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Black Lesbian Feminism

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1980 Democratic National Convention

Black lesbian feminism originates from black feminism and the Civil Rights Movement in the beginning of the 1970s. A contemporary black lesbian feminist scholar Kaila Adia Story defines black lesbian feminism "as the thought and praxis of an intersectional gendered and sexual analysis of the world’s relationship to queer women of color specifically, both cis and trans".[1] The prominent authors who where at the roots of black lesbian feminism include Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith, Pat Parker, Kate Rushin, doris davenport, Cheryl Clarke, Margaret Sloan-Hunter, and a number of others.[2][3][4]

Black lesbian feminism emerged as a venue to address the issue of racism in the mainstream feminist movement, which was described as white, middle-class, and predominantly heterosexual. According to Barbara Smith "the reason racism is a feminist issue is easily explained by the inherent definition of feminism", which is "the political theory and practice to free all women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, physically challenged women, lesbians, old women, as well as white economically privileged heterosexual women." This is the statement she made in 1979. Later, in 1984 she extended her views on black lesbian feminism mission to "a movement committed to fighting sexual, racial, economic and heterosexist oppression, not to mention one which opposes imperialism, anti-Semitism, the oppressions visited upon the physically disabled, the old and the young, at the same time that it challenges militarism and imminent nuclear destruction is the very opposite of narrow.” [5]  

Most prominent black lesbian feminists were writers rather than scholars and expressed their position in literary way.[6] Allida Mae Black states that unlike black feminism, in 1977 the position of black lesbian feminism was not as clear as the position of black feminism and was "an allusion in the text".[7] Apart from that, the position of black lesbian feminists was expressed in their interviews and public speeches. As such, Audre Lorde in her interview published in American Poetry Review in1980 states that a "true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women" as well as that all black women whether they admit it or not are lesbians, because they are "raised in the remnants of a basically matriarchal society" even they are still oppressed by patriarchy.[8]

Pat Parker's work reflected the oppression she suffered and observed in lives of other women. In her poem "Have you Ever Tried to Hide" Parker calls our racism in white feminist movement. In her multiple works, including the famous poem "Womanslaughter", she drew attention to the violence Black women experience in their lives[9]. Among others, Parker defended the idea of complex identities and stated that for her revolution will happen when all elements of her identity "can come along"[10].

The Combahee River Collective

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The Combahee River Collective is a Boston-based black feminist group that was formed as a radical alternative to National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) founded by Margaret Sloan-Hunter in 1973[11]. For the organization's members NBFO lacked attention to the issues of sexuality and economic oppression. The Collective united the women that were dissatisfied with racism in white feminist movement and sexism in civil rights movement.[12] The name of the organization alludes to Underground Railroad Combahee River Raid that happened in 1863 under Harriet Tubman's leadership and freed 750 slaves.[13] The Combahee River Collective issued a statement in 1977 that described the organization's vision as being opposed to all forms of oppression — including sexuality, gender identity, class, disability, and age oppression (later incorporated in the concept of intersectionality) that shaped the conditions on black women's lives.  

In its "Statement", The Combahee River Collective defined itself as a left-wing organization leaning towards socialism and anti-imperialism. The organization also claimed that unlike some white feminist groups or NBFO The Combahee River Collective members are in "solidarity with progressive Black men and do not advocate the fractionalization" and emphasizing that "the stance of Lesbian separatism ... is not a viable political analysis or strategy".[14]

Other organizations under the stance of black lesbian feminism include Salsa Souls Sisters, which was formed in 1974 in New York City and is considered to be the oldest Black Lesbian Feminist organization, and Sapphire Sapphos formed in 1979 and based in Washington, DC.[15][16]

Visual Art Works

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The more recent art form used to express black feminist ideas is film. In particular, Aishah Shahidah Simmons, an award-winning black lesbian feminist, authored NO! The Rape Documentary (2006), a documentary movie that explores how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia. For Simmons, a a sexual assault survivor herself, this also an exploration of how rape impacted her Black feminist lesbian journey.[17][18]

  1. ^ "Feminists We Love: Kaila Adia Story - The Feminist Wire". The Feminist Wire. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  2. ^ This Bridge Called My Back. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. 2015. ISBN 9781438454399.
  3. ^ Joseph, G. I., Lewis, J. (1986). Common Differences: Conflicts in Black and White Feminist Perspectives. South End Press. p. 36. ISBN 0-89608-317-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Sloan-Hunter, Margaret (1988). The Issue is Woman Identification, in For Lesbians Only: A Separatist Anthology. Onlywomen Press. ISBN 0-906500-28-1.
  5. ^ "Black feminism and intersectionality | International Socialist Review". isreview.org. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  6. ^ Harlow, Gwen. "Black American Feminisms Bibliography: Introduction". blackfeminism.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  7. ^ Black, Allida Mae (2001-01-01). Modern American Queer History. Temple University Press. ISBN 9781566398725.
  8. ^ "Audre Lorde on Being a Black Lesbian Feminist". www.english.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  9. ^ Parker, Pat (1999). Movement in Black. Firebrand Books. ISBN 1563411083.
  10. ^ "HERitage: Pat Parker". ELIXHER. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  11. ^ Marable, Manning; Leith Mullings (eds) (2000). Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 524. ISBN 0-8476-8346-X,. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Lesbian Feminism, 1960s and 1970s · Lesbians in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1999 · outhistory.org". outhistory.org. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  13. ^ Herrmann, Anne C.; Abigail J. Stewart, (2001). Theorizing Feminism: Parallel Trends in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Westview Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-8133-6788-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "The Combahee River Collective Statement". circuitous.org. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  15. ^ Beemyn, Genny (2014-06-20). A Queer Capital: A History of Gay Life in Washington. Routledge. ISBN 9781317819387.
  16. ^ Ferguson, Roderick A. (2004-01-01). Aberrations in Black: Toward a Queer of Color Critique. U of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9780816641291.
  17. ^ "Introducing: Aishah Shahidah Simmons - The Feminist Wire". The Feminist Wire. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  18. ^ "NO! The Rape DocumentaryAishah Shahidah Simmons Biographical Sketch | NO! The Rape Documentary". notherapedocumentary.org. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
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