Womanism, Women And The World

TransGriot Note: This is a 2010 post from the brilliant editrix for Womanist Musings but needs to be seen.  There is still way too much misinformation and attempted erasure of womanism and Renee and other womanists have been helpful in my own personal evolution toward embracing it. 

I started out being a feminist.  I learned very early in life that sexism greatly affected how people chose to interact with me and the limits that I was given.  As I searched for answers, feminism felt like a natural fit, but the more that I explored, the more that I realized that though gender is a site of oppression for me, my race complicated my interaction in feminist spheres.  I could not forget for one moment that as a Black woman I faced unique challenges that feminism seemed determine to ignore, or cheapen when it did bother to address them.  Though I found the works of feminists like bell hooks to be fascinating and affirming, in the end, it was not enough to heal the chasm that White feminists had created with their absolute desire to maintain their privilege. Once again I found myself searching for a label that would best describe my desire to work for change and properly support my political beliefs.  Africanna Womanism is a natural fit for me.

Over time I came to know more women that identified as womanists and not all of them have been Black.  I have also seen the backlash aimed at these women for choosing to identify as womanist by those who seek to keep a womanist identity as completely Black.  This is policing and privileging one group over another and it is no different than the White feminists who sought to exclude us from their organizing drives.  There can be no doubt that Black women face unique trials and that we have no institutional other, but that does not mean that race does not negatively effect the life chances of other women of colour.  Can we really afford to reduce racism to something White people do to Blacks, when it has become an institutional part of our communities, effecting every single Brown/Black and Asian woman on the planet?  Simply because the racism that other WOC experience manifests differently than when Black women are on the receiving end, does not make it any less soul destroying.

First Nations women are dying.  There are over 500 missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada alone.  Indigenous women are 5x more likely to die as a result of violence and 60% of the known perpetrators are White men.  Race and a history of colonialism very much effects the life chances of Indigenous Women.  Their presence in the media is minuscule, making the crimes against them that much more invisible.


Though Latina women are more visible in the media, (Note: preference is often given to those that pass as White) they are typically constructed are played as spicy hot women who breed like rabbits to attain legitimacy. They are often perceived socially as wanton sluts whose very wombs signify danger to White society, that is when they are not picking fruits, or working as maids. They exist to raise the children of White women but certainly not have any of their own to love and cherish. Think of the Latina women that you have seen in the media recently, what messages did their characters send you?

There is also the lie that Asian women are a special class who have completely been elevated to the status of honorary White women.  They are servile to a fault and desperate to correct so-called flaws, like their eyelids, which remind society that they are indeed Asian. The good Asian woman is a wilting lotus flower waiting for a White man to command her and the bad one is the evil dragon lady who refuses to fulfill her so-called natural submissive role.  Even who we call Asian is specifically designed to ignore those that are Brown creating yet another hierarchy within a group of marginalized women.

No matter where you go in the world, WOC must directly confront race and gender.  Even in countries like Japan, which is largely filled with indigenous people, western ideals (read:Whiteness) permeates the culture, creating false images of what constitutes desirable and acceptable. As long as one is outside of Whiteness, womanhood is complicated by race.  What does it mean given the pervasiveness of Whiteness to decide that the term WOC implies Black and that womanism is a movement meant to serve as a liberatory vehicle solely for Black women?  Are we not then employing the masters tools to recreate a hierarchy because it benefits us, even though the cost is a loss of solidarity with other WOC? 

We have been trained to distrust and abuse each other by Whiteness because such a division helps support White supremacy. We sin against one another, appropriating and shaming with will and determination, because we believe the lie that our elevation depends upon the cultural demise of another.  Hierarchy, hate, jealousy, fear -- this is what we have been taught -- and this is what we live. The blood that results is our own but we ignore the knife as it slides between our ribs and comes to rest in our breast, because what we truly need to kill, what we truly need to maim with our righteous rage remains ever illusive hidden behind the walls of so-called normalcy.  This is the evil of Whiteness; it divides even as it conquers.  It is the evil of patriarchy, because it teaches women to see each other as competition, even as it tell us that we are incompetent to pursue our life's aspirations.

I recognize that groups need private spaces where they can be free to discuss their various marginalizations, but if we place this kind of border on womanism, we risk recreating the very same conditions that have soured so many women on feminism.  WOC must incorporate all those who identify as non-White and womanism must be our activist arm, which we reify to fight for the justice that has been so long denied.  There are always going to be those that seek to fight the battle on behalf of patriarchy and Whiteness and we must not aid them in this mission by creating more walls, more barriers -- that is the job of the oppressor.

Beyonce, If The Feminists Don't Want You, We Womanists Do

"I think I am a feminist, in a way. It's not something I consciously decided I was going to be; perhaps it's because I grew up in a singing group with other women, and that was so helpful to me."

"It kept me out of so much trouble and out of bad relationships. My friendships with my girls are just so much a part of me that there are things I am never going to do that would upset that bond. I never want to betray that friendship, because I love being a woman and I love being a friend to other women." Beyonce, Daily Mail UK magazine, August 14, 2010

While the feminist blogosphere was harrumphing and twisting itself into philosophical and academic argument knots trying to 'prove' why Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter wasn't one of then, feminists were once again demonstrating for the whole world to see why women of color left the movement behind decades ago.

Once again, they have displayed their utter cluelessness in not seizing an opportunity to bring the sorely needed fresh blood and perspectives of young women of color into their movement.

So to my sistah Houstonian, I have a proposition for you.

Since it's obvious that the feminists don't want you in their ranks, we womanists would like to humbly extend an invitation for you to consider yourself one of us.

We would be proud to have you in our ranks since it is inclusive of ALL women, including this chocolate trans one.

As you check out what our founding mother Alice Walker has written on the subject, you will find that womanism fits where you are in your feminine journey. It is inclusive, welcoming and has a better approach to race, class and other intersectional issues that affect women of color.

It is light years better when it comes to trans issues moreso than a movement that spent much bandwith trying to come up with excuse after excuse why you weren't part of it.

Beyonce, let's get real for a moment. Would you want to be part of a movement that Sarah Palin claims membership in and spends more time criticizing the FLOTUS than it does defending her and other women of color from right wing attacks?

We womanists are keenly aware of the fact that you have carried yourself with class and dignity while having an intensely bright spotlight of media attention on you. If they had bothered to check into your background, they would know like I do that you and your sister Solange grew up watching your mother Tina run a highly successful business that put you in early contact with many power sisters in H-town.

We know that young tween and teen sisters look up to you as a role model, and the second you uttered the words 'I'm a womanist', would send them scurrying off to Google to look up the word.

Beyonce, we'd love to and would be honored to have you consider yourself a womanist.

Feminists have made it clear in some quarters they don't want you, and that's their myopic and short sighted loss

Clean Up Feminism, Then We'll Talk

TransGriot Note: This is a post I've written for Global Comment..

In the days since I wrote a post about finally claiming the womanist label and the warm welcome I've received since, I've had some of my white transsisters express movement envy and surprise that we transwomen of color would be embraced by our cisgender sisters of color.

Some of them have read about the principles of womanism, see the night and day comparisons and contrasts between it and feminism and asked if they can join the womanist ranks.

The answer I've heard from other womanists is no, and not for exclusionary reasons.

Womanism started because of profound disagreements between Black and white feminists over the shabby treatment of Black women inside and outside the feminist movement, the unacknowledged class privilege, and alarm over the transphobia being expressed by radical feminists.

There's also no love lost between some radical feminists and womanists as well on a wide variety of issues besides their hatred of transpeople.

While I emphatize with my white transsisters, womanism evolved because feminism became so narrowly defined, was blind to the ways that it ignored race and reinforced privilege, and became so toxically hostile to anyone who pointed out the obvious shortcomings that people left or disassociated themselves from it.

Just as you have conversations with various groups that we WOC aren't privy to that fall under the 'family business' label, there are conversations that womanists need to have as we explore the role of transwomen within the movement that fall under the same header.

The point I'm making is that you already have multiple social justice movements geared toward white people. Womanism is a FUBU production that we treasure and need to cultivate due to the constant infusion of fresh ideas that continue to fuel its growth and stimulate discussion on various topics.

I can understand why you’d want to be a part of a movement that is growing, welcoming and continually evolving, while the feminist label has become something to be reviled. Rush Limbaugh’s frequent use of the ‘feminazi’ epithet, spewed forth from his radio studio to the ears of his dittoheads and feminism’s detractors, highlights the image problem that has resulted from the stagnation and tainting of the feminist brand.

If you truly want to embrace the good parts of feminism, then you’ll need to fight within those circles with other transgender feminists and your cisgender allies to make that happen. It’s going to be a long, messy undertaking because the entrenched factions won’t make it easy for you, but nothing worth fighting for is particularly easy.

You’ll have to respectfully demand your place,  just like African-American transpeople have done (and are still doing) to take our rightful place with our allies at the African-American family table.

Until then, until feminism becomes more like womanism – in which all people are respected and welcomed into the fold -  and the issues that caused the split in the first place are dealt with, it’ll probably be a while before you see white women being accepted into the womanist community.

Journey To Womanist-hood

TransGriot Note: This is a guest post I wrote for Womanist Musings coming out of the closet so to speak about being a womanist and claiming the label.

As a transwoman of African descent I've developed during my 15 plus year transition a distaste for feminism.

Much of that dislike of it is multifaceted, but has its roots in the virulent disco-era hatred still expressed by some rad fem drones. It's also fueled by witnessing the lack of support, disrespect, back stabbing and drama given to Black women to the point that they left the movement.

I paid very close attention to the almost pathological hatred that some feminists have for Black men that is rooted in the historical fact that Black men got the vote courtesy of the 1870 ratification of the 14th Amendment several decades before the 19th Amendment gave women the vote in 1920. I also noted that the meme played out once again in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary between then Senators Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.

I was annoyed by the naked hypocrisy of seeing feminists rush to the defense of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin at any perceived slight during that campaign as well, but their lips were and continue to be zipped for any attack on now First Lady Michelle Obama.

Ain't she a woman, too?

It also didn't escape my attention that some of the loyal cisgender Black female friends in my life tended to identify themselves as womanists.

Being the intellectually curious type I am, I started reading womanist sites and picked up writings by Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. I noticed that much of what womanism espouses and had to offer fit my worldview.

But with the rad fem haters fresh in my mind I wondered if there was space in the womanist movement for me and other transwomen of color, or was I setting myself up for more of the same old 70's era transphobia?

I found it ironic that as I was going through my womanist musing phase, a commenter compared my writing style on some issues to bell hooks. I don't know if I can walk in her pumps, but I do consider it an honor to even be thought of in the same lofty company with her.

The interview I recently conducted with Renee also jumpstarted my thinking as to why I was reticent in claiming the womanist label for myself. While I've accomplished much in the transgender community on an activist level and still have much work ahead of me still to do, I still had questions in my mind about where I fit, if I could measure up, and had concerns about how my cisgender sisters would react if I did.

So I'm taking a deep breath, stepping out on faith and making the declaration that yes, I am a womanist. I know my journey is far from over and I have much to learn, but I intend to be a compliment to all that the pioneering womanist thought leaders have built. I want to continue taking major steps toward continuing to bridge the knowledge gap between my cisgender sisters and my transsisters on various subjects, and collectively work together toward taking the movement in bold new directions.

And if I continue to learn and grow as a proud woman who happens to be transgender, then that's all good, too.

Blog Talk Radio Show With Renee This Saturday

Renee at Womanist Musings was so inspired by Tami's of What Tami Said radio show, she decided to start her own Blog Talk Radio broadcast

She'll be doing it every two weeks, and I'm honored to have been asked to be part of the panel for her first show along with Frau Sally Benz of Jump Off The Bridge and Brownfemipower of Flip Flopping Joy.

The topic will be the silencing of women of color in feminist spaces, and the fun will kick off at 4 PM EDT on Saturday. There will be a line where you can call in questions or comments at (347) 326-9452 , and if you miss it, the show will be posted for listening to later at your leisure.

So please check out the stimulating and thought provoking conversation that's going to take place Saturday.

And naw, I haven't forgotten about the cornbread recipe I owe you.

Ain't Feeling Feminism

Feminism, according to a popular bumper sticker is the radical notion that women are people, too. Many feminists have forgotten over the years that the word 'people' also includes their Black, Latina, Asian and native sisters as well as their transgender ones.

While I wholeheartedly agree and support as a transwoman equality for women, I also noted the gulf between the predominately white feminist movement and women of color. I noted how they loudly and zealously rallied to the defense of Hillary Clinton for perceived sexist comments during last year's primary, but were deafeningly silent when Michelle Obama was attacked.

I also remembered the radical feminist anti-transgender BS from their patron saints Janice Raymond and Germaine Greer and follow on books by transphobe feminists Mary Daly, Catherine MacKinnon, Robin Morgan and Sheila Jeffreys.

Raymond once stated that 'transsexuality must be morally mandated out of existence' and it didn't get much better in her 1979 book The Transsexual Empire-The Making of The She-Male.

"All transsexuals rape women's bodies by reducing the real female form to an artifact, appropriating this body for themselves .... Transsexuals merely cut off the most obvious means of invading women, so that they seem non-invasive." (Raymond, 1979)

In fact, Janice Raymond for transwomen that transitioned during the 70s and 80's along with the ones who grew up in my era was the most hated person in the transgender community until HRC's Elizabeth Birch took away her title in the late 90's with her anti-transgender inclusion rhetoric.

Germaine Greer isn't liked by some transwomen either, and cosigned with Raymond when she made this comment comparing transwomen to the character Norman Bates in the movie Psycho:

The transsexual is identified as such solely on his/her own script, which can be as learned as any sex-typed behaviour and as editorialized as autobiographies usually are. The lack of insight that MTF transsexuals usually show about the extent of their acceptance as females should be an indication that their behaviour is less rational than it seems. There is a witness to the transsexual’s script, a witness who is never consulted. She is the person who built the transsexual’s body of her own flesh and brought it up as her son or daughter, the transsexual’s worst enemy, his/her mother.

Whatever else it is gender reassignment is an exorcism of the mother. When a man decides to spend his life impersonating his mother (like Norman Bates in Psycho) it is as if he murders her and gets away with it, proving at a stroke that there was nothing to her. His intentions are no more honourable than any female impersonator’s; his achievement is to gag all those who would call his bluff. When he forces his way into the few private spaces women may enjoy and shouts down their objections, and bombards the women who will not accept him with threats and hate mail, he does as rapists have always done.”

The injection of transphobic hatred and the logic defying justifications of it across the first and second waves of feminist thought was passed on to the new school of feminists who continue to eagerly drink the 'hate on transwomen' Kool Aid.

While we transwomen have had a contentious thirty-six years of drama with the feminist community, it pales in comparison with the ongoing parallel struggle that women of color have with them. They have fought the ongoing silencing of their voices in the feminist movement, got tired of being dissed, ignored and being accused of or being labeled as 'crazy' or 'racist' anytime they critiqued their treatment.

Black women finally said to hell with them and began calling themselves womanists, a term which was coined by author Alice Walker and comes from her 1983 book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. Womanists focus on issues that are broader based that what feminism focuses on, and include issues of race and class that feminism shies away from.

Over the last few years I've gotten to know a few womanists, become friends with them and discovered to my great pleasure that they are light years more enlightened on transgender issues and are serious about supporting their transsisters.

So if you wonder why myself and some transwomen aren't feeling feminism or have a detached ambivalence to it, now you know.

In Solidarity

TransGriot Note: One of the things I want to do this year is foster open discussion and communication between transwomen and our biosisters about various issues. From time to time I'll be opening up TransGriot to various women of color bloggers in order to facilitate these conversations, and I've been invited to do the same on several of their blogs as well.

My Canadian sister Renee of Womanist Musings kicks off this series of posts.

Hello everyone, my name is Renee and I write a blog called Womanist Musings. I would like to first say thank you to Monica for sharing her space with me. It is a real honour to be given an opportunity to blog here.

On my blog one of the things I focus on is having the conversations that no one else is having. I believe that unless we speak for the marginalized and exploited bodies of this world they will continue to be ignored in our quest to amass greater and greater privilege. This is detrimental not only to us as a society, but to our little blue planet.

I have spent a lot of time in conversation with Monica recently. Yes, she is as marvelous as you think she is. In our conversations we seem to come back to one reoccurring theme, the need for cisgendered women of color and trans women of color to unite. As a womanist I have had many dealings with the feminist community and one thing has become overwhelmingly clear, though many pay lip service to intersectionality, it really is about progressing the needs of white women. While discussing my frustration with feminism with Monica, she related a similar story about the trans movement.

Oddly enough I met Monica when she came to cuss me out. I laugh about it now because we have developed a wonderful friendship, though girlfriend still owes me a cornbread recipe. At any rate, as we got to know each other and share our different experiences the more I began to realize that if two individuals, hundreds of miles apart from each other could forge a bond based in our mutual frustration with racial discrimination and a belief in our self worth, then it is quite possible to create a larger coalition.

Black women are not strangers to work. From the moment we stepped on this continent in chains ours have been lives of intense labour. We have worked under the cruel threat of the lash and we have more often than not laboured to benefit others. When you examine any social justice movement you will find white people in leadership roles with black women serving as support staff. The one commonality of all organizations or corporations is the distribution of labour; it is the support staff that does the real work without any real acclaim, or reward. I am tired of whiteness being the face of my labour, and I am sick of whiteness being the beneficiary of my blood sweat and tears.

TWOC and CWOC have divorced from each other and given our energies to our separate social justice movements. The end result of this is that neither one of us has been able to achieve much social progress, nor are we in leadership positions in our respective groups. Essentially we have allowed whiteness to divide and thereby conquer us.

When I talk to Monica, I know that I am talking to a comrade in arms. We have dealt with many issues that are common in our efforts to try and achieve equality for WOC. Our blackness and our femininity are our common bond. There will be times when we face different issues based in the fact that I am cisgendered and that she is a trans woman; however our desire to forge a relationship has caused us to focus on our commonalities, and talk our way through difference. This has reinforced my belief that we must begin to coalition build between cisgendered WOC and trans WOC. Whatever petty divides we have had in the past must be released if we are going to move forward as women.

No one is out there fighting for us; and therefore we must join forces and fight for each other. The issues of my Trans sister of color are my issues. When she is harassed on the streets, beaten or murdered it very well could me, and knowing this cisgendered women cannot turn their backs. TWOC are attacked as much for gender issues as they are for their race. Their vulnerability is my vulnerability.

In this coming year it is going to be my goal to try and forge more bonds with my trans sisters in the hopes that we can stand together and fight the forces that oppress us both. I know that my freedom can never truly occur until my trans sisters are also free. We are women and we are one. If the world cannot recognize this we must join together and make them see what their privilege denies. Together in solidarity I cannot imagine a force of nature stronger than black women aligned in the cause of justice.