Identity politics can be defined as a means of knowing and an understanding of one's own identity that takes in to consideration both personal experience as well as the experiences of those in history to help form a group of like-minded individuals who seek change in the political framework of society.[1] It also can be defined as a rejection of oppressive measures taken against their group, especially in terms of political injustice. [1]
Black feminist writer Patricia Hill Collins believes that this 'outsider within' seclusion suffered by black women was created through the domestic sphere, where black women were seen to be considered separate from the perceived white elite who claimed their dominance over them.[2] They also felt a disconnect between the black men's suffering and oppression.[2] As a result of white women taking to account their race and class and thereby excluding black women from such discourse, black feminists took to their groups to express their own experiences of marginalization and empower black consciousness in society.[2] Also, due to the diverse experiences of black women, it is imperative to Collins to speak for and of personal accounts of black women's oppression. [2]
Identity Politics have often implemented race, class, and gender as isolated categories as a means of excluding those who aren't perceived as part of the dominant group.[3] These constructed biases formed from race, class, and gender are what feminist Kimberle Crenshaw believes need to be used not as a means of degradation but as a form of empowerment and self-worth.[3] Ignoring these differences only creates more of a divide between social movements and other feminist groups, especially in the case of violence against women where the caliber of violence is correlated with components such as race and class. [3]
These exclusionary measures allow black women to look inwards and implement this separation from group identities and goals as a means of discovering personal self-esteem. [4] In a way, identity politics serves as a cultural politics that promotes self-empowerment as a way of forming collective identities and groups that support them. [4] According to writer Jeffrey A. Tucker, "attacks on identity politics...are attacks on the conceptual tools that raced groups, women, and sexual minorities have used to recognize and organize themselves in order to critique, to speak back to a centered subjectivity that does not need an 'identity politics' because they have not had an identity imposed upon them."[5] It provides a forum of self-expression and a place of comfort to those who feel displaced in an oppressive society. [5]
Another issue of identity politics is the conflict of group formations and safe spaces for black women.[1] In the 1970s, increased literacy among black women promoted writing and scholarship as an outlet for feminist discourse where they could have their voices heard.[1] As a result, black women sought solace in safe spaces that gave them the freedom to discuss issues of oppression and segregation that ultimately promoted unity as well as a means of achieving social justice. [1]
Patricia Hill Collins considers three safe spaces as essential for black feminist movements to create an environment that advocates for "diversity within commonality." [6] The primary safe space resides within the friendships of black women who are able to express themselves and free from the hegemonic constrictions that usually suppress them. [6]This can be achieved through interactions with loved ones, church groups, and mentoring programs that promote a cohesive and judgment free environment.[6] The last two serve as outlets of personal expression through music such as the blues and through authorship. These mediums give a voice to those who have had their voices ignored or silenced and offer an alliance with those who identify with the plight of the artist or author.[6] As a result, these safe spaces provide not only a material but a discursive outlet where women can use food, oral tradition,and other rituals to create this sense of community for black women.[7]
As the notion of color-blindness advocated for a desegregation in institutions, black women faced new issues of identity politics and looked for a new safe space to express their concerns.[1] This was met with a lot of contention as people saw these black female groups as exclusive and separatist.[1] Dominant groups especially in involved in the political sphere found these safe spaces a threat because they were away from the public eye and are therefore unable to be watched and checked upon by the higher and more powerful political groups. [1]
The Combahee River Collective, a black feminist lesbian organization, expressed this concern and promoted a growth in the black feminist political identity politics.[8] They asserted that "there is also undeniably a personal genesis for Black Feminism, that is, the political realization that comes from the seemingly personal experiences of individual Black women's lives. Black feminists and many more Black women who do not define themselves as feminists have all experienced sexual oppression as a constant factor in our day-to-day existence. As children we realized that we were different from boys and that we were treated differently. For example, we were told in the same breath to be quiet both for the sake of being 'ladylike' and to make us less objectionable in the eyes of white people. As we grew older we became aware of the threat of physical and sexual abuse by men. However, we had no way of conceptualizing what was so apparent to us, what we knew was really happening."[8] Through identity politics black women have come together to call to attention the multiple forms of oppression they face and highlighting the issue that the person is political.[8] However, due to the inability for everyone to identify with one certain feminist stance and the lack of a clear political focal approach, The Combahee River Collective decided to become a study group that shared feminist writing that demonstrates the power of writing to develop a clear voice against oppression.[8]
Despite the growth in feminist discourse regarding black identity politics, some disagree with the black feminist identity politics movement.[5] Some black novelists such as Kwame Anthony Appiah uphold the notion of color-blindness and dismiss identity politics as a proper means of achieving social justice.[5] To him, identity politics is an exclusionary device implemented in black culture and history such as hip hop and jazz that limit outsider comprehension and access.[5] He also dismisses any biological difference between colored individuals, thereby finding the concept race a culturally ascribed term.[5] However, Jeffery A. Tucker believes that identity politics serves as a foundation where such color-blindness can finally be achieved in the long run if implemented and understood within society.[5] It can be the beginning of the black feminist movement's growth and hope for change. [5]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Collins, Patricia Hill (2000). Black Feminist Thought (Second ed.). New York, New York: Routledge. p. 299. ISBN 0-415-92483-9.
- ^ a b c d Lloyd, Moya (2005). Beyond Identity Politics: Feminism, Power, and Politics. London: Sage Publications. pp. 61–69. ISBN 0 8039 7885 5.
- ^ a b c Crenshaw, Kimberle (July 1991). "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color". Stanford Law Review. 43 (6): 1241–1299.
- ^ a b Hayes, Cressida (2016). "Identity Politics". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Metaphysics Research Lab.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Tucker, Jeffrey (2004). A Sense of Wonder: Samuel R. Delany, Race, Identity, and Difference. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. p. 8.
- ^ a b c d Allan, Kenneth (2014). The Social Lens: An Invitation to Social and Sociological Theory. USA: SAGE Publications. pp. 545–546. ISBN 978-1-4129-9278-7.
- ^ Griffin, Farah (1995). "Who Set You Flowin'?": The African-American Migration Narrative. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 111.
- ^ a b c d "The Combahee River Collective Statement". circuitous.org. Retrieved 2016-04-11.