Bell Hooks is essential feminist/ race theory. Bell Hooks fills the void that Dr. Cornel West leaves. She speaks of the different experiences specific to black women, specifically the way that society tends to ignore black women in their role in pop culture.
I loved Bell Hooks statements on the affects of Black Culture on popular culture. Bell Hooks was astute in her observation—pop culture loves Black Culture. Black athletes are venerated. Hip/Hop/Rap/Jazz/Blues were all popularized by African Americans.I think one of my favorite contemporary examples of this is the recent occurrence of caucasian Instagram models posing as mixed or black.
Many love the traditional aesthetic of African American women— the curves, the curly hair, the larger lips. Each of the aforementioned are extremely popular in pop-culture currently (in part due to the influence of the Kardashian clan on mass media at large). White women have begun adopting practices that are semblance to the traditional African American aesthetic— lip fillers, butt implants, are extremely popular today. Each trend has become popular however, after their adoption by a non-black person. This is curious to me. Black culture, in many instances is frowned upon. Kinky hair is often banned from the work-place. Weaves or wigs were once ridiculed as specific to black women.
Why is black culture on black women frowned upon, but black culture, then adopted by non-blacks, considered cool? I think Bell Hooks landed on something extraordinary when she defined the fascination with black culture as a latent desire to be with “the other” , this intermingling is the release of boundaries, without sacrificing power relations between the two groups.
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