Sisterhood Is Still Powerful Summary and Analysis

When bell hooks transfers from her small college to Stanford, she immediately sees a difference in the same-sex classes and those with both men and women. In the latter case, women did not speak up as much as men. They were not called upon for their opinions nor did they often volunteer to speak. When the women did offer an opinion, it was usually in a soft quiet voice lacking vitality and confidence. As her time at Stanford went on, Bell herself began to feel less confident. She had been at a small all-girls school before transferring. She felt more certain of her abilities and was supported by the professors of her small school.

In her women's classes at Stanford, however, she once again felt that support. Tillie Olsen, the writer, encouraged her students to...