How Does 'Hood Feminism' Redefine Intersectional Feminism?

As someone who's read 'Hood Feminism' multiple times, I can say Mikki Kendall flips mainstream feminism on its head by focusing on survival needs over respectability politics. She argues that feminism fails marginalized women when it prioritizes corporate boardroom equality over food security or safe neighborhoods. The book brilliantly exposes how middle-class feminist movements often ignore basic survival issues like housing, healthcare, and violence that disproportionately affect poor women of color. Kendall uses raw, personal narratives to show how anti-poverty work is feminist work. Her analysis of how gun control debates overlook Black women's legitimate safety concerns particularly stuck with me. This isn't feminism about leaning in - it's feminism about living through.

'Hood Feminism' radically shifts the conversation by centering women who mainstream feminism routinely leaves behind. Kendall dismantles the idea of a unified feminist movement by showing how race, class, and neighborhood fundamentally change what women need from feminism.

What makes this book groundbreaking is its unflinching look at practical survival. While some feminists debate workplace dress codes, Kendall discusses how food deserts and underfunded schools cripple opportunities before girls even enter the workforce. Her chapter on how respectability politics harm victims of domestic violence completely changed my understanding of victim advocacy.

The book's strongest contribution might be its examination of community violence. Kendall argues persuasively that feminism must address the root causes of neighborhood violence rather than just condemning its symptoms. When girls join gangs for protection or mothers tolerate abusive partners to keep housing, these aren't failures of feminism - they're failures of systems feminism should combat. 'Hood Feminism' redefines the movement as one that fights for safe streets, quality education, and living wages as foundational feminist issues.

Kendall's 'Hood Feminism' punched me in the gut with its real talk about who gets left behind in feminist movements. The book doesn't just add race and class to feminism - it rebuilds feminism from the ground up around them. Her analysis of how respectability politics silence poor women is particularly sharp.

What grabbed me was how she reframes basic needs as feminist issues. Access to groceries isn't some side issue - it's central to whether women can participate in society. Police brutality isn't just a criminal justice problem - it's a feminist issue when mothers fear for their sons. Kendall makes brilliant connections between issues mainstream feminism treats as separate.

The book's power comes from its concrete examples. When Kendall describes girls missing school during periods because they can't afford pads, or mothers choosing between medicine and rent, she forces readers to see how far feminism still has to go. This isn't theoretical - it's life-or-death feminism that starts with survival.