Womanist - Alice Walkers Term for Black Feminist

A black feminist or feminist of color, according to Alice Walker, who first publicly used the term; someone who is committed to the wholeness and well-being of all of humanity, male and female.  Womanism identifies and  critically  analyzes  sexism, anti-black racism, and their intersection. Womanism  recognizes the beauty and strength of embodied black womanhood and seeks connections and solidarity  with black men. Womanism identifies and criticizes sexism in the African American community and racism in the feminist community. Origins Alice Walker introduced the word â€Å"womanist† into feminist parlance in her 1983 book In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose. In the book, she cites the phrase â€Å"acting womanish,† which was said to a child who acted serious, courageous and grown-up rather than girlish. Many women of color in the 1970s had sought to expand the feminism of the Women’s Liberation Movement beyond its concern for the problems of white middle-class women. The adoption of womanist signified an inclusion of race and class issues in feminism. Alice Walker also used womanist to refer to a woman who loves other women, whether platonically or sexually. Walker used examples from history including educator and activist Anna Julia Cooper and abolitionist and womens rights activist Sojourner Truth. She also used examples from current activism and thought, including writers bell hooks and Audre Lorde, as examples of womanists. The term â€Å"womanist† is thus both an alternative to and an expansion of the term â€Å"feminist.† Womanist Theology Womanist theology centers the experience and perspective of black women in research, analysis, and reflection on theology and ethics.  The term arose in the 1980s as more African American women entered the theological field and questioned that white feminist and black male theologians spoke adequately to the particular experience of African American women. Womanist theology, like womanism in general, also looks at the ways in which black women are portrayed in inadequate or biased ways in the works of white women and black men. Quotes About Womanism Alice Walker: Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavendar. Angela Davis:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What can we learn from women like Gertrude Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday that we may not be able to learn from Ida B. Wells, Anna Julia Cooper, and Mary Church Terrell? If we were beginning to appreciate the blasphemies of fictionalized blues women—especially their outrageous politics of sexuality—and the knowledge that might be gleaned from their lives about the possibilities of transforming gender relations within black communities, perhaps we also could benefit from a look at the artistic contributions of the original blues women.† Audre Lorde: But the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women. Yvonne Aburrow:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The patriarchal/kyriarchal/hegemonic culture seeks to regulate and control the body—especially women’s bodies, and especially black women’s bodies—because women, especially black women, are constructed as the Other, the site of resistance to the kyriarchy. Because our existence provokes fear of the Other, fear of wildness, fear of sexuality, fear of letting go—our bodies and our hair (traditionally hair is a source of magical power) must be controlled, groomed, reduced, covered, suppressed.†Ã‚   Womanist Writings: A Selection bell hooks  Aint I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. 1981.Walker.  In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose.  1983.Paula J. Giddings.  When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America.  1984.Angela Y. Davis.  Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday.  1998.Barbara Smith.  Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology.  1998.Nyasha Junior.  An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation. 2015.