Hood Feminism is a collection of essays by Mikki Kendall, who takes issue with feminism in general because, she asserts, it only really works for some women. In fact, she feels that women actually oppress other women - which is an academically-oriented way of admitting that mean girls do not just exist in Linsey Lohan movies. There is also a tendency of feminist leaders to dictate to women the particular issues that they should find important, but in doing so, they do not represent, or even attempt to improve the lives of, all women. There are many things that feminist voices do not currently address. These include poverty, hunger, finding a decently paying job and raising children alone when facing all of these issues.
Kendall also believes that feminism is for straight, white academics. Although this contention is flawed, in that straight white women do not yet experience gender equality either, it does form the basis of her essay collection, and it is the thread that binds them all together. Women, Kendall observes, are hyper-sexualized and despite the fact that over half of the population is female, the female narrative is still written by men.
Kendall has experienced male dominated institutions herself, having served in the U.S. Army and worked in the Department of Veterans Affairs before devoting herself to writing full time. She is a respected essayist who often writes about the politics of food. She is also the author of the graphic novel Amazons, Abolitionists and Activists : A Graphic History of Women's Fight for their Rights.
