“Feminism is the political theory and practice that struggles to free all women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, disabled women, Jewish women, lesbians, old women–as well as white, economically privileged heterosexual women. Anything less than this vision of total freedom is not feminism, but merely female self-aggrandizement.”
–Barbara Smith, “Racism and Women’s Studies,” 1979 (text is available at JSTOR; unfortunately, it’s subscription-only)
Wonderful quote. I’ve read it before, but I love it.
Also, thanks to this I have JUST REALIZED that I have access to JSTOR through my school. WOOOOOO.
.-= Dorian´s last blog ..Camp review- A Little Bit of Good and a WHOLE LOT that’s not. =-.
Well said!
(Psst, Dorian: JSTOR is a great resource, v. v. v. helpful for all manner of assignments.)
.-= Chally´s last blog ..Limits =-.
Whenever I tell my mom (who was a women studies professor and general all-around ass-kicking feminist when I was growing up – 70s and 80s) about all of the fighting in online feminist communities about intersections and such – she just shakes her head and is all “I thought we worked through all of that years ago! I can’t believe people still aren’t getting it!”
.-= Rosemary´s last blog ..2009 Fall TV =-.
I love this whole piece, it really impacted a lot of my thinking on feminism.