As I walked along the lake in Toronto, the waves rolled in creating ripples in the sand. The waves of feminism were not so gentle. Like a hurricane, the first and second waves of feminism demolished some of the walls of the fortress of patriarchy. Women won the right to vote, get jobs and use the pill. The work is not yet done. The castle is more resilient than expected, and it has been partially rebuilt with the help of white feminist. Once allowed inside, they realised that the comforts and privilege of being white out weighted their commitments to fighting for the rights for all women.
Third wave feminism continues the struggle. Its theorizing is more complex as it examines how gender, race, class, disability and sexuality grants privileges to some women while denying it to others. Intersectionality is one branch of third wave feminism. It aims to reflect the lived reality of Black women, by analyzing how the various forms of oppression intersect and interlock to shape our lives.
Let's take the example of how the Black woman's body is viewed. I am a small woman, well the body is petite but the ego can be something else, at times. I am physically strong, and people expect me to be mentally strong as well. I never wanted that role as there are already many strong Black women in my family. They were so strong that they could not feel their own broken backs.
Black women are expected to shoulder many responsibilities, and to do so with a smile on our faces while ignoring the pain caused by the load. The stereotype of the strong Black woman has its origins in slavery, where our bodies were valued for its ability to work under the whip, in the sugarcane or cotton fields, and to bear children who would share the same fate.
The stereotype is still alive and has been internalized. We are Black and we are supposed to be strong. But what happens when we crack?
Black women with mental health issues are the least likely to recognize that there is a problem. And when they do, they are less likely to seek and receive treatment. Thus Black women suffer in silence from depression, self-harm and eating disorders. These are too easily dismissed as white women's problems, or they don't affect us because we Black and strong, or we don't have the time to be sick as we have to tend to all the responsibilities.
The strong Black woman stereotype is specific to the African diaspora. Does it apply to continental African women? I don't think so, as the Black experience is not homogenous. African feminist focus on the stereotype of the traditional African woman, as it too is based on gender inequality, with you guessed it, the men on top. African feminism theorize how to dismantle this African castle of patriarchy while respecting cultural differences.
"Feminist are made, not born," writes bell hooks. It is hard work being a Black feminist. It means being critical of everything, for our gains are only solid when our gender, class and race are the centre.
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