Womanism

Womanism is a social theory based on the history and everyday experiences of black women. It seeks, according to womanist scholar Layli Maparyan (Phillips), to 'restore the balance between people and the environment/nature and reconcil human life with the spiritual dimension'. The writer Alice Walker coined the term womanist in a short story, 'Coming Apart', in 1979. Since Walker's initial use, the term has evolved to envelop varied, and often opposing interpretations of conceptions such as feminism, men, and blackness.A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women's culture, women's emotional flexibility ... and women's strength. ... Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health ... Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit ... Loves struggle. Loves the folk. Loves herself. Regardless. Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.Spirituality is not merely a system of religious beliefs similar to logical systems of ideas. Rather, spirituality comprises articles of faith that provide a conceptual framework for living everyday life Womanism is a social theory based on the history and everyday experiences of black women. It seeks, according to womanist scholar Layli Maparyan (Phillips), to 'restore the balance between people and the environment/nature and reconcil human life with the spiritual dimension'. The writer Alice Walker coined the term womanist in a short story, 'Coming Apart', in 1979. Since Walker's initial use, the term has evolved to envelop varied, and often opposing interpretations of conceptions such as feminism, men, and blackness. Womanist theory, while diverse, holds at its core that both femininity and culture are equally important to the woman's existence. In this conception one's femininity cannot be stripped from the culture within which it exists. At first glance, this seems similar to the thought process of third wave feminism, which embraced the concept of intersectionality. The difference lies in the valuation placed on intersectionality within the theoretical frameworks. Womanism espouses the idea that the culture of the woman, which in this case is the focal point of intersection as opposed to class or some other characteristic, is not an element of her femininity, but rather is the lens through which femininity exists. As such, a woman's Blackness is not a component of her feminism; instead, her Blackness is the lens through which she understands her femininity. In discussing womanist theory, one must acknowledge the racism that was perceived by black women in the feminist movement. This perception fuels two different conceptions of womanism's relationship with feminism. Some womanists believe that the experience of Black women will not be validated by feminists to be equal to the experience of White women because of the problematic way in which some feminists treated blackness throughout history. As such, they do not see womanism as an extension of feminism, but rather as a theoretical framework which exists independent of feminist theory. This is a move from the thought of Black feminists who have carved their own space in feminism through academia and activism. However, not all womanists hold this view of feminism. The chronological first conception of womanism can be captured through Alice Walker's quotation 'womanism is to feminism as purple is to lavender'. Under this description, the theories are intimately tied, with womanism as the broad umbrella under which feminism falls. Author and poet Alice Walker first used the term 'womanist' in her short story, 'Coming Apart', in 1979, and later in In Search of our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose (1983). Walker defined a 'womanist' as a 'black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, 'You acting womanish'', referring to grown-up behavior. The womanish girl exhibits willful, courageous, and outrageous behavior that is considered to be beyond the scope of societal norms. She goes on to say that a womanist is also: According to Walker, while feminism is incorporated into womanism, it is also instinctively pro-humankind; womanism is a deeper subset of feminism. The focus of the theology is not on gender inequality, but race and class-based oppression. She sees womanism as a theory/movement for the survival of the black race; a theory that takes into consideration the experiences of black women, black culture, black myths, spiritual life, and orality. Walker's much cited phrase, 'womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender', suggests that feminism is a component beneath the much larger ideological umbrella of womanism. Walker's definition also holds that womanists are universalists. This philosophy is further invoked by her metaphor of a garden where are all flowers bloom equally. A womanist is committed to the survival of both males and females and desires a world where men and women can coexist, while maintaining their cultural distinctiveness. This inclusion of men provides Black women with an opportunity to address gender oppression without directly attacking men. A third definition provided by Walker pertains to the sexuality of the women portrayed in her review of 'Gifts of Power: The Writings of Rebecca Jackson'. Here, she argues that the best term to describe Rebecca Jackson, a black Shaker who leaves her husband and goes on to live with her white Shaker companion, would be a womanist, because it is a word that affirms the connection to the world, regardless of sexuality. The seemingly contrasting interpretations of womanism given by Walker validates the experiences of African-American women, while promoting a visionary perspective for the world based on said experiences. The short story 'Everyday Use' by Alice Walker illustrates the voice of a black rural middle class woman through the relationship that a black woman shares with her two daughters Dee and Maggie. Dee is spoiled and believes that her education and experiences make her better than her mother and her sister. On the other hand, Maggie envies her sister for her the beauty and arrogance that always gets her what she wants. Historically, it has been very common for people of color to have their stories told by Caucasians. However, Walker attempts to break this tradition by having a black rural middle class woman tell the story of her relationships with her two daughters. An important part of the story occurs when the mother in 'Everyday Use' states, 'You've no doubt seen those TV shows where the child who has 'made it' is confronted, as a surprise, by her own mother and father, tottering in weakly from backstage... Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort...'. Here the mother reminisces about a family experience that she has witnessed on television that she wishes she could have for herself. A heart-warming scene similar to the one that the mother witnessed on television does not take place when her daughter Dee comes to visit. Instead when Dee comes to visit the mother a rough, awkward tension-filled encounter slowly unfolds. Walker employs this story and its context to illustrate that a majority of womanism is characterized by black women telling their stories. Much of Alice Walker's progeny admits that while she is the creator of the term, Walker fails to consistently define the term and often contradicts herself. At some points she portrays womanism as a more inclusive revision of Black feminism as it is not limited to Black women and focuses on the woman as a whole. Later in life she begins to regret this peace seeking and inclusive form of womanism due to the constant and consistent prejudice inflicted upon Black women, specifically, whose voices had yet to be validated by both White women and Black men. Clenora Hudson-Weems is credited with coining the term Africana womanism. In 1995, the publication of her book, Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves sent shock waves through the Black nationalism community and established her as an independent thinker. Hudson-Weems rejects feminism as the theology of Africana women, that is to say women of the African diaspora, because it is philosophically rooted in Eurocentric ideals. She further asserts that it is impossible to incorporate the cultural perspectives of African women into the feminism ideal due to the history of slavery and racism in America. Furthermore, Weems rejects feminism's characterization of the man as the enemy. She claims that this does not connect with Africana women as they do not see Africana men as the enemy. Instead the enemy is the oppressive force that subjugates the Africana man, woman, and child. She claims that feminism's masculine-feminine binary comes from a lack of additional hardship placed on women by their circumstances (i.e. race and socio-economic) as feminism was founded to appeal to upper-class White women.