Perspective in Africana Feminism; Exploring Expressions of Black Feminism/Womanism in the African Diaspora

Abstract

This paper discusses perspectives in Africana feminist thought. While, not an exhaustive review of the entire diaspora, three regions are discussed: Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. Despite great cultural diversity between and within these geographies, there are, too, great commonalities in Africana women’s lived experience under colonialism and slavery. It is these shared experiences that helped shaped and develop this distinct brand of feminism, which is universally concerned with the ways women manage and challenge multiple oppressions. Additionally, the feminism that emerged out these experiences is fundamentally commissioned with the task of breaking down and deconstructing racist and sexist ideologies that devalue their humanity. This brand of feminism is, likewise, charged with the duty of transforming societies through both intellectual and pragmatic approaches. Across Africa and her diaspora, Africana women share a rich and powerful history of resistance, despite attempts to silence and make them invisible.

Working the second shift, settling in Canada and other struggles; narratives of working African-immigrant mothers in Toronto.

“…These two theories will be used to explore the experiences and narratives of working African immigrant women who use childcare services in Toronto. Both black feminist theory (Collins, 1990 andWane and Massaquoi, 2007;Hooks, 1984 andNorwood, 2013) and social reproduction theory (Ungerson, 1983;Bezanson and Luxton, 2006;Armstrong and Armstrong, 1990) have their basis in feminist theory and are particularly concerned with women's experiences and realties. Research based on feminist perspectives is focused on the centrality of gender in shaping human experiences and consciousness (Creswell, 1998).…”

“…First coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, the concept refers to "the intersection between gender, race and other categories of difference in individual lives, social practices, institutional arrangements and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these interactions in terms of power" (Davis, 2008, p. 68). As a theoretical tool, intersectionality demonstrates the lived experiences of Black women and how they are forced to take on multiple oppressions simultaneously on a daily basis (Norwood, 2013). The research subjects for this paper are African-immigrant women who belong to some of the most marginalized groups in our current society.…”

“…What is often missing from this discussion is the centrality of motherhood in many non-western cultures including African traditions. According to Norwood (2013) African feminism is characterized by a noted absence of conflict between reproduction and production since both are viewed as equally important in the totality of human experiences. In many African societies women, with support from extended families, embrace both roles as mothers and economic providers.…”

“…Canadian Black feminism will therefore shed light as to how immigration factors into the lives of Black women in Canada. Additionally, some Black feminists like Norwood (2013) argue that despite geographical differences, Black women in Africa, North America and the Caribbean share common struggles arising from shared (albeit varied) experience of colonial subjugation.…”

Feminisms and Acculturation around the Globe

“…It can be argued that it predates colonialism certainly in purpose if not in name as one is dealing with several languages that predate the introduction of European languages in the continent. It is recognized as heterogeneous, bearing the marks of its multiple and diverse colonial contexts, and influenced by a multiplicity of civilizations (Islamic, Christian, and indigenous) before being further shaped by an array of anticolonial, anti-imperialist and nationalist movements, and interactions with (white) Western feminism (Norwood, 2013;Mama, 2011). African feminism has been defined as an intellectual and activist movement, rooted in the experiences of slavery, colonialism, and patriarchy and striving to end interlocking systems of multiple oppressions resulting from these experiences and their conditions (Adomako Ampofo and Arnfred, 2009;Adomako Ampofo et al, 2004;Mama, 2011;Steady, 1981).…”