Black Feminism and Questions of Identity

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In the fight against oppressio, women of all kinds have found that until their own voices speak out and identify themselves they can accomplish very little. Yet speaking out often has a price other than the reaction of the oppressive group against whom their protest is directed. In the case of women of color their allies on both the feminist and the anti-racist fronts often oppose much of what they have to say about the nature of racist and sexist oppression. But, as Audre Lorde put it, "I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood." Two aspects, among many, of this developing voice were the identification of the nature of black men's oppression of black women and the re-focusing of feminist attention on the value of motherhood.

In making the decision to identify what made them different from both white feminists and African American men, Black feminists took the only course that was open to them. But it did not meet with a great deal of support from any side of the debate. In recent years, however, as the question of women's liberation has been viewed in an increasingly international context, it has become clear that Black feminism's concerns with such aspects of women's lives as motherhood and family have broader applications throughout the so-called Third World. Feminism for members of the dominant white group often deals with problems th

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e of women with privilege." This analysis of the benefits of non-sexist behavior sounds somewhat cynical -- moral grounds should be sufficient -- but for men who are themselves subject to unending oppression the knowledge that their behavior is symptomatic of their own status as the dupes of the true ruling class should be more effective than direct moral arguments -- no matter how true these arguments may be. The benefit of this critique of black men's behavior is that it clearly identifies their behavior as part of the problem of racist oppression. By standing by their presumed right to dominate women, black men are adhering to the same standards that guide their own oppressors. In addition to persuading oppressed people to oppress others, another means of control exerted by dominant groups is to define dominated people by stereotypes that limit their potential for action and make them out to be the cause of their own lower status. Such images can be manipulated in either way. In the case of Chicana women, for example, the stereotype perpetuated by Anglos has been that of "the passive submissive Mexican woman" who is even more "lazy and dependent" than Chicano men. In the case of African Americans, however, the theory
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2054
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

Black Feminism and Questions of Identity

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