Thread by @TimeOutLondon

Author and feminist bell hooks has passed away aged 69.

We remember the writer through her powerful words on love, community, friendship and empowerment

💖👇

timeout.com/news/7-amazing…

The intersectional feminist, theorist, poet and critic bell hooks published the groundbreaking ‘Ain’t I A Woman? in 1981 – radically redefined our ideas of love and community.

Here are some of her most illuminating quotes:

⭐‘Satisfying friendships in which we share mutual love provides a guide for behaviour in other relationships, including romantic ones.’

📍Life lesson: We all sort of know it, but it’s important to remember that our friends are as important as our lovers

⭐‘The practice of love offers no place of safety. We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being acted upon by forces outside our control.’

📍Life lesson: Opening up to people is terrifying. But it’s still worth it in the long run – even if it is a little bit frightening

⭐‘No Black woman writer in this culture can write “too much”. Indeed, no woman writer can write “too much” … No woman has ever written enough.’

📍Life lesson: Women should keep going, even if it’s seen as difficult or unhelpful. There’s lots to say, and women should say it

⭐‘Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.’

📍Life lesson: Being by yourself is tough but it means you’re less likely to pick a partner because it’s cuffing season

⭐‘As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realised.’

📍Life lesson: Intersectionality! A significant part of bell hooks’s work is about how important it is for feminism to understand race, class and sexuality

⭐‘Living consciously is living with a core of healthy self-esteem. You will face reality, you will not delude yourself.’

📍Life lesson: Facing reality’ is a big ask when reality is another threatened Christmas. But this seems like something we should maybe stick on the mirror

⭐‘If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency.’

📍Life lesson: You are enough. Be comfortable in yourself, and stop relying on external forces for validation