Mariah Inghram
ENG 3060J
Ms. Berta
December 1, 2016
Reader Response Five Rebecca Solnit’s book, Men Explain Things to Me, is atypical of others in that it is made up of various essays in which Solnit addresses different areas of feminist thought regarding womens’ oppression. Though the entirety of Solnit’s work in Men Explain Things to Me could be analyzed in terms of theorist Bell Hook’s ideas in the “Feminist Masculinity” chapter of her analytical work, Feminism is for Everybody, this essay will serve to examine only the overarching idea presented in the “Men Explain Things to Me” essay portion of the Solnit’s work. The central idea of this essay is that the patriarchal practice of silencing of women through society’s tendency to value men’s word over women’s is problematic because it works to discount experiences, such as domestic abuse or rape (Solnit). However, it is Solnit’s disconcertment with female silencing that Bell Hook’s assertion builds on in the “Feminist Masculinity” chapter of her book by suggesting that patriarchal values and/or ideas are not only harmful to women, but they are also harmful to men in that they too can work to silence male experiences (Hook). Just as notions regarding femininity, ideas regarding masculinity are derived from patriarchal values (Solnit). However, Solnit focuses on …show more content…
However, it is not without Bell Hook’s essay Feminism is for Everybody that we can better understand the extent of patriarchy’s adverse effects on not only women, but men as well. With the insight provided by both of these works, one can see that silencing, and thus, oppression, is experienced by both women and men and is accomplished in more ways than violence or claims discounted by the valued male voice, it can also be done through sex roles that perpetuate notions of femininity and
ENG 3060J
Ms. Berta
December 1, 2016
Reader Response Five Rebecca Solnit’s book, Men Explain Things to Me, is atypical of others in that it is made up of various essays in which Solnit addresses different areas of feminist thought regarding womens’ oppression. Though the entirety of Solnit’s work in Men Explain Things to Me could be analyzed in terms of theorist Bell Hook’s ideas in the “Feminist Masculinity” chapter of her analytical work, Feminism is for Everybody, this essay will serve to examine only the overarching idea presented in the “Men Explain Things to Me” essay portion of the Solnit’s work. The central idea of this essay is that the patriarchal practice of silencing of women through society’s tendency to value men’s word over women’s is problematic because it works to discount experiences, such as domestic abuse or rape (Solnit). However, it is Solnit’s disconcertment with female silencing that Bell Hook’s assertion builds on in the “Feminist Masculinity” chapter of her book by suggesting that patriarchal values and/or ideas are not only harmful to women, but they are also harmful to men in that they too can work to silence male experiences (Hook). Just as notions regarding femininity, ideas regarding masculinity are derived from patriarchal values (Solnit). However, Solnit focuses on …show more content…
However, it is not without Bell Hook’s essay Feminism is for Everybody that we can better understand the extent of patriarchy’s adverse effects on not only women, but men as well. With the insight provided by both of these works, one can see that silencing, and thus, oppression, is experienced by both women and men and is accomplished in more ways than violence or claims discounted by the valued male voice, it can also be done through sex roles that perpetuate notions of femininity and