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Womanism & Black Feminisms

Gig Φ Philosophy: Published October, 2024 [UPDATED 2026]

Primary Academic Sources for Further Reading

Cannon, Katie Geneva. (1988). Black Womanist Ethics. Scholars Press.
Collins, Patricia Hill. (1990). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. (1989). "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics." University of Chicago Legal Forum.
hooks, bell. (1984). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. South End Press.
Hudson-Weems, Clenora. (1993). Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves. Bedford Publishers.
Hull, Akasha Gloria, Patricia Bell-Scott, and Barbara Smith (Eds). (1982). All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women's Studies. The Feminist Press.
Lorde, Audre. (1984). Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Crossing Press.
Maparyan (Phillips), Layli. (2006). The Womanist Reader. Routledge.
The Combahee River Collective. (1977). The Combahee River Collective Statement.
Walker, Alice. (1983). In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Introduction

Both Womanism and Black Feminism are critical frameworks that address the intersectional experiences of Black women, yet they stem from different intellectual lineages and emphasize different priorities.

While they share the goal of dismantling oppression, they diverge on their relationship to the broader feminist movement and their inclusion of men and community.

Black Feminism: The Intersectional Core

Black Feminism emerged as a critique of both the mainstream (white) feminist movement, which often ignored race, and the Black Liberation movement, which often ignored gender.

The Combahee River Collective Statement (1977): This is a foundational document. It introduced the idea that Black women’s oppression is "interlocking". They argued that "the synthesis of these oppressions creates the conditions of our lives", making it impossible to separate being Black from being a woman.
Intersectionality: Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) in the University of Chicago Legal Forum, this term provides the academic framework for Black Feminism. Crenshaw argued that the law treats race and gender as mutually exclusive categories, which leaves Black women in a "legal basement" where their specific experiences of discrimination are erased.
Matrix of Domination: Patricia Hill Collins, in Black Feminist Thought (1990), expanded this by describing a "matrix of domination" where race, class, and gender are not just personal identity markers but organized systems of social control.

Womanism: Holistic & Community-Centric

Womanism was popularized by Alice Walker in her 1983 book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens. It is often viewed as a more "holistic" alternative to feminism.

The Definition: Walker famously defined a Womanist as a "Black feminist or feminist of color" but added the caveat that a Womanist is "committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female".
Key Distinctions: Unlike some branches of feminism that prioritize gender-based separatism, Womanism emphasizes:
- Universalism: A commitment to the health of the whole community (men, women, and children).
- Spirituality: Often incorporates religious and ancestral roots.
- Self-Authoring: A rejection of the term "feminist" because of its historical ties to white middle-class agendas. As Walker put it: "Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender."
Africana Womanism: Clenora Hudson-Weems (1993) took this further, arguing that "Black Feminism" is an oxymoron because feminism is rooted in Eurocentric ideals. She proposed "Africana Womanism," which centers the African family unit and the struggle against racism/colonialism as the primary priority over gender.

Synthesis: Audre Lorde & Bell Hooks

It is important to note that many scholars bridge these gaps.

Audre Lorde, in Sister Outsider (1984), argued that "the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house," urging Black women to define their own liberation.
Similarly, bell hooks argued in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984) that feminism must be for everybody, effectively bringing the "community-centric" focus of Womanism into the "Feminist" label.

"Womanism and Black Feminism are not necessarily in conflict; they are different tools used to navigate the same storm of white supremacy and patriarchy."