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Assignment #6

Bell Hooks in “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance” defines “the other” or “otherness” as someone that racially, ethnically, sexually, etc. defers from you. Otherness is her own way of describing diversity. Hooks describes otherness as fun and interesting compared to the dullness and strictness of white culture. She states that having a relationship with the other can give you excitement, that it can introduce you to new ways of thinking. I think something Hooks wants to note at is that not having a good relationship to the other can influence ignorance and divide among people in society. By not interacting with the other, you may find yourself to be “normal” and “superior” to anyone who defers from yourself. I think she also has a problem with how many do interact with the other. When discussing the thought process behind the white male having sex with the other, she states that by keeping the desire to be with the other a secret or taboo, it only assumes dominance over the other. But for boys that openly express their desire to be with the other, they can be changed in a positive way that can break boundaries and societal restraints. Having a good relationship with the other can show defiance towards the history of western culture, and can bring a person to a primitive state before society constructed racial dominance. When talking about the movie “Heart Condition” she notes that while the movie promotes diversity by the main white character embracing the other in his life, this expression of diversity is slanted because it still places the white protagonist in a dominant position. I think Bell Hooks main idea here, is that it is important to have relationships between ones self and the other, but such relationships must be approached without narcissism for one’s own being, but open acceptance for all others.