Born in 1952 to a working-class family in Kentucky, young Gloria Jean Watkins turned her experiences with racism, class inequality and gender discrimination into something bigger. She redefined feminism and talked about the intersectional relationship between race, class and gender. The bodies of work she published are considered a go-to for many to understand feminism, gender discrimination and black life.

However, Gloria may not be the name you have associated with these works. This is the story of bell hooks — one of the first names you encounter while reading about feminism and black history. As a young girl, hooks was known to be courageous, displayed intellectual resistance, and was infamous for “talking back”.

This later shaped her journey as a writer, academician, feminist theorist, and social critic, empowering millions around her.

Starting young

At the age of 19, bell hooks began her journey as a writer through Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism — a much-welcome departure from mainstream feminism of the time that ignored Black women. This was also when Gloria decided to adopt the pen name ‘bell hooks’ from her great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks. Her opinions reflected in her name as well which intentionally used lowercase letters to keep attention on the ideas rather than the author. 

In the coming years, that very name became an unavoidable point of discussion in feminism. From criticism to poetry to social commentary, bell hooks published more than 40 books and produced works in various formats. Some of her works included Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, Teaching to Transgress, All About Love, The Will to Change, and Where We Stand.

One of the most important traits of her works was that it was accessible to the common man. Unlike many academically heavy works, hook’s writings were in simple language empowering even the most marginalised groups of the society.

Influence and books

The topics touched by hooks were essential to building a better society itself rather than mere discussions among elite groups and academia. In Feminism Is for Everybody, hooks presented feminism as a practical movement for ending sexism and building community, rather than an abstract debate for elites. 

In Teaching to Transgress, she argued that classrooms should be places of freedom, dialogue, and critical thinking, not passive memorisation. An argument that, even to this day, teachers, students and society in general look back on while improving the educational systems.

One of her books, The Will to Change, looked at patriarchy as not just a system which harms women, but also as a system which harms society as a whole. She asked men to challenge the system which often discourages them from being vulnerable and emotionally intelligent. 

In short, bell hooks played a critical role in broadening the idea of feminism, and making the movement inclusive.

Academic life

It was in 1976 that hooks started her career teaching English and Ethnic Studies at the University of Southern California. She then went on to teach at many well-known institutions, including Stanford and Yale University. In 2004, she joined Berea College in Kentucky and became a distinguished professor in residence there. She also founded the bell hooks Institute there in 2014.

Something truly unique and commendable about bell hooks is the grace with which she often took criticism. She considered it feedback and even sometimes revised her works to make them more inclusive over time.

Leaving behind a legacy which moulded feminism and black history itself, bell hooks passed away in December 2021. Time and again, her work and life often leave us with one simple million-dollar question — can’t the world be a bit more kinder and free for everyone in it?

Published - August 19, 2026 03:12 pm IST