Clenora Hudson-Weems

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Clenora F. Hudson-Weems (born July 23, 1945) [1] is an African-American author and academic who is currently a professor of English at the University of Missouri. [2] She coined the term "Africana womanism" in the late 1980s, contending that women of African descent have always been Africana womanists by their very nature, dating back to Africana women in antiquity, even before the coinage of the word itself. Africana Womanism, a family-centered paradigm, observed this phenomenon, then proceeded in naming and defining a paradigm relative to who Africana women are and how they go about their daily lives in both the home place and the workplace.

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Hudson-Weems wrote a research paper entitled "The Tripartite Plight of the Black Woman—Racism, Classism and Sexism—in Our Nig, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Color Purple" during her first semester as a Ph.D. student at the University of Iowa in 1985. [3] She set up a panel on the need for prioritizing race, class and gender for Black women and presented it at the 1986 National Council for Black Studies Annual conference, which was later published in the Journal of Black Studies in 1989.

Hudson-Weems has written many papers concerning the distinctions between Africana womanism, earlier called Black Womanism, Womanism and Black feminism. She believed that Black Feminism was lacking some crucial ideas in its concept, which motivated her to come up with Black/Africana Womanism. She was concerned about how the already existing concepts such as feminism, black feminism, womanism, did not include an authentic agenda for Africana women. [3]

Her book Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves was released in 1993 even though several publishers were hesitant to take on the manuscript due to the controversial issues surrounding black women's rejection of "mainstream" feminist ideology. [3]

Hudson-Weems took a strong position that black women should not have to rely on Eurocentric feminism for their liberation when they have a rich history and legacy of women of African descent. [Hill 1811] [3] She believed that many people viewed Africana Womanism as risking their professional security and also as invalidating their years of research from the Black feminist perspective. [3] She wished people viewed the concept as "a natural evolutionary process of ideological growth and development" from Black feminism to Africana womanism (Hudson-Weems, "... Entering the New Millenium" 36). [3]

Hudson-Weems criticized Black feminists because they did not acknowledge Africana feminism's essential and underlying foundation "nommo", its name. [3] She discusses Africana Womanism and compares it to other branches of feminism and explains what they are lacking in her book Africana Womanist Literary Theory in 2004. [3]

Hudson-Weems is also the author of Emmett Till: The Sacrificial Lamb of the Civil Rights Movement (1994). [3]

Distinctions

Some very clear distinctions exist between the terms womanist and feminist. Feminism is focused on the equal treatment of women in terms of social, political, and economic rights. [4] Despite the fact that there has been immense progress for women under this ideology, some feminist scholars argue that it has effectively upheld white supremacist thought and boxed out women of color. [5]

Womanism, on the other hand, is the notion that women should be valued not only as much as men, but as much as other women—regardless of race, class, and other elements that dictate social order. Its origins trace back to Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech "Ain't I A Woman?" where she calls into question this notion of womanhood that does not successfully encompass all the lives it seeks to control. [6] As a black woman, and a slave, Truth was denied the courtesies, the respect, and the basic human rights given to her white female counterparts. [6] This skewed social dynamic that glorified white womanhood transcended time periods, which is why distinctions between feminism and womanism are necessary today. [7] Womanism focuses specifically on the ties linking women of color to one another, while also creating a very distinct dichotomy between the ways in which women of color might operate differently than their white feminist counterparts under the same oppressive forces. [5] As Alice Walker famously said, "Womanism is to feminism as purple is to lavender", [5] one pales in comparison to the other. Clenora Hudson-Weems contends that feminism, on its own, does not consider the intersectional realities of the lives of Africana women, thus, solidifying their position as "the other". [7] The bias shown toward these individuals is upheld by the longstanding existence of patriarchy. It was noted that "...patriarchal societies have manifested a fear of foreigners or difference and have suppressed women in numerous ways". [7] In so doing, the delineation between which forms of womanhood are acceptable and which are not, is very clearly established. To combat this lack of inclusivity, womanism—as an ideology—acts as the voice of the unheard; it is "...an Afrocentric paradigm that can embrace the activism of all African women, recognized or ignored, who have struggled to liberate African people on a global scale". [4] This gives Africana women a platform on which they can stand up and be heard, a people with whom they can identify, and a voice with which they can actively speak.

An even more specific subset of womanism, which identifies African women as the focus, is Africana womanism. Some scholars argue that feminism in some ways waters down an individual's cultural identity and generalizes women to a non-inclusive umbrella category, while Africana womanism allows one to maintain their cultural identity. [8] In terms of its distinction from womanism, Africana womanism is very ethnically specific. It facilitates the distinction of individual self-identification, dependent upon one's cultural background. [7] The agency of Africana individuals is lacking, primarily because Western culture advocates Eurocentric beliefs rather than Afrocentric beliefs. [7] To consider one's ethnic identity in the context of patriarchy is to encourage women of African descent to acknowledge their own unique, situational experiences. This offers women a mechanism of self-identification that can ease the burden of everyday life under socially, economically, religiously, and culturally limiting structures. [8]

Related Research Articles

Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern societies are patriarchal—they prioritize the male point of view—and that women are treated unjustly in these societies. Efforts to change this include fighting against gender stereotypes and improving educational, professional, and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women.

Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race, class, and sexual orientation. The ideology and movement emerged in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrocentrism</span> African ethnocentrism

Afrocentrism is a worldview that is centered on the history of people of African descent or a view that favors it over non-African civilizations. It is in some respects a response to Eurocentric attitudes about African people and their historical contributions. It seeks to counter what it sees as mistakes and ideas perpetuated by the racist philosophical underpinnings of Western academic disciplines as they developed during and since Europe's Early Renaissance as justifying rationales for the enslavement of other peoples, in order to enable more accurate accounts of not only African but all people's contributions to world history. Afrocentricity deals primarily with self-determination and African agency and is a pan-African point of view for the study of culture, philosophy, and history.

This is an index of articles related to the issue of feminism, women's liberation, the women's movement, and women's rights.

Postcolonial feminism is a form of feminism that developed as a response to feminism focusing solely on the experiences of women in Western cultures and former colonies. Postcolonial feminism seeks to account for the way that racism and the long-lasting political, economic, and cultural effects of colonialism affect non-white, non-Western women in the postcolonial world. Postcolonial feminism originated in the 1980s as a critique of feminist theorists in developed countries pointing out the universalizing tendencies of mainstream feminist ideas and argues that women living in non-Western countries are misrepresented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Womanism</span> Intersectional feminist movement

Womanism is a feminist movement, primarily championed by Black feminists, originating in the work of African American author Alice Walker in her 1983 book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens. Walker coined the term "womanist" in the short story "Coming Apart" in 1979. Her initial use of the term evolved to envelop a spectrum of issues and perspectives facing black women and others. Walker defined "womanism" as embracing the courage, audacity, and self-assured demeanor of Black women, alongside their love for other women, themselves, and all of humanity. Since its inception by Walker, womanism has expanded to encompass various domains, giving rise to concepts such as Africana womanism and womanist theology or spirituality.

Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication, media studies, psychoanalysis, political theory, home economics, literature, education, and philosophy.

Cultural feminism is a term used to describe a variety of feminism that attempts to revalue and redefine attributes culturally ascribed to femaleness. It is also used to describe theories that commend innate differences between women and men.

Womanist theology is a methodological approach to theology which centers the experience and perspectives of Black women, particularly African-American women. The first generation of womanist theologians and ethicists began writing in the mid to late 1980s, and the field has since expanded significantly. The term has its roots in Alice Walker's writings on womanism. "Womanist theology" was first used in an article in 1987 by Delores S. Williams. Within Christian theological discourse, Womanist theology emerged as a corrective to early feminist theology written by white feminists that did not address the impact of race on women's lives, or take into account the realities faced by Black women within the United States. Similarly, womanist theologians highlighted the ways in which Black theology, written predominantly by male theologians, failed to consider the perspectives and insights of Black women. Scholars who espouse womanist theology are not monolithic nor do they adopt each aspect of Walker's definition. Rather, these scholars often find kinship in their anti-sexist, antiracist and anti-classist commitments to feminist and liberation theologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrocentricity</span> Research method that centers Africans and the African diaspora

Afrocentricity is an academic theory and approach to scholarship that seeks to center the experiences and peoples of Africa and the African diaspora within their own historical, cultural, and sociological contexts. First developed as a systematized methodology by Molefi Kete Asante in 1980, he drew inspiration from a number of African and African diaspora intellectuals including Cheikh Anta Diop, George James, Harold Cruse, Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and W. E. B. Du Bois. The Temple Circle, also known as the Temple School of Thought, Temple Circle of Afrocentricity, or Temple School of Afrocentricity, was an early group of Africologists during the late 1980s and early 1990s that helped to further develop Afrocentricity, which is based on concepts of agency, centeredness, location, and orientation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African feminism</span> Type of feminism

African feminism includes theories and movements which specifically address the experiences and needs of continental African women. From a western perspective, these theories and movements fall under the umbrella label of Feminism, but this categorization is misleading for many branches of African "feminism". African women have been engaged in gender struggle since long before the existence of the western-inspired label "African feminism," and this history is often neglected. Despite this caveat, this page will use the term feminism with regard to African theories and movements in order to fit into a relevant network of Wikipedia pages on global feminism. Because Africa is not a monolith, no single feminist theory or movement reflects the entire range of experiences African women have. African feminist theories are sometimes aligned, in dialogue, or in conflict with Black Feminism or African womanism. This page covers general principles of African feminism, several distinct theories, and a few examples of feminist movements and theories in various African countries.

Africana womanism is a term coined in the late 1980s by Clenora Hudson-Weems, intended as an ideology applicable to all women of African descent. It is grounded in African culture and Afrocentrism and focuses on the experiences, struggles, needs, and desires of Africana women of the African diaspora. It distinguishes itself from feminism, or Alice Walker's womanism. Africana womanism pays more attention to and focuses more on the realities and the injustices in society in regard to race.

Womyn-born womyn (WBW) is a term developed during second-wave feminism to designate women who were assigned female at birth, were raised as girls, and identify as women. The policy is noted for exclusion of trans women. Third-wave feminism and fourth-wave feminism have generally done away with the idea of WBW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminist movements and ideologies</span>

A variety of movements of feminist ideology have developed over the years. They vary in goals, strategies, and affiliations. They often overlap, and some feminists identify themselves with several branches of feminist thought.

Feminist political theory is an area of philosophy that focuses on understanding and critiquing the way political philosophy is usually construed and on articulating how political theory might be reconstructed in a way that advances feminist concerns. Feminist political theory combines aspects of both feminist theory and political theory in order to take a feminist approach to traditional questions within political philosophy.

Hip hop feminism is a sub-set of black feminism that centers on intersectional subject positions involving race and gender in a way that acknowledges the contradictions in being a black feminist, such as black women's enjoyment in hip hop music and culture, rather than simply focusing on the victimization of black women in hip hop culture due to interlocking systems of oppressions involving race, class, and gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Male gaze</span> Concept in feminist theory

In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. The concept was first articulated by British feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Mulvey's theory draws on historical precedents, such as the depiction of women in European oil paintings from the Renaissance period, where the female form was often idealized and presented from a voyeuristic male perspective. Art historian John Berger, in his work Ways of Seeing (1972), highlighted how traditional Western art positioned women as subjects of male viewers’ gazes, reinforcing a patriarchal visual narrative.

Feminist activism in hip hop is a feminist movement based by hip hop artists. The activism movement involves doing work in graffiti, break dancing, and hip hop music. Hip hop has a history of being a genre that sexually objectifies and disrespects women ranging from the usage of video vixens to explicit rap lyrics. Within the subcultures of graffiti and breakdancing, sexism is more evident through the lack of representation of women participants. In a genre notorious for its sexualization of women, feminist groups and individual artists who identify as feminists have sought to change the perception and commodification of women in hip hop. This is also rooted in cultural implications of misogyny in rap music.

Renita J. Weems is an American Protestant biblical scholar, theologian, author and ordained minister. She is the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Old Testament studies in the United States. She is the Dean of Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. She was influenced by the movement in the last half of the 20th century which argues that context matters and shapes our scholarship and understanding of truth. She is best known for her contribution to womanist theology, feminist studies in religion and black religious thought. She is recognized as one of the first scholars to bring black women's ways of reading and interpreting the Bible into mainstream academic discourse. In 1989 she received a Ph.D. in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible studies from Princeton Theological Seminary making her the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the field. Her work in womanist biblical interpretation is frequently cited in feminist theology and womanist theology.

Sarojini Nadar is a South African theologian and biblical scholar who is the Desmond Tutu Research Chair in Religion and Social Justice at the University of the Western Cape.

References

  1. U.S. Public Records Index Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
  2. "Clenora Hudson-Weems". University of Missouri . Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hudson-Weems, Clenora (2004). Africana Womanist Literary Theory. Africana World Press, Inc.
  4. 1 2 Dove, Nah. "African Womanism: An Afrocentric Theory." Journal of Black Studies 28.5 (1998): 515–39. JStor. Web. November 16, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Collins, Patricia H. "What's in a Name? Womanism, Black Feminism, and Beyond". The Black Scholar 26.1 (1996): n. p. Web. November 16, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Truth, Sojourner. "Ain't I A Woman?" Women's Convention. Ohio, Akron. 1851. Speech.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Hubbard, Larese. "Anna Julia Cooper and Africana Womanism: Some Early Conceptual Contributions." Black Women, Gender & Families 4.2 (2010): n. p. JStor. Web. November 16, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Blackmon, Janiece L. "I Am Because We Are: Africana Womanism as a Vehicle of Empowerment and Influence". Thesis. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2008. 1–58. Print.