TransGriot Note: This is a post I've written for Global Comment.In the days since I wrote a post about finally claiming the womanist label and the warm welcome I've received since, I've had some of my white transsisters express movement envy and surprise that we transwomen of color would be embraced by our cisgender sisters of color.
Some of them have read about the principles of womanism, see the night and day comparisons and contrasts between it and feminism and asked if they can join the womanist ranks.
The answer I've heard from other womanists is no, and not for exclusionary reasons.
Womanism started because of profound disagreements between Black and white feminists over the shabby treatment of Black women inside and outside the feminist movement, the unacknowledged class privilege, and alarm over the transphobia being expressed by radical feminists. There's also no love lost between some radical feminists and womanists as well on a wide variety of issues besides their hatred of transpeople.
While I emphatize with my white transsisters, womanism evolved because feminism became so narrowly defined, was blind to the ways that it ignored race and reinforced privilege, and became so toxically hostile to anyone who pointed out the obvious shortcomings that people left or disassociated themselves from it.Just as you have conversations with various groups that we WOC aren't privy to that fall under the 'family business' label, there are conversations that womanists need to have as we explore the role of transwomen within the movement that fall under the same header.
The point I'm making is that you already have multiple social justice movements geared toward white people. Womanism is a FUBU production that we treasure and need to cultivate due to the constant infusion of fresh ideas that continue to fuel its growth and stimulate discussion on various topics.
Read the rest of the post at Global Comment.
