Black Women, Agency, and the New Black Feminism

163 Pages·2017·2.61 MB·English

by  Maria del Guadalupe Davidson

Black Women, Agency, and the
New Black Feminism
Davidson sometimes carves out a concept from her observations of the lived
experiences of black girls and women, and names it, thereby providing a superla-
tive reflecting tool—a splendid memento—through which black girls and women
can proudly recognize themselves, and each other.
Janine C. Jones, Associate Professor of Philosophy, The University of
North Carolina Greensboro, USA
The powerful Beyoncé, the formidable Rihanna, and the incalculable Nikki
Minaj. Their images lead one to wonder: are they a new incarnation of black
feminism and black women’s agency, or are they only pure fantasy in which,
instead of having agency, they are in fact the products of the forces of patriarchy
and commercialism? More broadly, one can ask whether black women in general
are only being led to believe that they have power but are really being drawn
back into more complicated systems of exploitation and oppression. Or, are
black women subverting patriarchy by challenging notions of their subordinate
and exploitable sexuality? In other words, “who is playing who?”
Black Women, Agency, and the New Black Feminism identifies a generational
divide between traditional black feminists and younger black women. While tra-
ditional black feminists may see, for example, sexualized images of black
women negatively and as an obstacle to progress, younger black women tend to
embrace these new images and see them in a positive light. After carefully
setting up this divide, this enlightening book will suggest that a more complex
understanding of black feminist agency needs to be developed, one that is
adapted to the complexities faced by the younger generation in today’s world.
Arguing the concept of agency as an important theme for black feminism, this
innovative title will appeal to scholars, teachers, and students interested in black
feminist and feminist philosophy, identity construction, subjectivity and agency,
race, gender, and class.
Maria del Guadalupe Davidson is Director of the Women’s and Gender
Studies Program and Co-D irector of the Center for Social Justice at the Univer-
sity of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Routledge Research in Gender and Society
45 New Dynamics in Female 51 Men’s Intrusion, Women’s
Migration and Integration Embodiment
Edited by Christiane Timmerman, A critical analysis of street
Marco Martiniello, Andrea Rea harassment
and Johan Wets Fiona Vera Gray
46 Masculinities and Femininities 52 Neoliberal Bodies and the
in Latin America’s Uneven Gendered Fat Body
Development Hannele S. Harjunen
Susan Paulson
53 Women’s Magazines in Print
47 Gender, Nutrition, and the and New Media
Human Right to Adequate Food Edited by Noliwe Rooks, Victoria
Toward an inclusive framework Rose Pass and Ayana K. Weekley
Edited by Anne C. Bellows, Flavio
L.S. Valente, Stefanie Lemke and 54 Changing Names and Gendering
María Daniela Núñez Burbano Identity
de Lara Social organisation in
contemporary Britain
48 Teaching Women’s Studies in Rachel Thwaites
Conservative Contexts
Considering perspectives for an 55 Genealogies and Conceptual
inclusive dialogue Belonging
Edited by Cantice Greene Zones of interference between
gender and diversity
49 Ageing, Gender and Sexuality Eike Marten
Equality in later life
Sue Westwood 56 Black Women, Agency, and the
New Black Feminism
50 Gendering the Memory of Work Maria del Guadalupe Davidson
Women workers’ narratives
Maria Tamboukou
Black Women, Agency, and the
New Black Feminism
Maria del Guadalupe Davidson
First published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Maria del Guadalupe Davidson
The right of Maria del Guadalupe Davidson to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Davidson, Maria del Guadalupe, author.
Title: Black women, agency, and the new black feminism / Maria del
Guadalupe Davidson.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |
Series: Routledge research in gender and society ; 56 | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016042057 | ISBN 9781138843677 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: African American women–Social conditions. | African
American feminists. | Feminism–United States.
Classification: LCC E185.86 .D3776 2017 | DDC 305.48/896073–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016042057
ISBN: 978-1-138-84367-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-73092-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
For Scott

Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Introduction: Agency Born of Struggle 1
1 The Constructed Agent: Postmodernism, White
Feminism, and Black Male Agency 12
2 Historicizing Agency in the Black Feminist Tradition:
A Phenomenology of the Black Female Body 45
3 Worrying the Feminist Line 79
4 Millennials: Black Women Forming and Transforming
Agency 94
5 Troubling the Water: Black Feminist Theory and the
Hegemony of Thought 111
6 Conclusion: On the Grayness of Gray 129
Bibliography 143
Index 148
Acknowledgments
This book has been a long time in coming. I would like to begin by thanking
Linda Perkins, who, after hearing me give a paper on this topic at the National
Women’s Association annual conference, invited me to speak at Claremont
Graduate University. Linda, thanks for giving me the spark I needed to write this
book. I would also like to thank my friends at the University of Oklahoma for
their continued support of this project, especially Kirsten Edwards, Elon Dancy,
and Melli Velazquez. And, a special thanks to my dear friend and brother, Dr.
George Yancy. I’m so fortunate to have you in my life.
It has been a pleasure working with Routledge Press and I want to say a
special “thank you” to Max Novice and Jennifer Morrow, who began this project
with me, and to Elena Chiu and Emily Briggs, who got me to the finish line. I
could not have asked for a kinder and more supportive team of professionals.
Finally, I’d like to thank my friend, partner, mi vida, Scott Davidson, for walking
through this world with me. Our kids (Yannick, Kolya, and Yelena) are so lucky
to have you as their father.
Introduction
Agency Born of Struggle
In 2014, I was presented with the Feminist Teacher-M entor Award from the
Organization of Communication, Language and Gender (OCSLG). Although I
could not attend the award ceremony, I sent along a note to share with those in
attendance. A sampling of my comments read:
I’m very sorry that I am unable to join you tonight. I am deeply humbled
and honored to receive OSCLG’s Feminist Teacher-M entor Award. I grew
up in an immigrant family where my Afro-C aribbean mother, sisters, aunts,
and cousins did not talk about feminism, intersectionality, or the importance
of mentoring. Nevertheless, I learned to be a feminist from those women
who never let me forget that dark- skinned black girls from the hood were
just as good as everyone else. They did not give me the language of inter-
sectionality. They didn’t have to because they lived it. What they did give
me was the will to resist all forms of intersectional oppression.
Before I knew its name or knew that black feminism ever existed as a thing
that one could read about, black feminism as an act of living and as an act of
resistance saved me from a world that I knew did not value my existence. Time
and time again, I have been given material proof that little girls who looked
like me did not get the chances or positive attention other little girls got. The
saying, “If you are white (or light), you are alright; if you are brown, get down;
if you are black, get back, get back, get back” held real meaning for me, then
and now. It is no wonder that early in my teaching career, I felt that it was my
duty as a black feminist souljah gal to impart the relevance of agency to my
students, especially my black women students. I saw the discourse of agency
as a weapon given to me by my black feminist foremothers to be used against
the forces of white and black male patriarchy, racism, and classism telling me
that I could not act or resist. Those forces telling me to “get back, get back, get
back.” Agency was not only a weapon, it was also a command, as if my black
feminist foremothers (both unpublished and published) had impressed upon
me that the fight for black women’s agency continues and that it is my respons-
ibility to move ahead, never ceasing until every black woman has claimed
agency as her birthright.