Book
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot
📖 Overview
Hood Feminism examines how mainstream feminist movements often neglect the needs and experiences of women from marginalized communities. Author Mikki Kendall challenges traditional feminist frameworks by centering issues like food insecurity, access to education, gun violence, and housing - problems that disproportionately affect women of color and low-income women.
Through personal narratives and social commentary, Kendall illustrates how race, class, and geography intersect with gender to create distinct challenges for different groups of women. The book addresses topics including sexual violence, hypersexualization, respectability politics, and the complexities of survival in under-resourced communities.
Through a mix of memoir and cultural criticism, Kendall builds a case for expanding feminist priorities beyond workplace equality and reproductive rights. The work presents a vision for a more inclusive feminism that acknowledges how privilege and power dynamics operate within women's movements themselves.
The book serves as both critique and call to action, highlighting how mainstream feminism must evolve to address the material needs of all women. Its central argument reshapes conventional understanding of what constitutes feminist issues and who gets to define them.
👀 Reviews
Readers appreciate Kendall's examination of how mainstream feminism overlooks issues affecting women of color and low-income women, like food insecurity, access to education, and gun violence. Many note the book serves as a reality check about privilege within feminist spaces.
Positive reviews highlight:
- Clear examples connecting theory to real-world impacts
- Personal stories that illustrate broader systemic issues
- Accessible writing style for complex topics
Common criticisms:
- Repetitive points across chapters
- More focused on identifying problems than proposing solutions
- Some readers found the tone accusatory
Ratings:
Goodreads: 4.27/5 (32,000+ ratings)
Amazon: 4.7/5 (2,800+ ratings)
Notable reader comments:
"Eye-opening perspective on issues I'd never considered part of feminism" -Goodreads
"Important message but becomes redundant" -Amazon
"Changed how I think about intersectionality in practice, not just theory" -Goodreads
📚 Similar books
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
A collection of essays examining intersectionality in feminism through the lens of race, politics, and popular culture.
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde Essays and speeches that confront the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality through Black feminist thought.
This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga An anthology of writings by women of color that critiques white feminism and explores the complexities of identity, oppression, and resistance.
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, asha bandele A memoir that connects personal experiences with systemic racism to the broader fight for Black liberation and intersectional feminism.
Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper An examination of Black feminism that links personal narratives to structural inequalities and political resistance.
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde Essays and speeches that confront the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality through Black feminist thought.
This Bridge Called My Back by Cherríe Moraga An anthology of writings by women of color that critiques white feminism and explores the complexities of identity, oppression, and resistance.
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, asha bandele A memoir that connects personal experiences with systemic racism to the broader fight for Black liberation and intersectional feminism.
Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper An examination of Black feminism that links personal narratives to structural inequalities and political resistance.
🤔 Interesting facts
📚 Mikki Kendall wrote Hood Feminism while working full-time and raising her family, often writing between 3 AM and 6 AM before starting her workday.
🎓 The book emerged from a viral Twitter hashtag #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen that Kendall created in 2013, which sparked global conversation about exclusion within feminist movements.
💫 Hood Feminism debuted at #6 on the New York Times bestseller list in the paperback nonfiction category and has been translated into multiple languages, including German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
🗣️ The term "hood feminism" itself challenges traditional feminist theory by centering the experiences of women who face both gender discrimination and economic inequality, particularly in urban communities.
📖 Each chapter of the book addresses a different basic need or social issue - including food insecurity, education, and gun violence - demonstrating how these issues are feminist concerns that mainstream feminism often overlooks.