Womanism
Encyclopedia
The word womanism was adapted from Pulitzer Prize
winning author Alice Walker
's use of the term in her book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose
. In her book, Walker used the word to describe the perspective and experiences of "women of color
".
Although most Womanist scholarship centers on the African American
woman's experience, other non-white
theorists identify themselves with this term.
of Jacquelyn Grant, Delores Williams, and James Hal Cone
.
Grant responded by claiming that Cone did not attend to the fullness of black experience — specifically that of black women. She argued that the oppression of black women is different from that of black men. She believes that Jesus is a “divine co-sufferer” who suffered in his time like black women today.
Delores Williams took the work of theologians such as Cone and Grant and expanded upon them . In her book Sisters in the Wilderness, she defines womanism in the following way:
in Atlanta, Georgia
(where Dr. Jacquelyn Grant is a professor),
Eden Theological Seminary
in Saint Louis
, Missouri
, Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee Memphis Theological Seminary
in Memphis, Tennessee
, and Chicago Theological Seminary
in Chicago, Illinois.
almost interchangeably, as they have much overlap and share heroines and foremothers. Other experts make a distinction based on the prioritization of men. Both black and white feminists are primarily concerned with women, in contrast to women's roles in what they consider as male-centred society.
Womanists are black women who are, in a traditional communal sense, concerned very much with both black women and black men. Men, and their welfare, are sometimes claimed to be a higher priority to womanists than to feminists. Some feminists consider this a subversion of the feminist critique of androcentrism
and corrective/constructive focus on women.
"White" feminism (as it is sometimes referred to by Womanists) is also called upon to remember that black women (and all women of minority race/ethnicity and/or low socio-economic status) were ignored and silenced by "white" feminism through its second wave.
Womanists have argued that the gains of second wave
feminism and beyond were largely built around the lifestyles and options of highly educated, upper-middle class white women. Some womanists have also argued that negative unintended consequences resulting from feminist reforms have fallen heavily upon women of color - specifically in regard to the structure of the black family unit.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author Alice Walker
Alice Walker
Alice Malsenior Walker is an American author, poet, and activist. She has written both fiction and essays about race and gender...
's use of the term in her book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose
In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose
Published in 1983, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose is a collection composed of thirty-six separate pieces written by Alice Walker. The essays, articles, reviews, statements, and speeches were written between 1966 and 1982. Many are based on her understanding of "womanist" theory...
. In her book, Walker used the word to describe the perspective and experiences of "women of color
Person of color
Person of color is a term used, primarily in the United States, to describe all people who are not white. The term is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism...
".
Although most Womanist scholarship centers on the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
woman's experience, other non-white
Person of color
Person of color is a term used, primarily in the United States, to describe all people who are not white. The term is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism...
theorists identify themselves with this term.
How Womanism developed
The roots of theological womanism grew out of the theologyTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
of Jacquelyn Grant, Delores Williams, and James Hal Cone
James Hal Cone
James Hal Cone is an advocate of Black liberation theology, a theology grounded in the experience of African Americans, and related to other Christian liberation theologies. In 1969, his book Black Theology and Black Power provided a new way to articulate the distinctiveness of theology in the...
.
Grant responded by claiming that Cone did not attend to the fullness of black experience — specifically that of black women. She argued that the oppression of black women is different from that of black men. She believes that Jesus is a “divine co-sufferer” who suffered in his time like black women today.
Delores Williams took the work of theologians such as Cone and Grant and expanded upon them . In her book Sisters in the Wilderness, she defines womanism in the following way:
“Womanist theology is a prophetic voice concerned about the well-being of the entire African American community, male and female, adults and children. Womanist theology attempts to help black women see, affirm, and have confidence in the importance of their experience and faith for determining the character of the Christian religion in the African American community. Womanist theology challenges all oppressive forces impeding black women's struggle for survival and for the development of a positive, productive quality of life conducive to women’s and the family’s freedom and well-being. Womanist theology opposes all oppression based on race, sex, class, sexual preference, physical ability, and caste” (67).
Womanism in education
Some examples of educational institutions that incorporate womanism in their graduate coursework are Interdenominational Theological Seminary, ITCInterdenominational Theological Center
The Interdenominational Theological Center is a consortium of denominational seminaries located in Atlanta, Georgia. Today ITC educates and nurtures women and men who commit to and practice a liberating and transforming spirituality; academic discipline; religious, gender, and cultural diversity;...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
(where Dr. Jacquelyn Grant is a professor),
Eden Theological Seminary
Eden Theological Seminary
Eden Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Webster Groves, Missouri, near St. Louis, Missouri.The seminary was established in 1850 by German pastors in what was then the American frontier. The pastors soon formed the German Evangelical Synod of North America. This,...
in Saint Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee Memphis Theological Seminary
Memphis Theological Seminary
Memphis Theological Seminary is an ecumenical theological seminary located in Midtown, Memphis, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, but accepts and trains ministerial candidates from other groups as well...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago Theological Seminary
The Chicago Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ. It prepares women and men for leadership in the church and society through Master of Divinity , Master of Arts in Religious Studies , Master of Sacred Theology , Doctor of Ministry , and Doctor of Philosophy programs...
in Chicago, Illinois.
Womanism and feminism
Womanism is a term commonly used in the context of academic theological studies. Some authors use womanism and black feminismFeminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
almost interchangeably, as they have much overlap and share heroines and foremothers. Other experts make a distinction based on the prioritization of men. Both black and white feminists are primarily concerned with women, in contrast to women's roles in what they consider as male-centred society.
Womanists are black women who are, in a traditional communal sense, concerned very much with both black women and black men. Men, and their welfare, are sometimes claimed to be a higher priority to womanists than to feminists. Some feminists consider this a subversion of the feminist critique of androcentrism
Androcentrism
Androcentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing male human beings or the masculine point of view at the center of one's view of the world and its culture and history...
and corrective/constructive focus on women.
"White" feminism (as it is sometimes referred to by Womanists) is also called upon to remember that black women (and all women of minority race/ethnicity and/or low socio-economic status) were ignored and silenced by "white" feminism through its second wave.
Womanists have argued that the gains of second wave
Second-wave feminism
The Feminist Movement, or the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the early 1990s....
feminism and beyond were largely built around the lifestyles and options of highly educated, upper-middle class white women. Some womanists have also argued that negative unintended consequences resulting from feminist reforms have fallen heavily upon women of color - specifically in regard to the structure of the black family unit.
See also
- Katie Geneva CannonKatie Geneva CannonKatie Geneva Cannon is a Christian theologian associated with womanist theology and liberation theology. She is currently the Annie Scales Rogers Professor for Christian Ethics at Union Presbyterian Seminary. Previously Cannon has served on the faculties of Temple University, Episcopal Divinity...
- Stacey M. Floyd-ThomasStacey M. Floyd-ThomasStacey M. Floyd-Thomas is Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt Divinity School and the Graduate Department of Religion at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee...
- Salsa Soul SistersSalsa Soul SistersThe Salsa Soul Sisters, Third World Wimmin Inc Collective was the first "out" organization for lesbians, womanists and women of color in New York City...
- Africana womanismAfricana womanism"Africana Womanism" is a termed coined in the late 1980s by Clenora Hudson-Weems intended as an ideology applicable to all women of African descent. It is grounded in African culture and Afrocentrism and focuses on the experiences, struggles, needs, and desires of Africana women of the African...
- Triple oppressionTriple oppressionTriple oppression is a theory developed by black socialists in the United States, such as Claudia Jones. The theory states that a connection exists between various types of oppression, specifically classism, racism, and sexism...
- Womanist Party of IndiaWomanist Party of IndiaWomanist Party of India , is a political party in India. Its core issue is the emancipation of women. The WPI was founded in Mumbai on October 31, 2003. The WPI president is Varsha Kale....
External links
- Womanist Theology
- Alice Walker Poetry (archiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
link, was dead) - Barack Obama Wins the Sojourner Truth Vote
- Womanist Musings - Womanist blog