In her paper, The Wellspring of Black Feminist Theory, Linda Burnham makes the point that, “As people engage in developing strategies to influence and shift power relations, they also – if the political movement is broad and vibrant enough – progressively deepen their processes of reflection, reaching more profound and comprehensive understandings of the social dynamics and institutions that shape their lives” (7). That is, as social movements progress, they are built upon by integrating the unique struggles and perspectives of their diverse membership, and this building-upon gives shape to the evolution of those movements’ understandings of their own goals and the actions which must be undertaken to realize them.
Burnham’s perspective on the notion of Black women as the “other”, the erasure of the complex diversity of Black women and their individual experiences in favor of gendered and cultural stereotypes, I feel is primary to Black feminist theory (3). Although standing as a united front against oppression, the membership of Black women’s social movements was in no way homogenous. The recognition of these differences across socially constructed categories, Burnham placing emphasis on those of “class, color, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, region, and age”, exemplifies the integration of varying perspectives which give rise to the evolution of social initiatives (Burnham 3). In my own life, I see this process take place on Thursday nights at meetings of the political party to which I belong, and I recognize the reason the party puts so much effort into leafleting and sign-up sheets-- not only do they wish to grow their numbers to spread Marxist-Leninist thought and raise class consciousness, but they rely on learning from the radically different experiences of the people they recruit as to better address the needs of the proletariat. At first, I was hesitant to go to party meetings because they did not have a mission statement on disability or sex workers issues, and those were points of contention among existing party members. However, I realized that if I wanted the party to begin to understand how to begin to work together to best serve disabled people and sex workers, I needed to be the escort in the wheelchair who showed up and raised my voice.
In addition, the author’s viewpoint on the concept of “both/and”, which calls attention to how not only racism, not only sexism, and not only additional “simultaneity of oppressions”, but the interplay of all forms of identity, shape how Black women are perceived by and interact with the world around them, I feel is fundamental as well to understanding why social movements must work beyond single interests to truly benefit the lives of real people (Burnham 3, 6). For example, the role of class in the oppression of Black women stems not only from the systemic poverty of Black Americans, but also the devaluation of domestic and care roles traditionally undertaken as “women’s work”. The breadth of my perspective and appreciation for the intersection and interaction of oppressions grows with each passing day I spend in my disabled, neurodivergent, transgender body. The overlap of neurodivergence and transness leads to others believing my gender identity is a result of the traumas I’ve faced. Neurodivergence and chronic pain makes the emergency room staff label me as a drug-seeker. Disability and transness leads to more risky hormone therapy, the ever-present risks of low bone density and fatal blood clots looming overhead. This makes me seek awareness of what those of other overlapping identities are facing and how I might be able to use my own privileges to aid in alleviating their struggles.
Furthermore, Burnham’s further extrapolation upon these ideas to highlight the influence of capitalism on colonialism and neo-colonialism and its global impact on women of color, namely in developing nations, brought to mind for me a discussion in my Disability in US Society course text Keywords for Disability Studies. In the book’s second chapter, titled Disability, authors Rachel Adams, Benjamin Reiss, and David Serlin challenge the assumption that disability is a static category across cultures. The predominant rhetoric on disability is distinctly Euro-American and attempts to apply industrialized Western thought to disability issues throughout the world, while liberal Western philosophies and political stances regarding “independence” and “autonomy” are, according to another disabilities author Dr. Emily Nussbaum, “not universally desirable goals in all cultural contexts” (qtd. in Adams et al 10). An example supporting this idea includes the employment of personal assistants for disabled individuals in the United States and Europe, an industry which disproportionately employs immigrant women and relies on the devaluation of care roles to increase affordability. Additionally, the universal design movement which focuses on providing disabled people with vital tools to remove environmental barriers, though vastly improving the lives of impaired individuals in the West, relies on technologies manufactured by workers in developing nations who may actually become disabled themselves due to the harsh working conditions under which these technologies are assembled (Adams et al 9-10).
No. 1. Women of Color Resource Center, 2001, p 2-8.
Burnham’s perspective on the notion of Black women as the “other”, the erasure of the complex diversity of Black women and their individual experiences in favor of gendered and cultural stereotypes, I feel is primary to Black feminist theory (3). Although standing as a united front against oppression, the membership of Black women’s social movements was in no way homogenous. The recognition of these differences across socially constructed categories, Burnham placing emphasis on those of “class, color, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, region, and age”, exemplifies the integration of varying perspectives which give rise to the evolution of social initiatives (Burnham 3). In my own life, I see this process take place on Thursday nights at meetings of the political party to which I belong, and I recognize the reason the party puts so much effort into leafleting and sign-up sheets-- not only do they wish to grow their numbers to spread Marxist-Leninist thought and raise class consciousness, but they rely on learning from the radically different experiences of the people they recruit as to better address the needs of the proletariat. At first, I was hesitant to go to party meetings because they did not have a mission statement on disability or sex workers issues, and those were points of contention among existing party members. However, I realized that if I wanted the party to begin to understand how to begin to work together to best serve disabled people and sex workers, I needed to be the escort in the wheelchair who showed up and raised my voice.
In addition, the author’s viewpoint on the concept of “both/and”, which calls attention to how not only racism, not only sexism, and not only additional “simultaneity of oppressions”, but the interplay of all forms of identity, shape how Black women are perceived by and interact with the world around them, I feel is fundamental as well to understanding why social movements must work beyond single interests to truly benefit the lives of real people (Burnham 3, 6). For example, the role of class in the oppression of Black women stems not only from the systemic poverty of Black Americans, but also the devaluation of domestic and care roles traditionally undertaken as “women’s work”. The breadth of my perspective and appreciation for the intersection and interaction of oppressions grows with each passing day I spend in my disabled, neurodivergent, transgender body. The overlap of neurodivergence and transness leads to others believing my gender identity is a result of the traumas I’ve faced. Neurodivergence and chronic pain makes the emergency room staff label me as a drug-seeker. Disability and transness leads to more risky hormone therapy, the ever-present risks of low bone density and fatal blood clots looming overhead. This makes me seek awareness of what those of other overlapping identities are facing and how I might be able to use my own privileges to aid in alleviating their struggles.
Furthermore, Burnham’s further extrapolation upon these ideas to highlight the influence of capitalism on colonialism and neo-colonialism and its global impact on women of color, namely in developing nations, brought to mind for me a discussion in my Disability in US Society course text Keywords for Disability Studies. In the book’s second chapter, titled Disability, authors Rachel Adams, Benjamin Reiss, and David Serlin challenge the assumption that disability is a static category across cultures. The predominant rhetoric on disability is distinctly Euro-American and attempts to apply industrialized Western thought to disability issues throughout the world, while liberal Western philosophies and political stances regarding “independence” and “autonomy” are, according to another disabilities author Dr. Emily Nussbaum, “not universally desirable goals in all cultural contexts” (qtd. in Adams et al 10). An example supporting this idea includes the employment of personal assistants for disabled individuals in the United States and Europe, an industry which disproportionately employs immigrant women and relies on the devaluation of care roles to increase affordability. Additionally, the universal design movement which focuses on providing disabled people with vital tools to remove environmental barriers, though vastly improving the lives of impaired individuals in the West, relies on technologies manufactured by workers in developing nations who may actually become disabled themselves due to the harsh working conditions under which these technologies are assembled (Adams et al 9-10).
Resources
Adams, Rachel. Reiss, Benjamin. Serlin, David. “Disability”. Keywords for Disability
Studies. NYU Press, 2015, p 9-10. JSTOR.org. JSTOR, 03 Nov 2017, p 6-7.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15nmhws.4. Accessed 21 January 2018.
Burnham, Linda. “The Wellspring of Black Feminist Theory”. Working Paper Series,No. 1. Women of Color Resource Center, 2001, p 2-8.
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