Why did bell hooks lowercase her name?

Born Gloria Jean Watkins, bell hooks is a renowned American feminist theorist and critic whose works revolve around intersections of race, class, gender, female studies, and capitalism. Growing up in a segregated community in South, she was interested in black feminism and female struggles at a very young age, and she published her first book Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism in 1981.

hooks chose a pen name to honor the legacy of her great-grandmother whose name was bell Blair hooks, yet she preferred to spell it in lowercase letters to take the attention from the name to the content she is delivering in her books, and essays. To emphasize her ideas rather than making an individual fame through traditional capitalization, she centered her authorial voice in favor of the community and wrote her books in a language and style that made them accessible to anyone.

For her, simplicity is the key to delivering her message to people all around the world because feminism should not be exclusive to only a part of people. Therefore, she does not just welcome women to her books but everyone to show that feminism is not equal to men-hating, or it does not only support white females or black females: it is for everybody, from any background, race, class, or gender.

hooks sees that feminism is for everybody, she even has a book titled Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics in which she explores feminism as a tool to end sexism, sexploitation, class differences and power structures. Here hooks state that feminism is intersectional and interwoven with class and race because without each other, it is inadequate to fight against the patriarchal structures that also harm men.

hooks challenged one-layered narratives by centering black women, working class, and queer identities in her work, and she believed the only way out to liberation is education, and togetherness.

hooks believed in the importance of acknowledging collective struggle and transformation therefore she put an emphasis on collective healing and inclusiveness to achieve true feminism and liberation. This is why she chose lowercase letters because she is among the people struggling in this society; she is us, and we are her.