self-actualization is intersectional

“Males as a group have and do benefit the most from patriarchy, from the assumption that they are superior to females and should rule over us. But those benefits have come with a price. In return for all the goodies men receive from patriarchy, they are required to dominate women, to exploit and oppress us, using violence if they must to keep patriarchy intact. Most men find it difficult to be patriarchs. Most men are disturbed by hatred and fear of women, by male violence against women, even the men who perpetrate this violence. But they fear letting go of the benefits. They are not certain what will happen to the world they know most intimately if patriarchy changes. So they find it easier to passively support male domination even when they know in their minds and hearts it is wrong.

Again and again men tell me they have no idea what it is feminists want. I believe them. I believe in their capacity to change and grow. And I believe if they knew more about for feminism they would no longer fear it, for they would find in feminist movement the hope of their own release from the bondage of patriarchy.

Imagine living in a world where there is no domination, we are females and males are not alike or even always equal, but where in visual of mutuality is the ethos shaping our interaction. Imagine living in a world where we can all be who we are, a world of peace and possibility. Feminist revolution alone will not create such a world; we need to end racism, class elitism, imperialism. But it will make it possible for us to be fully self-actualised [people] able to create beloved community, to live together, realising our dreams of freedom and justice, living the truth that we are all “created equal.”

- bell hooks

from Feminism is for Everybody