Learning All About Love: A bell hooks Review
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This Valentine’s Day, another year passes as we gather to celebrate the love shared amongst our romances and friendships alike. A push to understand love holistically– rather than solely emphasizing romantic love–has become increasingly common in Western cultures, as can be seen with the creation of “pal-entine” or “gal-entine” celebrations that focus on the love of friendship as well. With this cultural shift, which desires to celebrate love, rather than just romance, it is the perfect time to reflect on how it is that we define love and, more importantly, how it is that we practice this love. In her best-selling novel, All About Love, distinguished author bell hooks speaks insightfully on just that.
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All About Love: New Visions was published in 1999, and it dives deep into facets and effects of love and “loving practices” that have resonated with audiences for over a quarter century now. She discusses love both in a direct interpersonal and broader sociological lens, speaking to its power to transform when done honestly and altruistically. One of the most important distinctions she makes very early on in the book is the affirmation of love as a verb rather than a noun, resulting from consistent and intentional action and being made up of “care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, and trust, as well as honest and open communication”. These principal “ingredients” guide her discussion throughout the book, as she explores what it means to truly love rather than simply experiencing passive emotions. In a current age where the lines of our relationships are so easily blurred, this message of moving with intention and integrity may resonate as much with modern audiences as it did when originally published.
One of All About Love’s most personally moving themes has been that of love’s impact on community. With a chapter dedicated to love for and within communities in particular, the message of its effects on a mutualistic well-being is clear. The manner of accountably caring for one another, in biological families, found families, and everything in between, translates outward in all aspects of love and life. How we treat one another in one area of our lives attests to the quality of our core personal values overall. Throughout the course of the book, bell hooks emphasizes how these are the connections that sustain us, and in treating them thoughtfully with their due importance, we also make ourselves more loving individuals all around.
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As we celebrate love again this Valentine’s Day, quality time well-spent with partners (or pals) is sure to be in the books for many of us. On this day, we get to enjoy the fruits of love from seeds sown year-round and watered by our actions. As bell hooks said, “When we love, we grow”, and within her writings in All About Love, there is so much valuable insight into the ways that we grow our love and grow through love. It seems there’s no better time than the present to reflect on the love that we continue to give and receive all year-round.
Strike Out,
Writer: Priscilla Rodriguez
Editor: Abby Marshall
Graphic Designer: Ryan Hanak
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