In this critical essay I review the works of a few classic Black feminist texts. While Hill-Collins and Crenshaw provide a baseline for what Black feminism is, strives to do, and does; the Williams and McKittrick provide examples of Black feminist work. McKittrick and Williams both provide interesting takes on the experiences of women of African descent in America in reference to sterilization, chattel slavery, and the many subjugations of Black women in America (or any settler colonial nation for that matter).  

Social scripts as well as legal discourse and decisions have erased Black women as a subpopulation, discrimination against them cannot occur as both sex and racial discrimination, it has to be either race or sex.  This discourse and rhetoric forces Black women to shift, choosing when to embrace Blackness and when to embrace their womanhood (Crenshaw, 1989:141). In many cases, especially in the US, equality among the sexes is demarcated by what society chooses to give to White women. Crenshaw touches on how the Black gender ideology which is an extension of White gender ideology and White supremacist racism consequently marginalizes and erases Black women as well as their intersectional experiences in regards to discrimination.  The Black gender ideology does much more than simply inhibit the Black community’s search and fight for racial justice, this social script permeates legal discourse and rhetoric, deeming Black women dehumanized not real, because you can be a woman, you can be Black, but you cannot be BOTH. Feminism captures the normative ideal that it is about White women, the work and words of Black women, as well as other women of color, has been exploited to further the ideals of White feminist while also subverted their experiences so the White privilege of White women remains intact.  While this piece was written in 1989, not much has changed in this regard to feminism, White women who are feminist prefer to silence women of color whenever issues of White supremacist racism surface, which occurs all of the time (Crenshaw, 1989:154).  Discussions and generalizations about the oppression of women are written in the experiences of White women, these theoretical statements that are drawn upon are biased, and flat out inaccurate and out of context.  Collins discusses constructing a progressive Black sexual politic via the collective working together to assist the entire Black community. It is interesting that while she encourages uncoupling Black gender ideologies from power, wealth, and dominance, she doesn’t encourage uncoupling the Black gender ideology from capitalism in and of itself.  White supremacy and the legacy of colonialism has limited and excluded many forms of precolonial African gender ideologies, Blacks are not aware of those social scripts (Black Sexual Politics, p. 209).  Violence is a site of the expression of masculinity as well as the perpetuation of social scripts in relation to racial/ethnic groups and social class.

Hill-Collins and Crenshaw’s pieces discuss the basic reasons why Black feminism is needed: from the continual White supremacist racism of White feminists to the patriarchy of Black men.  Based on the dominant values and structure of the imperialist White supremacist racist patriarchal capitalist society we live in, Black women are in many ways non-existent, not human, superhuman.  Black women are experiencing their lives at contradictory intersections in society. Because of this, White people and the patriarchy of the Black community have erased the experiences, pains, thoughts, and very humanity of Black women and the Black LGBTQIA*.  

The McKittrick and Williams’ pieces tap into examples of Black feminist work (the use of personal narrative, legal reference/analysis, historical analysis, etc.).  Also, McKittrick’s and Williams’ pieces both include discussions of how many of these forms of systemic oppression play into identity politics, personal experience, as well as the American value system that subjugates Black women.  In my opinion, these pieces were not the best for providing examples of Black feminist works, if someone doesn’t understand the historical, political, economic, and social contexts of women of African descent in America and they don’t understand their own White privilege then these works can easily go over their head and never be utilized in practice.

Some questions that these readings made me think of: How can feminism (a normative White term) finally work towards ridding itself of exclusion instead of including women of color (WoC) into their White supremacist racist framework?  Why do so many White feminists expect for men to unpack their male privilege while they refuse to unpack their White privilege?  The normative Whiteness of the term feminist in and of itself implies the need to identify as a Black/WoC feminist to showcase solidarity with anti-racism.  How can White feminists who claim that they aren’t racist identify with Black/WoC feminisms?

Further Notes on the readings:

My take/analysis of the readings:

Hill-Collins, Black Sexual Politics

· Issues with popular conceptions with abnormality of gender constructs within the African American community – Moynihan Report Lives 

· The perpetuation of White gender ideologies & the politics of respectability via the Black church (while being a site of anti-racist struggle, it falls short in regards to sexual politics) 

· It is believed in America, that a failure to assimilate according to traditional White gender ideologies explains the many “failures and social problems” experienced by Blacks in America (as well as worldwide) 

· The ideals surrounding popular Black anti-racist struggle is in a number of ways embedded in “strengthening” Black men and telling Black women to submit themselves and be “weak” – a common thread of thought among cultural nationalists & Black nationalists BUT resisted among Pan-Africanists 

· The pathology of the SBW stereotype & how the marker of Black masculinity is being able to bring a “strong bitch to her knees”

· “Hegemonic masculinity is a concept that is shaped by ideologies of gender, race, class, sexuality, & race.  Ideas about groups formed within these ideologies, for example, women or LGBT people, constitute an important benchmark for defining a hegemonic masculinity that must constantly construct itself.  Without these groups as ideological markers, hegemonic masculinity becomes meaningless” (Hill-Collins, 2005:186).

· “Black femininity is constructed in relation to the tenets of hegemonic masculinity that subordinates all femininities to masculinity.  At the same time, the social power granted to race and class in the United States means that sexism is not an either/or endeavor in which all men dominate all women.  Rather, gender norms that privilege men typically play out withinracial/ethnic and/or social class groups as well as betweensuch groups” (Hill-Collins, 2005:187-8).

· “…male dominance occurs within racial/ethnic categories and is one marker of male power” (Hill-Collins, 2005:189).

· “All women engage an ideology that deems middle-class heterosexual, White femininity as normative” (Hill-Collins, 2005:193).

· “…race itself plays an important part as a benchmark in constructing hegemonic femininity. Black women, by definition, cannot achieve the idealized feminine ideal because the fact of Blackness excludes them. Dominant gender ideology provides a social script for Black women whereby everyone else needs Black women to be on the bottom for everything else to make sense.  Just as hegemonic White masculinity occupies the most desired social script, an equally hegemonic Black femininity organized via images of bitches, bad mothers, mammies, and Black ladies coalesce to mark the least desirable form of femininity” (Hill-Collins, 2005:199).

· Collins discusses constructing a progressive Black sexual politic via the collective working together to assist the entire Black community.  It is interesting that while she encourages uncoupling Black gender ideologies from power, wealth, and dominance, she doesn’t encourage uncoupling the Black gender ideology from capitalism in and of itself.

· White supremacy and the legacy of colonialism ha limited and excluded many forms of precolonial African gender ideologies, Blacks are not aware of those social scripts (p. 209)

· Violence is a site of the expression of masculinity as well as the perpetuation of social scripts in relation to racial/ethnic groups and social class.

Crenshaw, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti-Discrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics

· All of the women are White, all of the Blacks are men, and all of the gays are White men.

· Social scripts as well as legal discourse and decisions have erased Black women as a subpopulation, discrimination against them cannot occur as both sex and racial discrimination, it has to be either race or sex.  This discourse and rhetoric forces Black women to shift, choosing when to embrace Blackness and when to embrace their womanhood (Crenshaw, 1989:141).

· In many cases, especially in the US, equality among the sexes is demarcated by what society chooses to give to White women.

· Crenshaw touches on how the Black gender ideology which is an extension of White gender ideology and White supremacist racism consequently marginalizes and erases Black women as well as their intersectional experiences in regards to discrimination.  The Black gender ideology does much more than simply inhibit the Black community’s search and fight for racial justice, this social script permeates legal discourse and rhetoric, deeming Black women dehumanized not real, because you can be a woman, you can be Black, but you cannot be BOTH. 

· Feminism captures the normative ideal that it is about White women, the work and words of Black women, as well as other women of color, has been exploited to further the ideals of White feminist while also subverted their experiences so the White privilege of White women remains intact.  While this piece was written in 1989, not much has changed in this regard to feminism, White women who are feminist prefer to silence women of color whenever issues of White supremacist racism surface, which occurs all of the time (Crenshaw, 1989:154).

· Discussions and generalizations about the oppression of women are written in the experiences of White women, these theoretical statements that are drawn upon are biased, and flat out inaccurate and out of context.

· Even feminist discussions of rape are problematic because they exclude the experiences of Black women who were raped by White males who raped them because of their Blackness as well as their womanhood (Crenshaw, 1989:158-9).

· There is also the issue of how in many ways the history of White supremacist racism has been about protecting the purity of White women from BLACKNESS, Black men and women included, and in many cases Black men were lynched because of this as well as pregnant Black women lynched for similar reasons.  Another issue is the problem where White women have historically sexually preyed upon Black men, costing them their lives (Crenshaw, 1989:160).

· Once again the racist and sexist statements in the Moynihan report resurface, this is the social script that perpetuates the subordination of Black women as Black people and also as women (Crenshaw, 1989:163).

Hill-Collins, The Politics of Black Feminist Thought, Chapter 1 of Black Feminist Thought

· This chapter covers the exclusion and erasure of Black women from knowledge production as well as their exploitation worldwide (especially in the American context).  

· Page 10 is very important in regards to discussing the liberatory framework of Black feminism that provides for other marginalized groups (PoCs, poor women, marginalized sexualities, etc.)

· The intellectual traditions of Black women have been excluded out of the dominant discourse as well as intellectual traditions.

· Black feminist thought as critical social thought 

· Black feminist thought deconstructs a number of hegemonic frameworks: White supremacist racism, patriarchy, educationalism, classism/capitalism

· Black feminist thought deconstructs the barriers of western intellectual tradition’s barriers to WHO can participate in knowledge production, this is more than inclusion.  Inclusion implies the inclusion in a hegemonic structure, Black feminist thought is about eliminating and excluding processes of marginalization and hegemony.

· Black feminist epistemology includes so much more than just dominant ideals of intellectuals and academics, those who live, experience, and do are producing and reproducing knowledge.

Williams, On Being the Object of Property

· This piece reminds me of DuBois’ theories of dissemblance (two souls) & Shorter-Gooden & Jones’ theory of shifting while also taping into James Baldwin

· The discussion of the sterilization of Black and First Nations women brings to light what the American medical system has and still does to WoC (the entirety of the OBGYN field was found on the torture of African women) – refer to “Medical Apartheid”

· Slave law and Market theory is still very much part of the dominant discourse in America in regards to dictating White supremacist racist values.

· The lack of will is still part of the controlling images perpetuated in the US in regards to stereotypes imposed upon people of African descent.

· These narratives were utilized as justification for the sterilization of people of African and First Nations descent and still is.

· This piece is a great example of what Black feminist work looks like (the use of personal narrative, legal reference/analysis, historical analysis, etc.)

McKittrick, The Last Place They Thought Of: Black Women’s Geographies

· McKittrick taps into proposing that we rethink how we engage with space as well as oppression. 

· Through her geographical analysis of slave quarters as well as the specific quarters and living spaces of women of African descent in the US, McKittrick states that the intersectional oppression of Black women is more than just theory it is also seen in literal spaces.

· McKittrick’s argument is not uncommon, the existence and persistence of Black ghettos worldwide is a testament to her thesis as well as the existence of the communities that were created during the South African Apartheid regime for the literal purpose of bombing areas with South Africans to guarantee their elimination from South Africa (which Douglas Massey & Nancy Denton argue is happening in Black ghettos in America in “American Apartheid”).

Themes that are critical to understanding Black Feminism & why:

I believe that the truth about any subject comes when all sides of the story are put together, and all their different meanings make one new one. Each writer writes the missing parts to the other writer’s story. And the whole story is what I am after.

—Alice Walker

· The oppression of women of African descent is multifaceted

· Not all of the forms of oppression that intersect in the lives of Black women (as well as other WoC) are additive, they are complex, pervasive, and persistent

· All of the women are WHITE, all of the Blacks are MEN, and all of the gays are WHITE MEN

· There is no way to approach dismantling any system of domination without people first checking their privilege and then moving forward together in solidarity, willing to be supportive wing men/sidekicks to oppressed peoples.

· Black feminism is an excellent framework for the decolonization of feminism as well as a liberatory framework for other marginalized and oppressed groups

· “It is necessary to remember, as we think critically about domination, that we all have the capacity to act in ways that oppress, dominate, wound (whether or not that power is institutionalized). It is necessary to remember that it is first the potential oppressor within that we must resist – the potential victim within that we must rescue – otherwise we cannot hope for an end to domination, for liberation.” – bell hooks, Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black

2 Issues/Problems/Questions:

1.  On page 10 of Chapter 1 of Black Feminist Thought, Hill-Collins calls for decolonization as a core component of Black feminism.  This is seen also in the works of bell hooks.  Why hasn’t “mainstream” or “popular” Black feminism pushed this further to include the many streams of Blackness/African-ness that exists around the world in the Diaspora (as well as using this framework to liberate other women of color and marginalized peoples)?

2.  How can we work to decolonize the space of this class?  Our theoretical discussions have been delegated to heterosexual and lesbian White women.  Even in our readings of the works of Black feminists, the understandings and discussions always get pulled back to White women because the dominant canon through which the readings are analyzed is still one of White supremacist racism. What about women of color?  What about queer, transgendered, bisexual, intersexual, and pansexual people for example?  How can we work to dismantle ALL of these forms of domination?