Remembered Rapture

        We had only read the first chapter " Class and the Politics of Writing" , and I thought it was an extremely interesting read. For the past year or so there has been an immense increase in the fight for feminism across the United States. We see the effects everywhere now, through Emma Watson's moving speech, and the Chanel rally that took place in Paris fashion week. Feminism has exploded not only across the US but across the UK and Europe as well. Bell Hooks was not the only one who realized that there was a glitch in the system. Hook's focuses on a specific problem describing " situations faced by individuals from poor and working class backgrounds who have never had to think about whether a relative would write something about their lives." I thought it was a very interesting read because I never questioned the publishing process or the political aspect of confessional writing. Now reading about the ethical, political and economical aspects I realize that it is a much more difficult and frustrating process. Confessional writing proved to become a problem mostly with middle to lower class families because there tended to be more problems concerning money and privacy. Hook's really hones in on the idea of ethical problems that occur when something like a memoir is written that includes the authors memories and experiences which naturally proceeds to include the family members as well. She even states that her parents had refused to speak with her when she disapproved their wishes and published her book. It upset me that they would not share her happiness and success but rather distance themselves because of something that happened in the past and that they should not be afraid to share with the rest of the world. I wondered if they had just thought for a second that they might not be the only ones going through this ordeal and that maybe what their daughter had written would help the reader.
          I also was quiet surprised at the economical issue in publishing. Hooks states that " mainstream publishing rejected this ( opposing society's views ) work." After reading that I understood why " Mainstream " publishers would reject this form of writing and that it's all about the audience. If the audience is known to be mostly typical or " Basic " then they will dismiss this " abnormal " work.
        This chapter informed me of some very interesting facts and now if I ever do decide to publish a memoir I will make sure to look at all the ethical, political, and economical aspects. ( I'll end up having a headache and deciding it's not worth all this trouble.... )  Who knows.... ?