All About Love: New Visions
Encyclopedia
All About Love: New Visions is a book by bell hooks
published in 2001. The book discusses aspects of love in modern society. hooks combines personal anecdotes, psychological and philosophical ideas to make her point. She focuses on romantic love
and believes that in American culture men have been socialized to mistrust the value and power of love. Each chapter explains her position and provides suggestions of how to reverse the process. She proposes a transformative love based on affection
, respect
, recognition, commitment
, trust and care, rather than the customary forms stemming from gender stereotypes, domination, control, ego and aggression
.
In the second chapter she proposes that children be treated with respect and justice so that they may learn to love.
In the third chapter she proposes that complete honesty
is necessary for a healthy relationship. She believes males learn to lie as a means of obtaining power, while females do the same but also lie to pretend powerlessness.
In the fourth chapter she proposes that self-acceptance
and self-love
are necessary to have a happy relationship.
In the fifth chapter she proposes that a relationship with God is necessary to provide love to others. In the sixth chapter she proposes that in order to love we must let go of obsessions with power and domination as a culture. In the seventh chapter she proposes that we must place love above materialism. In the eighth chapter she proposes that a sense of community and belonging is essential to feel loved and desire to give love. In the ninth chapter she proposes that both partners have to be giving.
Bell hooks
Gloria Jean Watkins , better known by her pen name bell hooks, is an American author, feminist, and social activist....
published in 2001. The book discusses aspects of love in modern society. hooks combines personal anecdotes, psychological and philosophical ideas to make her point. She focuses on romantic love
Romantic love
Romance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....
and believes that in American culture men have been socialized to mistrust the value and power of love. Each chapter explains her position and provides suggestions of how to reverse the process. She proposes a transformative love based on affection
Affection
Affection or fondness is a "disposition or rare state of mind or body" that is often associated with a feeling or type of love. It has given rise to a number of branches of philosophy and psychology concerning: emotion ; disease; influence; state of being ; and state of mind...
, respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
, recognition, commitment
Commitment
Commitment may refer to:*Promise, or personal commitment*Contract, a legally binding exchange of promises*Brand commitment*Involuntary commitment, the use of legal means or forms to commit a person to a mental hospital, insane asylum or psychiatric ward...
, trust and care, rather than the customary forms stemming from gender stereotypes, domination, control, ego and aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
.
Summary
In the first chapter she proposes that if we came to an agreement on the definition of love and acknowledge it as a verb rather than a noun we would all be happier.In the second chapter she proposes that children be treated with respect and justice so that they may learn to love.
In the third chapter she proposes that complete honesty
Honesty
Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft....
is necessary for a healthy relationship. She believes males learn to lie as a means of obtaining power, while females do the same but also lie to pretend powerlessness.
In the fourth chapter she proposes that self-acceptance
Self-acceptance
Self-acceptance is defined as affirmation or acceptance of self in spite of weaknesses or deficiencies.Although this term has been often understood in a common sense way, researchers have defined it formally in terms of positive and negative self-concepts...
and self-love
Self-love
Self-love is the strong sense of respect for and confidence in oneself. It is different from narcissism in that as one practices acceptance and detachment, the awareness of the individual shifts and the individual starts to see him or herself as an extension of all there is...
are necessary to have a happy relationship.
In the fifth chapter she proposes that a relationship with God is necessary to provide love to others. In the sixth chapter she proposes that in order to love we must let go of obsessions with power and domination as a culture. In the seventh chapter she proposes that we must place love above materialism. In the eighth chapter she proposes that a sense of community and belonging is essential to feel loved and desire to give love. In the ninth chapter she proposes that both partners have to be giving.