Trailblazing Feminist Author And Activist bell hooks Is No More

Well-known for her work in the intersection of gender, race and class, Gloria Jean Watkins who is better known by her pen name of bell hooks, was named among the 100 women of the year by TIME. She has been a champion of women's issues and an inspiration to many. As a disregard to the conventions, she started writing her name in lowercase and has been an inspiration to many who have followed suit.

Born in 1952, as Gloria Jean Watkins, bell hooks passed away on Wednesday at her home in Kentucky. She was 69. Her niece broke the news on Twitter. Her niece, Ebony Motley, wrote that she was surrounded by family and friends. In a statement Motley said, “the family of Gloria Jean Watkins is deeply saddened at the passing of our beloved sister on December 15, 2021. The family honoured her request to transition at home with family and friends by her side.” by the loss. The family hasn't confirmed the cause of death.

Her pen name is taken from her grandmother's name Bell Blair Hooks. She was raised to prominence with her book Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism, which was published in the year 1981.

hooks spoke about the effect of racism and sexism on Black women as an overarching theme in the collection of essays with a specific focus on the civil rights movement, and feminist movements of the 1970s. She argues sexism and racism together contributed to Black women having the lowest status in society. Black women had the worst fate in American society of that time. Stereotypes of Black females as promiscuous and immoral led to protests whenever Black women spoke they even didn't get support from the white women. 

“Throughout the work, my thoughts have been shaped by the conviction that feminism must become a mass-based political movement if it is to have a revolutionary, transformative impact on society,” hooks wrote.

She argued that the stereotypes that were set during slavery are not yet changed, black women, continue to face them. She argued that slavery allowed the stereotype of white women as pure goddess virgins and Black women to the seductive whore.

In her illustrious career as an author, she has published over 40 works including poetry, children's fiction, memoir and literary criticism., She also wrote about love and romance. From 2004 she started teaching Berea College and in 2010 the school opened the bell hooks Institute at the college.

hooks said, "I am a fortunate writer because every day of my life practically I get a letter, a phone call from someone who tells me how my work has transformed their life."

Roxane Gay, who wrote Bad Feminist, mourned the loss and said "May she rest in power," in a tweet.

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hooks earned her PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1983. She completed her BA from Stanford and in 2018 was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. Her works over the years have become part of many university courses. In the light of the Black Life Matters, she has gained a new readership.