“Feminist efforts to grant women social equality with men of their class neatly coincided with white supremacist capitalist patriarchal fears that white power would diminish if nonwhite people gained equal access to economic power and privilege. Supporting what in effect became white power reformist feminism enabled the mainstream white supremacist patriarchy to bolster its power while simultaneously undermining the radical politics of feminism.”

American philosopher, educator, author, and social critic

bell hooks was an American philosopher, educator, author, and social critic. Born Gloria Jean Watkins, she was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College in Kentucky. She is known for writing under the name bell hooks and for shaping modern discussions of feminism and social critique. Her work examined race, gender, and social class, especially how they connect with capitalism and help sustain systems of oppression and class domination. She published nearly 40 books and many scholarly articles, moving between essays, poetry, and children's literature. Across that wide body of work, she wrote about love, art, history, sexuality, and mass media.