black feminism

misogynoir

Coined by Moya Bailey in 2008 in Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance

misogynoir

Describes the anti-Black, racist misogyny Black woman experience

misogynoir

In particular, in the US; digital/media culture

misogynoir

Portmanteau of “misogyny” and “noir” (French word for black. Think: film noirs)

misogynoir

Originally used to describe American media; grew to describe the entire global phenomenon

misogynoir

Perpetuated by popular media; especially via stereotypes (mammy, jezebel, welfare queen)

misogynoir

bell hooks dictated the need to produce contradictory imagery to combat this

misogynoir

Sarah Baartman is an early example of misogynoir in the media

misogynoir

Misogynoiristic portrayals of Black women perpetuate misgynoiristic policy, especially in terms of health policy

misogynoir

Black women feel less pain → less likely to receive pain medication or have pain taken seriously in hospitals

misogynoir

Black maternal mortality rates are much higher

womanism

Discussed in What’s in a Name? (1996) by Patricia Hill Collins

womanism

Coined in 1983 by Alice Walker

womanism

Defined by Walker as a black feminist or feminist of color

womanism

“You acting womanish” → too grown

womanism

Picked up by black nationalist movement to rebel against feminism/white feminism

womanism

Meant to exist in contrast with feminist

womanism

Does not call for interracial cooperation

womanism

Meant to be a way for Black women to address sexism without attacking Black men

womanism

Walker intentionally created space in womanism for lesbians; however, this was often ignored

garveyism

Universal Negro Improvement Association

garveyism

Pan-Africanist movement led by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican who founded the movement in WWI America

garveyism

Rooted in the idea that all Africans around the globe have their roots in Africa; they have a beautiful past, history, & people for which they should be proud

garveyism

Intentionally capitalist: focused on promoting Black capitalist enterprises to enhance Black society

garveyism

Goal: self-determination for Black people around the world based on the doctrines of Pan-Africanism

garveyism

HQ in Harlem

garveyism

Negro World, investment funds, Negro Factories Corporation

garveyism

Garvey was authoritarian & prioritized loyalty over intelligence → his downfall

garveyism

Garvey survives a shooting; gives him god-like quality

community feminism

Posited by Ula Taylor in “Negro Women are Great Thinkers as Well as Doers” (2000)

community feminism

Allowed Black women to function within their communities as both helpmates & leaders

community feminism

And within the Pan-Africanist movement

community feminism

Amy Jacques-Garvey, who took over leadership of the UNIA while Marcus Garvey was in jail, is the prime example of this

community feminism

Community feminism took place specifically within the 1920s

community feminism

The bringing together of nationalism (which is very paternalistic) and feminism

community feminism

Women whose activism is focused on assisting both the men & women in their lives; also initiating/participating in activities to uplift their entire community

community feminism

For AJG, her community feminism stood in contrast to the nationalist movement her husband was building, which reinforced traditional gender roles

lynch law

Ida B. Wells’ “Lynch Law in America” (1900)

lynch law

Lynchings as the “unwritten law”/usurpation of the law

lynch law

Wells argued that lynchings threatened America in 4 ways:

lynch law

Lynchers are not brave men & do not allow people their freedom

lynch law

America has to pay other countries indemnities; hurts economy

lynch law

Lynchings are savage & make a mockery of Anglo-Saxon society

lynch law

Blatant ignorance of the law threatens the legal base of America

lynch law

Perpetuated often by the KKK

lynch law

Sexual violence/threats to white woman as an excuse for lynching

jane crow

Coined by Pauli Murray in 1965; expanded upon in “The Liberation of Black Women” (1970)

jane crow

The entire range of assumptions, attitudes, stereotypes, customs, & arrangements that have prevented women from participating in society as equals to men

jane crow

Jim Crow with added layer of sexism; double burden

jane crow

Qualities of strength & independence → stereotypes as “female dominance” attributed to the “matriarchate” posited by the Moynihan report

jane crow

Men in the civil rights movement sometimes pander to sexism in their fight against racism

jane crow

Other issues of sexism within the CRM, especially more militant/nationalistic views, & the erasure of women’s contributions

deviance as resistance

Defined by Cathy J. Cohen in “Deviance as Resistance” (2004)

deviance as resistance

Black queer studies

deviance as resistance

Expansive understanding of “queer” rooted in ideas of deviance/agency, not inclusion/exclusion

deviance as resistance

Role of race & relationship to dominant power when it comes to sex

deviance as resistance

Individuals with little power in society engage in counternormative behaviors, especially in terms of the nuclear family → labeled “deviants”

deviance as resistance

Their engaging in such behavior is their attempts to gain autonomy & new frameworks for life

deviance as resistance

Their deviance is especially directed at family structure, heterosexuality, & sex in general

deviance as resistance

Especially prevalent in the 80s/90s

deviance as resistance

Relationship between deviance, defiance, & resistance

cult of domesticity

True womanhood stressed piety, chastity, submissiveness, & domesticity

cult of domesticity

Connected to the idea of “separate spheres” for ment & women → women’s sphere was the home

cult of domesticity

Cult of domesticity/true womanhood excluded Black women, who worked hard labor & therefore were not true women

cult of domesticity

Many women’s clubs used this logic to exclude Black women/only allowed in “true women”

cult of domesticity

Black women doing hard labor were the antithesis of the “true woman” (White) who was proper & domestic

cult of domesticity

Helped White women maintain their influence over the household → their only power

cult of domesticity

Anna Julia Cooper, Ida B. Wells, & Frances Harper all wrote essays to argue against this

cult of domesticity

Cult of domesticity limits women from being in the public sphere, but Black women were already in the public sphere

urbanization

Resulted from Black people moving into urban areas in the Great Migration (1915-1970)

urbanization

Discussed by Hazel Carby in “Policing the Black Woman’s Body in an Urban Context” (1992)

urbanization

Moved to cities: Atlanta, Birmingham (south); Philly, NYC, Cincinnati (north)

urbanization

Migration followed the train along longitudinal lines

urbanization

Urbanization issues: severely limited employment, housing segregation, homelessness, poverty

urbanization

Contributed to perception that black people were beholden to vice

urbanization

Economic issues caused by urbanization led to moral panic

urbanization

Resulted in new language/images/methods to police black women’s bodies

urbanization

Welfare queen stereotype

stereotypes

Mammy, happy sambo, coon, brute, pickaninny, jezebel, welfare queen, minstrel

stereotypes

Ethnic Notions (1987)

stereotypes

Irish immigrants perform as the happy sambo in blackface in 1820s

stereotypes

Zip coon & sambo were double edged sword: sambo was happy in his proper place; zip coon was too stupid to really be free (emerged after emancipation)

stereotypes

Mammy: happy, loyal to masters, protective of the house, never sexy (antithesis of white women)

stereotypes

Birth of a Nation (1915): post-emancipation stereotypes (savages); reignited KKK

stereotypes

Pickaninnies: animalistic black children (often in trees/rivers & naked)

stereotypes

Welfare queen: emerged 70s/80s; argument against welfare; suggest sexual promiscuity & cheating the government (invokes the Moynihan report)

club women's movement

Emerged in 1890s because white women’s clubs would not admit Black women

club women's movement

National conference in Boston in 1895 resulted in the National Federation of Afro-American Women

club women's movement

Black female empowerment, both individually and as a people, was the overriding objective

club women's movement

1896: National Association of Colored Women formed when the National Federation of Afro-American Women & the National League of Colored Women merged

club women's movement

Woman’s Era: the magazine; marked pivotal moment for women’s publishing & awareness of Black women’s issues (including double jeopardy)

club women's movement

Examples of club women: Anna Julia Cooper, Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells, Frances Harper

club women's movement

In some ways, an intellectual movement

club women's movement

NACW had membership of 50,000 by 1897

club women's movement

Black women intellectuals advocated for a transformed, inclusive women’s movement

policing bodies

Articulated by Hazel Carby in “Policing the Black Woman’s Body in an Urban Context” (1992)

policing bodies

Urbanization after the Great Migration created a moral panic due to economic issues

policing bodies

Led to new stereotypes/images/language/methods to police Black women’s bodies

policing bodies

Welfare queen stereotype

policing bodies

Urban problems blamed on women’s supposed character flaws