Week 1 Flashcards
Combahee River Collective?
A black lesbian organisation active from 1974 to 1980, most famous for its 1977 statement on intersectionality. Name inspired by a military action led by Harriet Tubman who freed many slaves.
Who coined the word intersectionality?
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a civil rights activists
Seneca Calls Convention
held in 1848, first women’s rights convention - discussing the social, civil, and religious rights of women particularly for the right for women to vote. outlined the injustices faced by women and asserted all men and women are created equally. set the stage for future activism. However lacked intersectionality predominatley white middle class women.
Roxanne Gay ‘Bad feminist’ book
roxanne explores her own identity as a feminist - complexities and complications and acknowledging her own imperfections and pressure to live up to the idealised standard of a feminist. She says its okay to make mistakes and should be inclusive to women who are not ideal feminists. such as listening to pop culture music objectifying women, having sex and relations with men. She also expresses the importance of intersectionality and reflects her experience as a black woman.
What is intersectionality?
different social identities such as race, gender, sexuality and how they overlap and intersect to create unique forms of oppression and discrimination. For example a black lesbian women may face challenges different than a black gay man due to sexism and racism overlapping.
What is the word ‘solidarity’ and why is it problematic?
meaning unified movement active in the same general goal and standing together. May be problematic as during the history of feminism it’s often neglected diverse identities of women especially women of colour. feminism has also been dominated by western ideals and views and may not generalise to non-western collectivist cultures. the word solidarity also comes off as imperalistic and or dismissive to other cultures and identities of women.
What is the word collective care?
refers to practices where women, mainly marganilsied and oppressed women to come support one another in a shared responability to make their voices heard. promotes a communal approach to activism.
What is Coalition?
process of forming alliances between different groups of populations within the feminist movements toward common goals, despite their differences. essential for addressing the struggles of women of colour and other marganilised groups. bringing the understanding that different groups may experience oppression in different ways.
Who is Barbara Smith?
prominant black feminist, scholar, activist co-founded Kitchen Table: women of colour press, 1980. first publishing press dedicated to amplifying voices of marganilised women. addressed issues often ignored by mainstream feminist movement such as racism, homophia, economic inequality. She was also part of the Combahee River Collective movement along with her sister, Beverly Smith.
‘Waves of Feminism’ why is it problematic
these waves/goals were prediminantly recorded by white priveleged women. tied to the american historical timeline whilst feminism may have existed much earlier in other cultures.
First Wave of Feminism
Considered to begin with seneca falls convention (1848) ending with passage of women’s suffrage in 1920. important figures are Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Second Wave of Feminism
began in the 1960s stretched to the 1990s. bringing women to equal status of men vs ‘radical feminists’ wanting to challenge the entire patriarchal system. Important figures are betty friedan, naomi wolf, gloria steinem. intersectionality. Roe v Wade (1973), Equal Pay Tax (1963), Title IX (1972)
criticisms of second wave feminism
policing morality, emergence of identity politics, invested in political correctedness, stereotyped as angry and monolithic. lack of coalition with LGBT Rights.
Positives of second wave feminism
breadth of isssues addressed, much more intersectionality. focus on abortion rights, feminists defending/condemning pornography, gendered violence.
Third Waves of Feminism
Emerging Queer Studies. Multiracial feminism. exploring the interplay of social structures and women’s agency. diaspora -> scattered peoples who share a homeland. ending sexual violence, #metoo movement, complicating beauty ideals, girl power, gender spectrum, embracing transgender, from academia to public discourse.
What is feminism plurarism
which can revert to universalizing; as in, we are all
different built around an ideal of an “essential woman
