Taking A look Back At bell hooks’ All About Love: New Visions

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks reflects on the misconception of true love.

Black feminist author Gloria Jean Watkins wrote the book under her lowercase pen name, bell hooks, to remove the attention from her and focus on her ideas. 

Hooks uses personal anecdotes to illustrate society’s flawed view of love.

Unconditional love, according to the author, is a distorted belief.  

This can be seen in toxic families, friendships and romantic relationships, where love at its purest form is often exploited and manipulated.

Hooks questions the idea of unconditional love by showcasing instances where the values that define love aren’t evident. Such examples can be found in the family setting. 

As hooks states in the book, “For most folks it is just too threatening to embrace a definition of love that would no longer enable us to see love as present in our families.” 

People want to believe in unconditional love because they are in denial. They refuse to believe that the people who are supposed to love them most don’t, at least not with their actions.

Hooks addresses underlying patriarchal values, such as greed and dominion, that lead to dysfunctional families. 

She explains, “Many of our nation’s citizens are afraid to embrace the ethics of compassion because it threatens their security.” 

Monetary power incites domination and eliminates the element of compassion, which leads to the desire to be better than others, or to dominate.

Dysfunctional relationships and families are characterized by people who try to overpower one another to satisfy personal needs. Genuine love cannot survive within such conditions. 

The hypocrisy within the family circle is a reflection of the patriarchal elements within society that endorse abuse, guaranteeing the vicious cycle repeats itself. 

All About Love: New Visions urges everyone, not just women, to think critically about erroneous beliefs on love. 

By deconstructing traditional beliefs and going beyond the romantic and familiar circle, hooks gives the reader a new view of love and society.