Theorizing Difference(s)

I want to start this week by thinking about June Jordan (whom we read for last week) and bell hooks (whom we read for Week #1) in conversation with each other: Both are black women, both are descendants of slaves, both are feminists, both wrote these articles in the mid-1980s, and both are concerned with creating a more inclusive feminist politics than that which they faced as participants in the Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM) during the 1970s.

bell hooks, in fact, argued in 1984 that the mainstream definition of feminism “as a movement that aims to make women the social equals of men” is inherently problematic because of the movement’s clear “dismissal of race and class as factors that, in conjunction with sexism, determine the extent to which an individual will be discriminated against, exploited, or oppressed” (51, italics mine). She calls out middle-class white feminists of the WLM, claiming that while they “rhetorically plac[ed] themselves in the same social category as oppressed women, they were not anxious to call attention to [their own] race and class privilege” (51).
FEMINISM, hooks argues, is “a struggle to end sexist oppression.” This means that it is also “necessarily a struggle to eradicate the ideology of domination that permeates Western culture” (52). This is why she demands a recognition and analysis of SYSTEMS OF DOMINATION: To call attention to racism and classism—as well as sexism—would, hooks contends, enable advocates of feminism to stop thinking of all men as the enemy (which is simplistic and dualistic) and shift our focus to examining all the interconnected forces (the SYSTEMS OF DOMINATION) that create discrimination, exploitation, and oppression. We would also then recognize our own role(s) “in their maintenance and perpetuation” (53).

June Jordan, a feminist poest and essayist writing in 1985 (just a year after hooks), was also concerned with recognizing her own role in the maintenance and perpetuation of SYSTEMS OF DOMINATION. Although she’s a black woman from the US vacationing in the Bahamas (which signals both the availability of leisure time and a measure of disposable income), she, as a feminist, is quite conscious of the fluidity of power she experiences as a result of her high economic status in relation to, for example, the hotel housekeeper, Olive, and the women with whom she bargains in the marketplace. Yet she also recognizes the erasure of her own (black) people from the white-washed imperialist history of the island. She is also aware of that fact that she explicitly chose to stay in a high-end hotel because, to a certain extent, it guaranteed her safety as a woman travelling alone. Thus, on vacation in the Bahamas, feminist theorist June Jordan tells her readers of her recurring “consciousness of race and class and gender identity” (161) and, like hooks, insists that all three categories of her identity be brought to bear in making sense of her experiences.

You may be interested in some more of Jordan's work as read and interpreted by others. The first poem was written in response to and in support of the Take Back the Night movement, which calls attention to the escalating rates of violence against women. The second harshly critiques the first Gulf War in 1991. Think about these poems in conjunction with the issues and concerns Jordan identifies in the essay you read for last week: In what ways does she theorize difference(s) from a feminist perspective?
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This INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH was—and continues to be—a central contribution of feminists of colour to the evolution of feminist thought and action in Canada and the United States (it has always been so in other parts of the world—largely because, in those geographical areas, women of colour comprise the majority of feminist theorists and activists). The genesis of their work lies in their (often unintentional) exclusion from the WLM throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Of course, we know from our reading of “first wave” feminists in the long 19th century that this wasn’t new to the WLM; the leaders of the mainstream suffrage movement in the U.S., for example, were often reticent to allow black women to march or protest with them because they feared losing the support of white supremacist women from the South. And we also know from Iron Jawed Angels that there were tensions between white, educated, middle-class suffragists and working-class factory workers, because the former didn’t initially understand why the latter would care less about getting the vote than about clean, safe working conditions and fair wages for all workers—not just women.

These race and class tensions have been a consistent part of feminist thought and movement in Canada and the U.S. and, in fact, often serve as a major catalyst for momentous shifts in feminist ways of thinking, knowing, and doing, but the circumstances and implications tend to shift based on historical context. It is these tensions, particularly the resulting concern of the WLM for women’s “equality” with men, that resulted in a simplistic “us v. them” binary within mainstream feminism in the 1960s and 1970s. Implicitly pointing out that there are many men (usually of working-class and poor men of colour) who have significantly less power than many (usually middle- and upper-class white) women, bell hooks asks rather poignantly, “which men do women want to be equal to?” (51).

Black and Chicana Feminist Thought
So, if feminism isn’t as simple as “us” (women) v. “them” (men), then what is it? We’ve talked quite a bit about the various definitions of and approaches to feminism since the start of the semester. But although their overarching goal is the liberation of women, BLACK and CHICANA FEMINISMS have their own origins, problems and issues of concern, and ways of envisioning that liberation that set them apart from those of conventional “Second Wave” feminism. What oppressions do they identify? How do they imagine liberation? How are the answers to those questions both similar to and different than if you were to answer those same questions about our readings from last week?

The terms and questions on Worksheet #6 will help to get you thinking about these similarities and differences, and these will form the basis of our class discussion and activities on Friday.

And remember: It’s always important to think about historical context. When was the “now” for each author? As we discussed in class last week, this matters for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that one of our most crucial projects in this course is to track the evolution and development of feminist thought and action in Western Europe and North America. One of the best ways to do that is to read and think about feminist theories in chronological order so that you can start to see how one set of arguments, approaches and perspectives is connected to and builds upon others. To help you do this (and in addition to your Weekly Reading Worksheet), I've posted some general strategies for reading and note-taking that will help you not only prepare for our class discussion, but also for assignments and your final exam.

Thinking Ahead to Next Week: Theorizing Globally
Sayeed’s article, which she wrote in 2002, is an example of the reaction of “Third World” feminists to the WESTOCENTRIC focus not only of mainstream feminism, but also of Chicana and Black Feminisms. Although raised in the U.S., Sayeed faces some struggles and problems as an Indian Muslim that her Midwestern feminist community can’t seem to appropriately reckon with. This is where we’ll start next week, and you might want to take a look at the movie Bend It Like Beckham (2002) to start thinking about the ways women negotiate their existence in the in-between of culture, tradition, and history. Here's the trailer, just for a little preview of the movie, directed by Indian feminist Gurinder Chadha:
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Administrative Stuff
• You should already be well into researching your Term Project by now, so please start thinking about when you’d like to meet with me about it. Meeting with me by October 29th is a requirement of the assignment, so don’t let that slip by. Of course, I’d love to talk to you about your project as many times as you’d like, but we’ve got to have at least one conversation in which you come prepared as described in the Term Project assignment sheet. Please make that appointment as soon as possible.

• On that note, one of my favorite parts of being a professor is getting to know my students, so if you have any questions or concerns at any point about anything this semester, please don’t hesitate to stop by to chat during my office hours or, alternatively, e-mail me to arrange an appointment.

• As you know, the Weekly Reading Worksheets are intended to help guide you through our reading materials each week. In addition, I’ve posted some general strategies for reading and note-taking that will help you not only prepare for our class discussion, but also for assignments and your final exam. You can also access this guide via the link on the right under "Important Course Info."

• Please remember that, with the exception of your Discussion Questions, you’ll submit all your work in hard copy by the beginning of class on the date that it’s due. The only exception to this is the Discussion Questions, which should be submitted to me via e-mail by 5 PM on Thursday evening the day before we’re scheduled to discuss your readings.