In the article 'Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression' Bell Hooks defines feminism as

"a struggle to end sexist oppression". By giving such a definition to the term she meant to
benefit all women in general and not any particular group of women, via the means of a
revolutionary struggle. Such a definition successfully showcases the intricate overlapping of sex,
class and race oppressions and in doing so aims at unifying women, calling attention to the
diversity of social and political background of women and uplifting the collective social status of
women in our society.

According to Bell Hooks, the major problem with feminist discourse up till now has been a lack
of a unifying definition of the term 'feminism'. Currently, feminism has no particular meaning
associated with it. It has a "anything goes" approach which renders it meaningless. Most
definitions of feminism have a liberal origin and focus on individual woman's right to freedom,
equal opportunity and self-determination but fail to rid society of sexism and male domination.
Feminists themselves do not agree upon what they believe in or what are the goals of feminism.
"There are as many definitions of Feminism as there are feminists", says Carmen Vasquez .
Without a globally accepted definition, there is no foundation to construct theories or plans of
action to work towards the betterment of women. A lack of definition also paints the picture of
women as being politically naive and lacking solidarity.

The feminist discourse was called 'Women's liberation movement' or 'women's lib movement' in
the States. It was predominantly interested in social equality of men and women. But this
definition of feminism had its own issues, according to Hooks. Men in our society are
hierarchically positioned above or below each other with reference to race and class structures.
They in themselves are not equal, then which men do women want to be equal to? Also, not all
women share the same notion of equality. This definition also puts aside the inter-related
structures of race and class which also play a role in exploration and oppression of an
individual. It only works in favour of bourgeois white women ruling out interests of non-white,
lower class women altogether. Thus, non-white, lower class women do not prefer social equality
within their social structures since they know that men in their groups are exploited as well.
They think that the sexist attitude adopted by these men is, in a sense, a coping mechanism, an
expression of their powerlessness in relation to other ruling male groups. Thus, the definition
offered by Women's lib movement ends up favouring and improving the status of white, well-off
women only, whereas, Hooks' definition is an inclusive one with a critical political consciousness
based on ideas and beliefs.

Hooks then goes on to state why most women avoid any association with the feminist
discourse. An uncertainty about the meaning of the term and lack of a unifying definition is one
reason why women are reluctant to advocate feminism. Some women do not want to be
associated with a classist, racist, feminist movement as it was often equated to the women's lib
favouring white bourgeois women. Feminism was also seen as 'lesbianism' and homophobic
women avoided it for this reason. Some women avoided any association with political
movements. Most women were only familiar with negative implications of women's lib than the
positive side of feminism and avoid it for the same. But feminism defined as "a struggle to end
sexist oppression" can help overcome most, if not all, these reasons listed for the reluctance of
women in identifying as feminists.

Hooks mentions a slogan "personal is political" which was often used in the political arena and
which lead women to believe that discrimination, exploitation and oppression give them
automatic understanding of their political reality and the ideological and institutional structures
shaping one's social status. This led to women focusing on giving voice to personal
experiences, instead of examining their situation and developing an understanding of their
political reality and its relationship to other women as a collective group. This stalled the
progress of feminist movement for theories and strategies that were developed around the
personal experiences of different women were collectively misguided, incomplete and
inadequate. The idea that describing one's suffering as for the development of critical political
consciousness is a major part of revolutionary politics but, can’t be the only aspect. To reform
the theories and strategies women need to develop an understanding of the political realities. It
is important to understand personal that is political, as well as the politics of the society as a
whole and global revolutionary politics. The understanding of all three components can lead to
the development of well functioning feminist theories with a broader perspective.

According to Hooks, feminism should be defined in a way that brings to light the diversity of
social and political lives of women. Without an adequate definition bourgeois white women
dominated the feminist movement. Other groups of women then are forced to reject feminism
from its core. This reaction is acceptable to bourgeois white women who do not want other
women to frame their own better ideas of feminism, which might put a stop to the privileges
enjoyed by them.
Feminism defined as struggle to put end to sexist oppression doesn't place specific groups of
women over other women, it is not a lifestyle nor does it place women above men. Hooks
promotes the use of phrase "I advocate feminism" instead of "I'm a feminist", for the latter can
be attached with stereotypes and preconceived notions of identity, role or behaviour. Also, using
"I advocate" escapes the absolutism that "I am" entails. "I advocate" represents a choice, it puts
a question, "what is feminism" which encourages people to explore the feminist theory.

In conclusion, for feminism of the next generation it is important to understand the social political
reality of diverse women and to explore the underlying cause of sexism in race and class
structures. Thus, Bell Hooks' definition of feminism is important for development of feminist
theory as it acts as a starting point of exploitation and analysis.