Hood Feminism Advocates for Women’s Basic Needs

Beginning with the right to vote, the feminist movement has since advocated for reforms related to equal pay, maternity leave, domestic and sexual violence among other major issues. But the most basic needs – such as food, education, and health care – have not been part of the feminist conversation.

Mikki Kendall, (pictured right) the author of Hood Feminism, addressed these and other issues covered in her book during a recent program sponsored by Friends of the Edgewater Library. The virtual program was a lively conversation between Kendall and writer/editor Michi Trota followed by a Q&A with the audience.

In Hood Feminism, Kendall focuses on experiences faced by most women – particularly families headed by women and by other marginalized people. “Tackling those larger issues is key to equality for all women,” she writes. “It is past time to make the conversation a nuanced, inclusive, and intersectional one that reflects the concerns of all women, not just a privileged few.”

At the most basic level, she notes, “feminism has to come through to combat food insecurity from higher prices for fresh foods to insufficient government funding for programs that address hunger on a systemic level. As feminist issues go, there are none that span more women and their families than this one.” 

Kendall writes in the book’s introduction that is about the health of the community as a whole, with a specific focus on supporting the most vulnerable members. 

She said, “I would hope that readers come away with a desire to do more to combat racism, poverty, and misogyny. I would hope that they would want to get involved in their own communities as well as to use whatever power and privilege they have to work toward healthier communities, by pushing politicians to create better and more equitable public policy.”

Watch the video here.

Recommended Reading from Mikki Kendall

“I'm a three-book-at-a-time person (this is not a system that will make sense, but it works for me) so I recommend these books: Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong, The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert, and Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.”