She exposes and leaves raw white feminist ignorance, causing their arguments to shrivel and rot.

Unlike the shallow view that being a black woman is just racism + sexism, Davis explores the unique oppression of black women – from rape of black women in slavery and onward, to the racist stereotypes of sauciness and promiscuity forced on black women. Her ideas about intersectionality were so progressive that they were created before the word even existed (the term was coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw). Davis was one of the first to express the ideology of white feminism as a corrupting force (by white feminism I mean the exclusive ideology, not all feminists who happen to be white).ĭavis’s nuanced perspective was undeniably revolutionary. Issues delved into include the strong bonds between feminism and the abolitionist movement, feminism and socialism, and the women’s club movement. Unlike many women – white women especially – Angela Davis doesn’t describe the feminist movement as a men-women issue she acknowledges its importance outside the gender divide. However, few would say that racial justice and emancipation of the working class are undeniably tied with the feminist movement. To others, ideas of ‘man-hating’ (as a reader off this book you can probably tell that I don’t agree). To some, it may bring up ideas of women’s suffrage and anti-rape culture. Feminism is a word with many connotations, and when asked, people associate it with many different ideas and events.

Women race & class angela davis