Thursday, March 10, 2011

Brenda Eichelberger on African-American Women Who Reject White Feminism

On page 200 of White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus, Jacquelyn Grant summarizes Brenda Eichelberger's "five categories of reasons that lead to Black women's rejection of White feminism:"

"1) Class differences mean that while Black women are dealing with 'survival' issues, White women are dealing with 'fulfillment' issues. 2) Negative imagery of Black women derived from physical and cultural stereotypes has resulted in the debased treatment of Black women. 3) The naivete, or basic lack of knowledge of Black women about the women's movement results in their inability to see the relationship between feminist issues and the Black struggle. 4) Black women perceive White feminists to be racists who are interested in them only in order to accomplish the White women's agenda. 5) There is concern that an alliance of Black women with White women in a feminist agenda may be 'detrimental to Black men' and therefore divisive of the Black community."