Ain't I a Woman

Black Women and Feminism (2nd Edition)

By: bell hooks

Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must for all those interested in the nature of Black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on Black women during slavery, the devaluation of Black womanhood, Black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the Black woman's involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this work a critical place in every feminist scholar's library.

©2015 Gloria Watkins (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Ain't I a Woman is one of the most interesting, lucid books dealing with the subject of Feminism. The book can be recommended wholeheartedly to anyone who is interested in Black history, in women's history, or in that much-overlooked connection between the two." (Maria K. Mootry Ikerionwu, Phylon (1983))

A must read

I will have to read this book again and again. Bell Hooks’ words illuminated just how much I, as a White feminist, didn’t know. They shine a light on how women’s rights movements in America intentionally excluded women of color. It is still/now/again/always time for change.

Some subjects just don't get old

I wasn't sure, when I started this book, that I would finish it. I'm glad I read it. It is a reminder that we as a society still have far to go. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing the material to life. My interest is piqued... I will read other books by bell hooks.

Added to the list of great reads...

.The Blackman's Guide to Understanding the Blackwoman - Shahrazad Ali

.Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution - Leonard Shlain

.The Myth of Male Power: Why Men are the disposable sex - Warren Farrell, Ph.D

.The Rational Male - Rollo Tomassi

·The Wretched Of The Earth - Frantz Fanon

·Dark Light Consciousness: Melanin, Serpent Power, and the Luminous Matrix of Reality by Edward Bynum

·Blacked Out Through Whitewash: Exposing the Quantum Deception/Rediscovering and Recovering Suppressed Melanated by Suzar

·Christopher Columbus & the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery & the Rise of European Capitalism by John Henrik Clarke

·They came before Columbus: The African Presence In Ancient America by Ivan Van Sertima

·Stolen Legacy: The Egyptian Origins of Western Philosophy by George G M James

·How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

·The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism Within US Slave Culture by Vincent Woodard

·Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America by Cameron McWhirter

·Germany's black holocaust, 1890-1945 by Firpo W. Carr

·Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini

·The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

·The Willie Lynch Letter and the Making of a Slave by Willie Lynch

·Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi

·White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

·The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood by Tommy Curry

·They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie Jones-Rogers

·The Destruction of Black Civilization : Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. by Chancellor Williams

·The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist

·Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon

·The Accident of Color: A Story of Race in Reconstruction by Daniel Brook

·Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino

·African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Herbert S. Klein, Ben Vinson III

·The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

·John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights by David S. Reynolds

·Sex and Racism in America by Calvin C Hernton

· The Blackwoman's Guide to Understanding the Blackman - Shahrazad Ali

The Importance of Intersectionality

An insightful history of the oppression of black women in the United States and how it has culminated into the stereotypes and disregardation of their unique struggles today.

Excellent-A Must Read!

bell hooks hits the nail on the head regarding racism in the famine movement. She does an excellent job tying in historical facts to how we got where we are. I highly recommend this book.

Deep, eye-opening experience!

Bell Hooks really opens my eyes to feminist views. I have a deeper understanding of why black feminism exist. As I continue to read feminism books, I go deeper and deeper into the underlying issues of feminist views and Black women feminist views. Bell hooks explores the issues of Black women, and the plight of amplifying Black female voices when it comes to equality.

Hooks affirms that Black feminist does not have an agenda that advocates only Black women, but all disadvantaged people, She suggests that feminism left Black women out of the equation. She further suggests how Black women are left out of ALL conversations from not only white women, but white and black men as well.

I gave this book 5 stars because it enlightened me, informed me, and taught me different aspects of feminist views. I recommend this book not just to other black women, but I also recommend this book to black men, white women and white men. I will be re-reading this book again, because I am going to take notes, and continue to dissect this book further.

informative

I've learned so much in understanding how racism and sexism worked against black women. more importantly I saw I men could do better and make it easy for black women to navigate in this world

Excellent read

This book was amazing! I listened to it all in one go and was blown away by how important and smart this work was. Recommended for both women and men looking to progress.

Read this book

Even though this book is from the early 80s it is still an important read. It has a lot of historical information and unfortunately much of what the author says is still true. It helped me understand some of the dynamics in place today between white women and Black women. It helped me see where, as a white woman, I need to change.

Insightful

This it’s a very well researched book. Her insights nail the patriarchy to a T. Definitely worth the read