5 Assignment 06

Bell Hooks’ “Eating the Other:  Desire and Resistance” describes the relationship between white persons and the “Other”. The “Other” is anyone racially or sexually different. This includes minorities ranging from Native Americans and Africans to Asians and Hispanics. Hooks describes the relationship between whites and the “Others” as pure fascination. The others are seen as different and rare – as unexplored grounds . Hooks describes an encounter where young white males discussed their intentions to have sex with as many  girls as they could before graduation – but they had to be other ethnic groups. Non-white girls were seen to be more experienced and sexual based on the sole factor of being non-white. These young women added a sense of excitement and deficiency to white adolescents life. This admiration on the surface seems productive and legitimate as they are breaking “social norms” and integrating and associating themselves with people of color. They see themselves progressing from their ancestors practices of discrimination and white supremacy. In their perspective they are rebelling against the wishes of their past generations that longed to be superior. This desire prevented them from ever willingly integrating or involving themselves in interracial relationships.  They do not recognize that their want and sexually desire for the “Others” is only perpetuating racism. These women of color are seen as trophies to add onto the white mans showcase. The youthful boys do not want a long lasting relationship with the girls, the just merely want sex.  The white males attraction could be seen as productive as they are, in a sense, “equating” themselves to the women of color by having intimate relationships with them.  These young men are not aware that their ideology is withholding the women from truly advancing.  They are oblivious to their desire to only want colored women to advance their own agenda of sexual experience.

Bell Hooks introduces the idea of “the other” in her essay “Eating the other” as people of different races, cultures, and ethnicity than oneself. She talks about people who look for “the other” in order to discover new experiences and know about different sexual pleasures of different racial groups. In the essay we are informed that different races have different experiences during sex and that many times people look for different partners of different backgrounds in order to try something new. In the beginning we’re told about a group of white men talking about different partners they would like to conquer and the main priority were Asians because they were easy and blacks were a must on the list. It is understood that if someone has been with not only multiple people but of different backgrounds that they are looked up to because of more experience. Hooks also informs us that by men openly expressing their interest in women of color that they are considered more masculine to other people. This is because it shows their openness and their acceptance in other people that are not of their own race. This dilemma is also most common in white people since they are seen as the “original” race and everyone else are the different, exotic ones. It seems that “the otherness” is mostly a way for white people to diversify their lives and it is portrayed through magazines, movies, and all sorts of advertisement. For example, in the movie hairspray the main characters break boundaries by dancing with black people and therefore making them more liked by viewer by showing they are different and accepting of other races. Hooks also writes about the photo shoot in Egypt that barely focus on the Egyptian people, but mainly on their land and the white people visiting. Showing us how Whites desire diversity yet still want to be distinguished as better or “the others” be distinguished as not good enough. So they blurred them out of the photos to establish this.

Within her essay “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance,” author Bell Hooks carefully evaluates the interconnection established between Whites and non-white individuals referred to as the “Other”. Hook uses various films and texts to support her observation of the change in the way in which “Otherness” is defined throughout time and different parts of the world. Throughout the essay, Hooks describes the undisclosed desire of White individuals to indulge in this “Otherness” as a means to broaden their culture. This is where the concept of “eating the other”–adopting aspects of Black, Hispanic, Native-American, and Asian cultures–stems from. It is the idea that other races have something new or some sort of spice to offer that is not available to White individuals. This relationship is particularly productive in comparison to previous relations shared between Whites and non-whites, which were typically built on the impression that Whites were superior to other races. Historically, relationships of any kind between members of different races were heavily discouraged and frowned upon. Though it cannot be said that White supremacy no longer exists, it is much less rampant, and Whites no longer desire the domination of other races. Instead, Hook illustrates the desire of White people to be connected with these “Others” by describing them as “consumers”.

This is demonstrated as Hooks discusses sexual interactions between different races. These instances are used to disassociate Otherness with race, ethnicity, and skin color. Otherness then becomes commodified and is more associated with the act of sex. Sexual encounters serve as a way to experience pleasure and stray away from normal bland and boring ways without abandoning what is known as mainstream White culture. In this case, the relationship to Otherness can be considered productive and successful because it provides newer and more satisfying methods to overcome certain racial boundaries.

In Bell Hooks chapter, “ Eating the other: Desire and Resistance” of her essay Hook establishes a relationship between the rise in interactions between white persons and “the others”. Hooks uses words as “the others” to group together people who are racially and sexually different from the norms of white culture. Hook shows the transition in reactions from white people to people of different cultures. That dominance and superiority are no longer reasons for sexual or other physical interactions with people of color. Hook makes a statement of support to show an example of this transition. That three white jocks had the goal of fucking as many Black, Asian, and Native-American girls as possible. The relationship with the others and white people are due to the ideology that having sexual encounters and cultural enrichment would progress their experiences. That this spice and interaction would be a benefit to there boring, cliche lifestyles. Even though it takes the consent of another for them to produce this ideology and consider it successful. White people consider this method sound and acceptable since they no longer practice the racially, discriminatory, supremacist ways of their forefathers. This method is a way that white people and people of color can break down boundaries with other cultures. I don’t understand the primitive part, I feel as if that is totally irrelevant to the subject and that she tries to elaborate on this central idea and just confuses the topic some more with her feministic perspectives by trying to show a chauvinistic view of white men. Hook further contradicts herself by characterizing this relationship as productive due to the fact that instead of white people seeing themselves superior to “the others” they can see each other possibly as equals. That the sexual encounters and taboo ideology of the others bring about healthy interactions and further progress into social integration.

In Bell Hook’s essay “Eating the Other” she explains the relationship of “the Other” and why many white people are fascinated by them. According to Hook, the British use the slang “the Other” when referring to having sexual intercourse as appose to how Americans use the term “the other” which represents race, ethnicity, and skin-color. For Americans racial differences marks a person as “the Other”. The Other are minority group and the reason why white people are fascinated by them is because they’re viewed as having more culture and being more interesting to whites. Young white males were interested in having sexual intercourse with anyone that fit the category of “the other” because by being with someone of a different racial background they sort of enter the world of experience. It’s sort of a way of them rebelling against the norm and what is expected of them. They considered being with “the other” as a rite of passage for themselves. The other was different because they were considered to have more life experience, they were sensual, more worldly and were sexual. For many of these young white males being with “the other” was just adding a notch of their belt, it was a achieve, something to check off their list of things to do. Some people considered the idea of “the other” as a huge progressive change in the way whites view nonwhites. The relationship of “the other” is considered to be productive and a progressive change because of how different times are now compare to how they were back then. Any interracial relationship back then was frown upon and sort of forbidden. Nowadays interracial relationship aren’t considered to be a big thing. Being with “the other” increases diversity among whites and nonwhites and in a way brings integration among all races.

In her essay “ Eating the other,” bell hooks describes the relationship between white people and colored people. The “other” that hooks refers to are people of color. The other include monitory groups like Blacks, Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics. These groups are exploited in a society dominated by white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. In her essay, hooks says that “others” are seen as something to be desired. Minorities are seen as exotic in the eyes of their white counterparts. A prime example of this view is shown as hooks recounts a conversation she overheard a group of white male students having about sleeping with as many girls from different racial and ethnic groups as they can before graduation (hooks, 368). By fetishisizing sexual encounters with women (or men) of different ethnic/racial groups, they are expecting something different from what they’re use to. They fantasize that they will have a sort of extraordinary pleasure that they’ve never experienced before in their interactions with the “other.” They assume that those that are not like them are more experienced and worldly. hooks explains that in western culture, whiteness is standard and normal and therefore the normalization of whiteness leads to the commodification of “the others.” The commodification of “otherness” enriches the lives of those who are dominant in society by adding a sort of excitement from the mainstream white culture. She says that the culture of minority groups serve as an “alternative playground” for the dominating race to affirm their power (hooks, 367). The relationship with “otherness” is productive because the culture of “otherness” is advertised in such a way that makes it appealing to those of all races and backgrounds. Advertisements find a way to portray “otherness” that entices white Americans. The sense of “otherness” doesn’t align with the status quo so it becomes unique and captivating to white Americans. They are motivated to explore their curiosities about black culture and they acquire pleasure by getting “a bit of the other.”

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.

In the essay of Bell Hooks “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance” she mentions the term the Other. Personally, I fell that the Other is people that are from other races and how white people are intrigued by them, even in a sexual aspect. The Other would be people of  African,  native american, Asian decent, basically anyone outside of the white race. Otherness can be seen as productive due to the fact that it can add spice to the white culture. With this being said Otherness in a sense can change the status quo, which disturbs the equilibrium of the norm. Hooks mentions how when she was teaching in Yale she over heard how the white boys wanted to fuck the Other. To the white boys the Other would give them an opportunity to enter the world of experience. You would think that by the white boys wanting to fuck the Others would be a sense of them dominating the Other since that is how it worked back in the day, but the boys did not even see it in that way which is a sense of some form of Otherness being productive. Otherness lets the people to explore a world of difference which make a more intense pleasure since they are discovering something new and out of the ordinary. Hooks also mentions how Otherness lures a combination of  pleasure and danger, which could mean that it creates excitement to relationships. It leads to a society becoming more common with diversity. The cultural appropriation  of the Other helps ease the feeling of oppression that the Others faced. The relationship of whites  being sexually intrigued of the Other does not seem like a bad thing in this reading. The concept of Otherness can help break through the challenge of white supremacy and finally bring some sense of unity.

In her essay, “Eating the Other,” Bell Hooks examines the relationship between the whites and the Others. In this case, the Others are referred to as non-whites who differ from the whites in terms of race, ethnicity and skin color. Hooks first introduces the notion that the whites are seeking the Others to experience pleasure. Racial difference is looked upon in a positive light, because the whites are fantasizing that the Others are special in their own way and that the lives of Others are more lively, more exotic, and more exciting. The act of forming a relationship with the Others is seen as provocative, because there is the thrill of going outside the norm and doing something that is different. Hooks further argues that publicly desiring intimate contact with the Others is breaking the status quo in that it goes against white supremacy. However, one can also argue that at least a certain degree of white supremacy still exists. When college boys said that they want to sleep with as many racial girls as possible, their desire for pleasure is somewhat temporary in that they aren’t seeking for a long-term serious relationship. They are curious to step into this field of unique and different experience, yet are making light of it by treating their relationship with these women as something to exploit rather than treasure. Hooks also believes that these whites are like consumers who are looking to buy pleasure. Not much different from the system of slavery, the Others are still considered as products that can be manipulated into the dominance of whites. Just as black people were desired for productivity in labor, racial groups are being desired in anticipation of the pleasure that they can give. Furthermore, relationship with the Others is productive because there is an aspect of gaining power and conquering death. This occurs because racial groups are subject to pain and suffering due to a racist society. Therefore, incorporating blackness into a white person’s life, whether it be sleeping with black people or eating black food, is regarded as having embraced and overcome the feeling of death and despair they never had to experience. In such ways, white people seeks to gain pleasure and be empowered through their relationship with the Others.

Bell hooks opens with the conquering and colorization of African women by European men. During slavery, African women became submissive to the patriarchal culture where they endure abuse such as rape by white men. Rape was a means of punishment that these black women endured. White men didn’t categorize black women as wife material but only as the “other mistress”. To protect their social image or conduct social order, relationships with black women were kept in the dark; it was seen as taboo or disdainful to the dominant culture. Hooks describes, that young white boys’ interest to “the other” (different ethnic group), is to explore their sexual fantasies. This bold discussion of ethnic female bodies is repulsive to early white supremacist culture.White males believe that having sexual relationships with ethnic girls compared to white girls will bewilder them. They believed that black girls inherited sexual promiscuity from their fore parent so therefore, they could enjoy this sexual roller coaster. Nevertheless, White boys considered black girls and Native American girls as “the other” because they were subjugated as different from white girls. In addition, White boys didn’t seek an intimate relationship with those who were considered “the other” (Asian blacks, Native American), but only sought these types of females to explore their sexuality. Furthermore, after their encounters with “the other”, they typically returned to have relationships with white females.

“The other” role for white boys was to bring pleasure and dominance. Hooks characterizes the relationship with the “otherness” to be productive due to the fact that it was something that was always occurring among white men. When Bell Hooks mentioned, “eating the other”, she meant that white racism, imperialism, and sexist domination prevailed by courageous consumption. It is by “eating the other”, that one (white males in this case) was able to assert power and privilege. Taking into account racial hegemony, Bell stated that spices were flavoring and flourishing into the American mainstream. White males often relate to other ethnicities, like tossing spices to entice their appetite. Spices were used in the context to explain the fact that diversity added heat, it added, “flavor”, it is a commodity which was desired in certain quantities that didn’t threaten or undermine white dominance in any way.

Early white men use slave’s bodies to satisfy their sexual urge; because they were looked at as property, they believe they were entitled to slaves bodies anytime. Similarly, young boys use the bodies of the black girls to prove masculinity. Hooks wants to use a comparative historical method to show that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.