Black women scholars avoided declaring feminism for fear of losing black male patronage
Evidence
Another factor that restricted black female participation in the production of feminist scholarship was and is the lack of institutional rewards. While many academic white women active in feminist movement became a part of a network of folks who shared resources, publications, jobs and so on, black females were often out of this loop. … Overall, black female scholars, already seriously marginalized by the institutionalized racism and sexism of the academy, have never been fully convinced that it is advantageous for them to declare publicly a commitment to feminist politics, either for reasons of career mobility or personal well-being. Many of us have relied on net works with black male scholars to help further our careers. Some of us have felt and still feel that claiming a feminist stand point will alienate these allies. — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 226
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Literary criticism gave black women a safe venue that feminist theory denied them — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 227; Scholars frame black women’s organizing as anti-racist, not feminist — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 466; Black women produced gender scholarship while declining to claim the feminist label — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 228 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Black leaders resist acknowledging black male sexism to avoid complicating anti-racist efforts.
#corroborates(0.82) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 247 - Black women produced gender scholarship while declining to claim the feminist label
#expands(0.80) — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 228 - Defensive interventions diverted black women from building black-centered feminist scholarship
#expands(0.75) — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 223 - Scholars frame black women’s organizing as anti-racist, not feminist
#corroborates(0.72) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 466