Tensions Between Feminism and Race

by: Brianna Habel, Caroline Betancourt, and Emma McGirr


Feminism:

Feminism is the belief that women have the same political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights as men do. The history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first wave occurred during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the second wave occurred from the 1960s to the late 1970s, and the third wave extends from the 1990s to the present. (Wikipedia)

The first wave of feminism focused primarily on gaining women’s suffrage. In 1848, at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York, activists including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott began a seventy year struggle to secure the right to vote for women. Susan B. Anthony, a native of Rochester New York, joined the cause four years later at the Syracuse Convention. Women's suffrage activists pointed out that blacks had been granted the franchise and had not been included in the language of the United States Constitution's Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, which gave people equal protection under the law and the right to vote regardless of their race, respectively. During the beginning of the twentieth century, as women's suffrage gained in popularity, suffragists were subject to arrests and many were jailed. Finally, President Woodrow Wilson urged Congress to pass what became, when it was ratified in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited state and federal agencies from gender-based restrictions on voting. (Wikipedia)

The second wave of feminism, as scholar Estelle Freedman puts it, was concerned with other issues of equality, such as ending discrimination, instead of on rights such as suffrage that were popular during the first wave of feminism. It came as a response to the consistent effort to re-establish pre-war patriarchal social trends placing women in a closed sphere where they only had to fulfill the roles of housewives and mothers. Second-wave feminists saw women's cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized and as reflecting sexist power structures. (Wikipedia)

The third wave of feminism arose as a response to the perceived failures of the second wave. It also arose as a response to the backlash against initiatives and movements created by the second wave. Feminists leaders rooted in the second wave like Gloria Anzaldua, Chela Sandoval, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, Maxine Hong Kingston, and many other black feminists, sought to negotiate prominent space within feminist thought for consideration of race related subjectivities. They dealt with issues that limited or oppressed women. (Wikipedia)

Black Feminism:

Black feminism argues that sexism, class oppression, and racism are inextricably bound together. Black feminists contend that the liberation of black women entails freedom for all people, since it would require the end of racism, sexism, and class oppression. The emergence of Black feminism came about after earlier movements led by white middle-class women ignored the oppression based on race and class. Alice Walker and other Womanists pointed out that black women experienced a different and more intense kind of oppression from that of white women. Patricia Hill-Collins defined Black feminism as including "women who theorize the experiences and ideas shared by ordinary black women that provide a unique angle of vision on self, community, and society".

To Find a Timeline of Key Events in the American Women’s Rights Movement go to:

http://www.ibiblio.org/prism/mar98/path.html

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html




Black Feminist Literature:

There are many African American feminists. African American feminists have began to demand for social, economic and political equality. To express these demands, some of these influential women have taken up writing to have their voices heard. In their novels the main female character often overcomes many obstacles to find themselves and their purpose in the world (Barnes). Some influential black feminist authors include Maya Angelou, Jewelle Gomez, June Jordan, Sapphire, Becky Birtha, Donna Allegra, Cheryl Clarke, Ann Allen Shockley, Alexis De Veaux (Barnes).
One notable author is Alice Walker. Alice Walker was born in Eatonton on February 9, 1944. When she was eight, her brother accidentally scarred and blinded her right eye with a BB gun. Due to her disability she was teased by her classmates. Despite her early solitude, Walker eventually became high school prom queen and class valedictorian. She went to Spelman College, a prominent school for black women in Atlanta, on a state scholarship. She became an active member of the civil rights movement. She transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York and continued to be involved in civil rights. Walker married Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal, a white civil rights attorney. She got a job as a black history consultant for a Head Start program. Her first novel was The Third Life of Grange Copeland. Her marriage ended in 1977 so she moved to northern California. She teaches African American Women's Studies (Whitted).

Walker's six novels place emphasis on the inner workings of African American life rather than comflicts between blacks and whites. The Color Purple written in1982 has generated the most public attention of all of her novels. This book details about a young African American woman’s life and conflicts with the men around her. Critics say this novel is “male-bashing” while others praise it. The novel has been made into a film as well as a Broadway musical. Her next two novels also feature African American woman as the main characters. Her writing takes on elements of ancestral fable and spirituality, womanist insight, literary realism, and the grotesque making her an influential writer of African American Feminism (Whitted).

The Color Purple is a strongly feminist novel. One major theme of this book is the strength of female relationships. By sharing stories, the women are able to find courage and strength and resist oppression (The Color Purple). This idea applies to feminism in general, in any race. In any situation where a man has expressed violence towards a female, the woman will be tempted to seek out the company of other people who make them feel comfortable and safe. In most cases that would be another female. The strength that can come from female relationships can help a woman overcome her situation in some cases, or at least in the novel. Another theme is the cyclical nature of racism and sexism. In this novel, the ones who commit the violent acts are often victims themselves (The Color Purple). This theme is prevalent in society. Those who are racist or sexist are often that way because others have treated them similarly. Also, they may have been raised in an environment that promotes those ideas. If someone is raised in such a situation, it is all they know. This in no way excuses them for their behavior, but it allows others to realize that this cycle must be broken. Another major theme of the novel is the disruption of typical gender roles. The main female characters begin to stand up for themselves and no longer be dominated by men. The author appears to be making a statement on the fact that gender is not stereotypical (The Color Purple). Woman should not be forced into a role based on stereotypes. The idea that black feminists write about woman looking to find their purpose is evident in The Color Purple.




Feminism and Race: How they apply to the books we’ve read

Feminism and race are two of the most important themes in the books Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner and Passing by Nella Larsen. Much can be learned about the two by examining how they are used in the literature we’ve read in class.

In Absalom, Absalom, Clytie is an African American woman. Clytie was given a great deal of power for a black woman during this time period. She took care of all the other characters: She stood by Judith when she had to deal with the loss of Charles Bon, she went to New Orleans with Judith to get Charles Bon’s son, Charles Etienne De Saint Valery Bon, She raised Charles Bon’s son, and later, after Judith died, Clytie raised Jim Bond. Clytie was left as essentially the head of Sutpen’s Hundred.

At the end of the story when Rosa and Quentin go to Sutpen’s Hundred to find Henry hiding there, Clytie is the one who is taking care of him. When Rosa hits Clytie for ordering her not to go upstairs, Quentin comments on Clytie, thinking, “Yes she is the one who owns the terror” (Faulkner, 295). This shows that even though Clytie had just been hit by Rosa, she still had the power. After this incident, Clytie orders Quentin to go upstairs and get Rosa. I think this shows that she is not being held back by her race or sex, instead she disregards those things and takes control.

It could be argued that Clytie had an unfortunate situation because she was a black female, but in turn it could be argued that she was empowered by her sex and race. I view Clytie as the strongest character in the book. She is the one who put an end to Sutpen’s Hundred and with the exception of Jim Bond; she was the only one left. She controlled her own fate and made the decision to burn down the house, therefore destroying herself. Examining it from a feminist point-of-view, one could say that Faulkner recognized the great strength of women.

Passing is a completely different book than Absalom, Absalom, but it does incorporate feminism and race. Irene can be viewed as the typical feminist who is a rather bold thinker. Clare, on the other hand, would be harder to describe as a feminist. She played the role of a “typical” woman for the time period in which this was written. She used her beauty rather than brains to further herself in society. Irene could control her husband Brian, dictating that they would not move to Brazil. Irene was also empowered by her race and felt it was better to be honest with who you were rather than try to “pass” as someone you’re not. Irene’s attitude towards race was contrasted with Clare’s, as the narrator points out, “No, Clare Kendry cared nothing for the race. She only belonged to it” (Larsen, 182).

It’s also interesting to compare and contrast the two by the kind of mothers they are. Irene accepts her role as a woman and mother whereas Clare could care less about such feminine things. Clare even says, “Children aren’t everything” (Larsen, 210). But by the end of the book, their roles switch; Clare having all the power and Irene seeing power slip through her fingers. Irene could no longer control her husband Brian like she had before. These were some of the ways Nella Larsen illustrated tensions between feminism and race.




Works Cited

Barnes, Sherri L. "Black American Feminism." 4 Dec 2008. UCSB Libraries Women's Studies. 7Feb 2009.
.

"Feminism." Wikipedia. 9 Feb. 2009 .

Faulkner, William. Absalom, Absalom. Vintage International Ed.. New York: Vintage Books,1986.

Larsen, Nella. Quicksand and Passing. Rutgers University Press, 1986.

“The Color Purple." Themes, Motifs & Symbols. 2009. SparkNotes LLC. 6 Feb 2009. .

Whitted, Qiana. "Alice Walker." The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 2008. Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. 5 Feb 2009. .