppression and discrimination against racial discrimination and segregation, Hooks criticizes the oppression against the women in the society (Sinapoli 157). Hooks defined feminism as a “movement to end sexist oppression”. She argues that though this definition takes account of sexist oppression only, it covers the basis of all oppression. She also claims that the whit supremacist, patriarchal nation relies on the basic unit of the community, that is, the family to enforce its coercive authority. According to her, the importance of feminist movement is to provide new ideas and a common meeting point for all the sexes, a room for criticism, struggle and transformation.  She was therefore against any form of oppression and discrimination though she was biased to the women (Sinapoli 157).

This is similar to King’s letter whose main statement was “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Just like the feminist movement, King’s letter was intended to empower the oppressed especially where King outlined the steps towards the success of a non-violent campaign. He also stated that freedom can not be acquired without a painful experience because the oppressors can not voluntarily give it. Feminist movement was intended to liberate the oppressed to fight for their freedom just like the Letter whose objective was to empower and liberate the oppressed to fight for their freedom through a non-violent campaign. The only difference was that Hooks feminist movement targeted the oppression against the women as a starting point while King’s letter was not specific. In fact, Hooks asserted that the success of the movement depended on the efforts of all the people of the society including the men. The objective of the movement was to end sexist which she defined as the basis of other forms of oppression (Sinapoli 157).

The feminist movement and the Letter are also similar in that they are based on the fact that oppressed people can not remain in oppression for ever. In his letter, King stated that oppressed people will at one time gain their freedom and that the aim of freedom in Birmingham and the country at large will be realized. This is not different from the Hooks movement whose goal was to eliminate oppression. The movement’s intention was to inform the oppressed people that they will get freedom since people can not remain oppressed forever (Letter from Birmingham Jail 3). The Bell Hooks Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression (1984) and Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) are similar in many ways which include the basis of their foundation and their objectives. They were based on the fact that oppressed people can not remain in freedom forever and their objectives were to liberate and empower people to fight for their freedom.

Works Cited

Letter from Birmingham Jail. Jan 28, 2010. <http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/frequentdocs/birmingham.pdf>
Sinopoli, Richard. From many one: readings in America political and social thought. New York: Georgetown University Press, 2001