the book ain't i a woman? black women and feminism was written in 1981.
the book ain't i a woman? black women and feminism was written in 1981.
when was the book ain't i a woman? black women and feminism written?
1981
'women' is considered an exclusionary term, particularly in relation to histories of slavery and the struggle of black women to resist objectification and the combined impacts of racism and sexism. bell hooks' 1981 book '"ain't i a woman?: black women and feminism?" argues that stereotypes fixed during slavery continue to affect black women, effectively categorising them as separate and different from white women. “in america, white racist ideology has always allowed white women to assume that the word woman is synonymous with white woman, for women of other races are always perceived as others, as de-humanized beings who do not fall under the heading woman.” hooks resists american feminist claims at solidarity between white and black women in the us and charts the way in which the word 'women' came to symbolically exclude black women.
womxn
the two different fights for black and white women’s equality were present simultaneously and could not be separated during the first wave of feminism. white women were fighting for rights equal to white men in society. they wanted to correct the discrepancy in education, professional, property, economic, and voting rights. they also fought for birth control and abortion freedom. black women, on the other hand, were ultimately fighting two “-isms”, racism and feminism, contributing to an uphill struggle for black feminists. while white women could not vote, black women "and" men could not vote. mary j. garrett who founded a group consisting of hundreds of black women in new orleans, said that black women strived for education and protection. it is true that “black women in higher education are isolated, underutilized, and often demoralized” and they fought together against this. they were fighting against “exploitation by white men” and they wanted to “lead a virtuous and industrious life." black women were also fighting for their husbands, families, and overall equality and freedom of their civil rights. racism restricted white and black women from coming together to fight for common societal transformation.
first-wave feminism