Black Girls are Feminists

Source: The Source Magazine

Note: This was originally a paper I wrote for my Philosophy of Feminism Class, but the topics were too relevant to my blog not to share.

In the third episode of season six of Black-ish, Rainbow Johnson (Bow) realizes her daughter, Diane, and mother-in-law, Ruby, do not believe in feminism, so Bow endeavors to make them believers. To begin, Bow tries to persuade Diane by taking her to one of her feminist group meetings. At the meeting, one of the members, a white woman named Sue, says that feminism is the “worst thing to ever happen to women in this country” to which all the women in the group, the majority of whom are white, applaud. Bow refutes the claim by saying the worst thing to ever happen to women was slavery because black women were slaves. With the realization that many of the women in the group did not understand the importance of her claim, Bow tells Abby, her white feminist friend, she thinks the group needs to be more inclusive to which Abby agrees. So, Bow invites three of her friends from college, all of whom are women of color, to the next women’s group meeting. At the next meeting, issue of the pay gap between women of color and white women and the issue of a black woman having a seat in Congress over a white woman brings Abby to tell Bow she feels that having the women of color at the meeting is causing the group to “get off track” because the discussion keeps being “focused on race” instead of being focused on “women’s issues.” Abby continues by saying the group does what they do for all women, not a specific group of women, to which Bow responds by telling her that “all women” in the feminist context typically means “white women.” Bow finishes by telling Abby that she is, in essence, asking her to choose between being a woman and being black when she does not have the privilege of choosing just one. Leaving the group, Bow decides to start her own inclusive women’s group that focuses on the issues of women of color because they need a “safe space where their voices matter,” and by the end of the episode, Diane and Ruby have both realized they are feminists.

I believe this episode is an example of one of Lori Watson’s arguments from her article “The Woman Question.” One of Watson’s main arguments is that there is no unifying or uniform experience of being a woman. Watson writes, “Intersectional analyses of gender teach that women’s experience of womanhood is importantly varied across other categories, especially across other hierarchies ­– including race, class, religion, sexuality…” (Watson). The interaction between Bow and the white feminist group clearly shows those varied women experiences that Watson is talking about. Sue and Abby can’t understand why Bow and her college friends are continuously talking about race issues in connection with gender issues. I believe this analysis is correct and very important to how we view feminism today because when one has intersecting identities, it is impossible not to see the world through that intersectional lens. Like Bow said, women of color don’t have the privilege of choosing when they are brown or black and when they are a woman; they are always a brown- or black-skinned woman. To begin with, as Bow said in the episode, black women have lived a different history than white women; black women were slaves while white women lived in the plantation’s family house. To further that point, the difference in histories between white women and black women has shaped the way they exist in the world. For example, one of Bow’s friends stated the fact that while white women make 88 cents for every dollar a man makes, black women make 73 cents, and Hispanic women make even less. Lastly, when the issue of position and office are talked about in the episode, everyone defaults to a white female candidate who is barely qualified even though there are more qualified black female candidates; the issue here is the perception of black women versus white women by American society which works for the disadvantage of black women. This Black-ish episode would serve as great evidence to prove Watson’s claim that there is no unifying woman’s experience with which all women can identify.

Source: Clio History

Moreover, I also believe Audre Lorde would have a lot to say about this episode as well. As a woman of color, Lorde found great issue with feminist theory that only seemed to focus on the issues of white women. In her article “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House,” she writes, “It is a particular academic arrogance to assume any discussion of feminist theory without examining our many differences, and without a significant input from poor women, Black and Third World women, and lesbians” (Lorde, 1). Lorde believed feminism should focus on the many issues of all women, not just white women. So, I think she would also find problems with the way Abby and the other white women of the women’s group only wanted to focus on the issues faced by white women. As she did in her article, I believe Lorde would ask Abby, “If white American feminist theory need not deal with the differences between [poor women and women of color], and the resulting difference in our oppressions, then how do you deal with the fact that” black women make 73 cents while white woman make 88 cents for every dollar a man makes? (Lorde, 2; US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

On the flip side, I believe Lorde would applaud Bow for creating a feminist group for women of color. Based on the surprised expressions on many of the women’s faces whenever Bow pushed back on their ideology and many of Abby’s comments to Bow in their latter conversation, it was clear that group of women did not understand the issues of women of color. I think Lorde would agree that Bow and her friends should not have to educate the women of the white feminist group on the issues that women of color face. She writes, “Now we hear that it is the task of women of Color to educate white women -- in the face of tremendous resistance -- as to our existence, our differences, our relative roles in our joint survival. This is a diversion of energies and a tragic repetition of racist patriarchal thought” (Lorde, 3). Lorde believes black women’s action of educating white women on their experiences and struggles only serves to further oppress them. I believe Lorde would have sympathized with Bow walking away from the conversation with Abby because instead of wasting her time trying to educate someone who very clearly was not open to learning or listening, Bow was able to redirect her time into creating a woman of color feminist group that could serve as a safe space for their issues to be voiced and heard.

I believe this episode is important because it’s an issue I struggle with myself. It can be very hard to agree with some feminist issues prevalent in today’s feminist agenda because they don’t always seem to apply to me as a black woman. I agree with Bow that sometimes it feels like I have to choose between being black and being a woman, so I liked that this episode brought the issue to mainstream media and gave possible solutions to the problem. I wanted to share this paper with you all because I was very liberated and enlightened when I wrote it. I think too often, black women are made to feel bad about their struggles as black women, and it can be difficult to find the space and words to share those experiences.

Source: Pinterest

I enjoyed reading articles philosophers who understood and emphasized the importance of including the voices of all women, not just white women, in feminist theory. Even in my philosophy of feminism class, we’ve talked about whether or not it is important, or even necessary, to isolate gender from other identities so we can think of it in the abstract. I think that isolation is beneficial to the degree of understanding what gender is and why feminism is important, but I think it would be detrimental to feminism as a movement to exclude women of color’s voices and experiences because they shape their experiences and, therefore, should shape feminism as a whole. I think knowing there is an importance in our voices and experiences as women of color is validating because it’s not always to so clear. In a world where black women fall on the lower rung of the social ladder and are constantly beaten down by so many social pressures, to be told it’s okay that our experiences don’t match everyone else’s and our voices are just as important as anyone else’s, gives us the confidence and encouragement we need to fight another day.

So, my advice to all the beautiful, black ladies reading this post is to know the importance of you all’s voices and experiences. There is value in the life you live, and your footsteps are ordered for you to one day give your own testimony. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than what you are. My favorite quote by Alice Walker says, “The most common way people give up their power is by believing they don’t have any.” Know that no matter what life throws at you, even crazy white feminist theory, you got this!

Source: KGOU Public Radio

For today’s post, I look to Patricia Hill Collins, professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and author of Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. I read Professor Collins book last year in an African American studies course, and I have referenced it in almost all of my classes since. As a black woman situated in the white, male dominated fields of philosophy and sociology, Collins has a unique perspective on what it truly means to be a black woman in America. She uses history and modern examples to demonstrate how the perceptions and expectations of black women have come to exist, and she offers remedies to many of the issues. If you have not read her book and are seeking an uplifting, somewhat snarky book to read leisurely, I would definitely recommend it.

#BlackWomensVoiceMatter #BlackGirlsRock #BlackFeminism