Is the feminist movement inclusive?

Reflections on women and race

Last week I became a feminist.

I had always considered myself a feminist in the barest of terms, but not until Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), SEED and Hopkins Feminists collaborated to create a discussion called Politically Incorrect: Where Feminism and Womanism Meet. After frantically typing answers on my phone to the feminist survey filled out at the beginning of the meeting, listening to my peers speak about feminism and then talking with two feminists after the discussion ended, I decided to become a part of the feminist movement.

After beginning the survey, it suddenly became clear that I had no idea how to answer even the most basic questions like “Am I am feminist?” and “Should men be allowed to call themselves feminist or womanists?”. Thankfully, Alizay Jalisi, a sophomore on the Hopkins Feminists executive board, began the discussion with the origins of feminism.

She said that the feminist movement first began in the 1830s as an appendage of the abolitionist movement. These first feminists later expanded the movement into two separate groups: The National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) and The American Women’s Suffrage Association (AWSA).

The NWSA having refused to prioritize racial equality, excluded African American women from their movement in a political ploy to prevent the Southern states from denying white women’s right to vote. Although this group eventually went on to lead the fight for the women’s suffrage, it had consequently isolated itself from African American women feminists, who eventually created the AWSA, which was more racially inclusive than the first feminist group.

In the 1970s, the black feminist movement garnered a lot of attention under the guidance of its popular leaders, including bell hooks. However, it wasn’t until Alice Walker first used the word womanist that African American women had officially established a separate but parallel movement to traditional white feminism.

Walker defined a womanist as “a black feminist or feminist of color... a woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility.”

Beginning in the 1990s, the feminist movement had become more inclusive, but still today, the movement is not yet inclusive enough to merge with womanism into a single movement, as white women still continue to dominate the leadership positions of the feminist movement.

Following the history lesson on the origins of both feminism and womanism, students began to express their opinions about various issues pertaining to the two movements: a men’s role in the feminist community, how Latinos fit into feminism and womanism and whether it is possible for womanism and feminism to truly merge. Two of the most knowledgeable attendees included Jalisi and Cynthia Román, one of OMA’s official coordinators of the event.

Following the discussion, I asked Jalisi to define feminism because before the event I was unable to come up with a definition. Her answer reminded me of the definition Alice Walker had assigned to womanism.

“When I think of feminism I think of a movement that is for people of color, people who do not identify with the gender binary or do, people who identify as queer, who are not necessarily able bodied in the way that we think of able bodied,” she said. “When I think of feminism, I think of a sort of intersectional flavor of feminism.”

And her deep involvement in the feminist cause, whether through Hopkins Feminists or attending events like Politically Incorrect should be no surprise because of her explanation of the freedom of joining such a movement to me.

“Feminism resonates with me because as woman of color, as someone who comes from a culture that is definitely patriarchal,” she said. “It is liberating to me, it is freeing but at the same time it makes me question my other opinions as well.”

Román, one of the event coordinators, who identifies not only as a feminist but also as a womanist, is particularly interested in and concerned about her position in the feminist movement as a Latina woman. Despite the struggles with Spanish translation her fellow Latina feminists and womanists from Baltimore face, she still rallies for the womanist.

“It comes from a place of inclusion,” she said.

Her first encounter with feminism came in high school when her friends would ask her why she hated men. She would reply that she did not hate men, but she did expect gender equality, refusing to participate in the Latino machismo culture.

Román later graduated from Notre Dame of Maryland University with a degree in women’s studies. Her fascination with equal rights for minority women has continued in her work at OMA and is apparent in the female empowerment symbol she has tattooed on her forearm.

After attending the event and speaking with the Jalisi and Román, I was convinced to become a feminist. After learning about how feminism includes the rights of minorities and queers and the underrepresented, I now understand why many people call themselves feminists.