Ideologies
Womanism has various definitions and interpretations. At its broadest definition, it is a universalist
ideology for all women, regardless of color. A womanist is committed to "the survival and wholeness of
an entire people, male and female". Walker's much cited phrase, "womanist is to feminist as purple is to
lavender" suggests that Walker considers feminism as a component of the wider ideological umbrella of
womanism. It focuses on the unique experiences, struggles, needs, and desires of not just Black women,
but all women of color in addition to critically addressing the dynamics of the conflict between the
mainstream feminist, the Black feminist, the African feminist, and the Africana womanist movement.[12]
However, …show more content…
With the lives of black
women and sexism within society at large and within black society in particular at the core of her entire
work, her literary and theoretical writings are obviously two sides of the same coin. Very passionate
about her case, but unable to identify with mainstream (predominantly white) feminism she has opted
for an explicitly different black feminism, which she calls Womanism
This paper explores both the theoretical and the practical side of Walker’s Womanism. As an
introduction to the theoretical part, first, some attention will be devoted to Walker’s life and work as well
as to her position in Afro-American literature. Secondly, I will turn to the theoretical side explicitly.
After a concise section on black feminism in general, Walker’s own definition of the concept Womanism
will be analyzed in detail.
To conclude the theoretical part, the essays she collected in Search of Our Mothers’ Garden sand which
she labelled “womanism prose” will be looked at in the light of this definition. In the practical part then,
her 1989 novel “The Temple of My Familiar” is analyzed, with specific attention to the ways in which …show more content…
To wrap up, a conclusion is offered.
Walker spearheaded an unsparing but necessary critique of many black men’s embrace of white
patriarchal ideology and its ill effects. This represented a radical shift from interracial protest embodied
in enshrined “canonical” African American literature––read black men’s literature; think here of
Richard Wright’s landmark Native Son (1940) and Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece Invisible Man (1952)––to
interracial conflict within the domestic realm, specifically emphasizing black women’s oppression in what
was, presumably, their “safe” space, the home place.
She is a staunch defender of both human rights, and of rights of all living beings. She is one of the
world’s most prolific writers, and travels the world to stand on the side of the poor, and the
economically, spiritually and politically oppressed. She also stands, however, on the side of the
revolutionaries, teachers and leaders whom she believes, seeks change and transformation of the
Womanism has various definitions and interpretations. At its broadest definition, it is a universalist
ideology for all women, regardless of color. A womanist is committed to "the survival and wholeness of
an entire people, male and female". Walker's much cited phrase, "womanist is to feminist as purple is to
lavender" suggests that Walker considers feminism as a component of the wider ideological umbrella of
womanism. It focuses on the unique experiences, struggles, needs, and desires of not just Black women,
but all women of color in addition to critically addressing the dynamics of the conflict between the
mainstream feminist, the Black feminist, the African feminist, and the Africana womanist movement.[12]
However, …show more content…
With the lives of black
women and sexism within society at large and within black society in particular at the core of her entire
work, her literary and theoretical writings are obviously two sides of the same coin. Very passionate
about her case, but unable to identify with mainstream (predominantly white) feminism she has opted
for an explicitly different black feminism, which she calls Womanism
This paper explores both the theoretical and the practical side of Walker’s Womanism. As an
introduction to the theoretical part, first, some attention will be devoted to Walker’s life and work as well
as to her position in Afro-American literature. Secondly, I will turn to the theoretical side explicitly.
After a concise section on black feminism in general, Walker’s own definition of the concept Womanism
will be analyzed in detail.
To conclude the theoretical part, the essays she collected in Search of Our Mothers’ Garden sand which
she labelled “womanism prose” will be looked at in the light of this definition. In the practical part then,
her 1989 novel “The Temple of My Familiar” is analyzed, with specific attention to the ways in which …show more content…
To wrap up, a conclusion is offered.
Walker spearheaded an unsparing but necessary critique of many black men’s embrace of white
patriarchal ideology and its ill effects. This represented a radical shift from interracial protest embodied
in enshrined “canonical” African American literature––read black men’s literature; think here of
Richard Wright’s landmark Native Son (1940) and Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece Invisible Man (1952)––to
interracial conflict within the domestic realm, specifically emphasizing black women’s oppression in what
was, presumably, their “safe” space, the home place.
She is a staunch defender of both human rights, and of rights of all living beings. She is one of the
world’s most prolific writers, and travels the world to stand on the side of the poor, and the
economically, spiritually and politically oppressed. She also stands, however, on the side of the
revolutionaries, teachers and leaders whom she believes, seeks change and transformation of the