Tag Archives: Feminism

God's Priorities

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As I have discussed in previous entries, with any worldview there are extremists. There is the extreme feminist, even among Christians. The radical feminist theologian challenges the authority of the Bible by judging it from her point of view. She also considers the Bible just as inspired as other texts and uses them equally to inform her views.

The extreme Afrocentrist is a black supremacist. She believes that people of African descent are superior to those of other races in all ways, including intellect and culture. It is dangerous to align yourself with either theory because of the extremes. I took a leap and called myself, for the most part, an Afrocentrist, because of Dr. Asante’s emphasis to bring Afrocentrism to the table along with other views; this has been his original intent.

Some may say I should be brave and call myself a feminist. After all, “You do believe in women’s rights.” And even though it seems a newspaper first called women advocating women’s rights feminists (http://tinyurl.com/dc88a7) , and not the women themselves, I am still hesitant because I don’t agree with some major issues being advocated, such as all the tentacles placed under reproductive rights (like abortion rights and contraception as birth control). Must I use a term determined for me just because it seems accurate or do I determine the label based on my prescribed priorities?

I keep asking myself, “Why, Christian, do you look to the world to name and define you when God has already given you parameters in His holy word?” While I cannot deny the racial and gender experiences that I have had in this world, I must use as a starting point the book that has declared me a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God has prescribed priorities for me, and these are where I need to get my labels. So as I continue to develop a new theory for the Christian who is female and black, I will base what my focus should be and how I should be treated based upon what God says about Christian women and blacks. The next few entries should be really interesting. In the meantime, check out some of the Scriptures that have helped to inform my view: Psalm 9:9, 10:18, 103:6; Isaiah 58:6; Acts 2:17-18, 10:38; Ezekiel 22:29-31; Titus 2:3-5; Jeremiah 9:17-21; Leviticus 19:15; Ephesians 4:11; Galatians 3:28).

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Africana Womanism

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In my college days in search to self identity as a black woman living in America, I read a lot of literature. One of my favorite authors during my quest was scholar bell hooks. She has a no-holds barred approach to discussing race and black women’s place or misplace in society. She often says black women need to define ourselves and self-actualize, that is become who we defined ourselves to be. That resonated with me as one who always thought there was nothing wrong with my natural hair; I decided that I was okay with a kinky mane so I reverted to natural and was not ashamed.

Professor Clenora Hudson-Weems, Ph.D., author of Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves, also believes in self-definition. Though her theory sounds like Alice Walker’s womanism, Dr. Hudson-Weems takes exception to Walker’s term (see previous entry). She believes that the great emphases shouldn’t be on the woman, her sexuality and culture and that the comparison between feminism and womanism are too closely aligned. Her Africana womanist, in contrast, “is significantly different from the mainstream feminist, particularly in her perspective on and approach to issues in society” (24). Dr. Hudson-Weems advances her position with the following 18 characteristics of Africana womanism: self-namer; self-definer; family-centered; in concert with males in struggle; flexible roles; genuine sisterhood; strength; male compatible; respected; recognized; whole; authentic; spirituality; respectful of elders; adaptable; ambitious; mothering; and nurturing.

For the most part, I like her list. But as you already guessed it, I take exception to some of the characteristics, especially the first two. Do you, from your own opinion, name and define who you are or do you claim the name and definition that Christ has given you? As a Christian who is black and a woman, I must accept my God-given blackness and womanhood and never deny these aspects of me. But before I am black and woman I am a Christian and must embrace what Christ says about me.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Feminism vs. Womanism

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Many black women have rejected the term feminist because of the history of racial exclusion of nonwhites to the feminist movement. Before women received the right to vote (and black men had the right), white feminist and conservative suffragist leader Carrie Chapman Catt said: “[T]here is but one way to avert the danger. Cut off the vote of the slums and give it to [White] women.” Catt continued that white men should recognize “the usefulness of woman suffrage as a counterbalance to the foreign vote, and as a means of legally preserving White supremacy in the South.” This was during the first wave of feminism (early 1800s-1950s). The second wave of feminism (mid-1960s-present) has had a similar emphasis on race. Because recent feminism has focused greatly on the liberation of middle class white women from white male patriarchy, some black women have not felt that this movement is for them.

This type of emphasis is what led writer Alice Walker to develop the term womanist, and many black women, including some of us who are Christian, have embraced this label. Walker defines womanist as “[a] black feminist or feminist of color. . .who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture. . .[and who] sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. . .Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender” (from Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens). Do you consider yourself a feminist? If not, do you think womanist is a suitable alternative to feminist? As a Christian, do you think that you should call yourself a feminist or womanist? Why or why not? I am really looking forward to hearing from you.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Equality vs. Fair Treatment

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I believe in fair treatment and less so in equality all across the board. This may sound strange, but I’ve thought about it for awhile, and I know that I’d rather be treated fairly than equal to someone else because of the basic fact that I don’t need nor deserve what some others may have. See, if my parents had treated me and my siblings equal and not fairly, I wouldn’t have received a car that was required for an internship that I won; they would have had to buy them one, too. Or I would have been unable to use my parents’ credit card, like one of my other siblings who abused the use. When my 6th grade teacher compared me to my sister who she had the year before, my mama got her straight. “Don’t be comparing my babies. Rhonda learns differently than Sharon and you must accept who she is.” I want to be treated according to who I am (a unique child of God), what I do (my work wage should be based on my work not my race or gender), how I act (the righteousness of my personality), and what I need (regardless of what I think or how I act and the merits of each, I want God to give me what I need to develop the character to do what He needs me to do). To be treated equal is to be treated the same. To be treated fair is to be treated according to what you need. What we need, as Christians, is what God says we need. Fair treatment according to God’s standards is justice, and that’s what we should be striving for.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

The Choice of Feminism

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It’s Women’s History Month. So without a doubt we have to discuss feminism. And because I’m a black woman and this blog is geared toward black women, we will also talk about Afrocentrism. But this entry will only deal with feminism.

A basic definition of feminism is a political theory and practice that seeks to gain equality for women, particularly in political, social and economic contexts. Other definitions speak to women’s freedom from male oppression in the workplace, society and in the home, as well as economic independence. Though I have never identified myself as a feminist (one who practices feminism), throughout my years I found myself engaging in activities that sought to help women. I have always organized and strategized among women, whether in my sorority or in my church. And I long believed that women should be equal to men. We are just as intelligent, talented, gifted and in many ways just more skilled than they. I believed that no man was going to hold me back or down just because I may be a threat to him. While I still believe that women must be free from male oppression, my views are more complex than freedom or equality by any means necessary. I have also learned that sometimes in God’s economy, intelligence, talent, gifts or skill have nothing to do with the person, and God’s advancement sometimes comes to the less qualified (1 Corinthians 1:27).

In my early years, I never embraced feminism because of some of its extreme teachings, such the hatred of men, and the androgynous and even masculine looks that many in the feminist movement seemed to embrace. As a Christian, I don’t embrace feminism because of some of its extreme teachings, such as hatred of men, one of its basic teachings—freedom of choice when it comes to abortion, and equality to men in every area. For the Christian I believe there has to be a parting of ways, in theory and in practice, from feminism. While we must work to ensure no woman is oppressed, our standards must be biblical and not our own.

Copyright 2009 By Rhonda J. Smith