Hooks, bell

Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on September 25, 1952, Gloria Jean Watkins is a writer, feminist theorist, teacher, poet, and cultural critic who continues to have a significant impact on feminist theories and cultural theory. She uses the lowercase pen name bell hooks, based on the names of her mother and grandmother, because “it is the substance of my books, not who is writing them, that is important.”

In particular, she has used the concept of what she calls “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” to critique and critically address topics such as feminist writings, popular culture, cultural icons like Madonna, and socioglobal politics, to name only a few. She has contributed thought-provoking and challenging discussions that address race, class, and gender as interlocking systems of oppression.

Her first publication ...