#womanist literature

[cocofetti]

If there are any feminist in the Tumblr house that can lead me to some fine feminist and/or womanist literature in which to further enrich/poison myself with, please recommend them this way! Does not have to be new either. I'm down for a classic from a cave tablet if it will give me some knowledge. Please and thank you in advance. 🫶🏾😚🤗

[perfectlyripeclementine]

Womanist: Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.

(Alice Walker, In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens, Womanist Prose.)

[liminalgoddessworld]

bell hooks wrote: "One of the tragic ironies of contemporary Black life is that individuals succeed in acquiring material privilege often by sacrificing their positive connection to black culture and black experience."

The irony is that in striving for material success, often touted as "freedom," Black people often adopt the same values and behaviors of the systems that historically marginalized and exploited Black people, leading to a loss of cultural identity and integrity.

Could the so-called Black diamonds, the clever Blacks, the Black elite, the ones who can't relate to or identify with Blackness, the ones who don't think Blackness is a thing, the ones who will give us pause in the freedom trenches - could they have done it differently? Was a different outcome possible? Do/did they have a choice?

I think they do/did.

But.

Awareness.

It would have called for an awareness of the worth of what they possessed...

But thanks to the supremacy of white hegemony...

...or do I mean the hegemony of white supremacy...

[facelesspassport]

Day 10 of sharing excerpts from Why Does he DO That? by Lundy Bancroft Today I realized that I never set a goal for how many days I would do this? I just said that I would and started counting the days. Now that I am on day 10 I am getting a bit tired of having to stay consistent, but I want to push myself to keep going. I never have any consistency and it's not good for me. This time I decided to share a screenshot of the pdf instead of typing it out. Just because typing it wouldn't have enhanced this passage in any way.

See you tomorrow.

[misespinas]

“Black women have on one hand always been highly visible, and so, on the other hand, have been rendered invisible through the depersonalisation of racism. Even within the women’s movement, we had to fight, and still do, for that very visibility which also renders us most vulnerable, our Blackness.

For to survive in the mouth of this dragon we call america, we have had to learn this first and most vital lesson — that we were never meant to survive. Not as human beings.”

Audre Lorde, “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” (1977)

[aesar-ah]

In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens- Alice Walker

[silverity]

i didn't hear about Alice Walker defending JK Rowling! she's a womanist/Black feminist who speaks so much on the unique Black female experience, which is often ignored and depreciated as Black women often are, so is it any wonder she questions the erasure of the female experience for all women? it's mad for anybody intimately familiar with her work to be surprised by this, madder still to construe this as "cis feminist ignorance" when this is so in keeping with everything she's been about.

for any fems unaware she received backlash from within the Black community after 'The Color Purple' film was made based on her novel, as it depicts Black male violence against Black women. Black men particularly accused her of being "anti-Black men". certainly she knows how important the discussion of sex, sexuality, sexual violence and exploitation is for feminism and isn't concerned about disrupting male supremacy.

i really love her for it & i'm sad Black folks, particularly Black women, are shutting her down instead of listening and considering her perspective. she is one of the Greats of Black literature and Black feminist thought, having coined the term womanism to mean Black feminism. it's insane to dismiss or even "cancel" an elder as great as she is.

[facelesspassport]

I hope you don't mind if I make my own:

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

a Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

the Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman That's all I have so far. If anyone has more ideas please add to this list!

honorable mention: Why Does He DO That? by Lundy Bancroft

i should make this but just for girls who are insane

[droids-in-disguise]

Good Omens 2 making me think a lot about religion and religious deconstruction.

For context, I grew up Baptist, went to Catholic school for jr. high, and attended a private Christian school for my undergrad.

I grew up being told that the Bible was the ultimate source of truth, that is was the guidebook for our lives as Christians, and that, most importantly it should be taken literally.

I started wrestling with the concept of queerness when I was in jr. high. By then I had joined tumblr and had a best friend who was openly pan. But it was still a problem, because my church's reading of the Bible was that being gay was a sin. I existed very much in that "hate the sin, love the sinner" space that so many Christians seem to think is the appropriate answer. I also realized that despite being told that my church was doing Christianity the "right" way, these Catholics seemed to be just as sure in their conviction that they were doing it the right way.

In high school, I could sometimes privately admit to myself that the label "asexual" felt good, but more often than not I would lie to myself and say I was just too busy with grades and extracurricular activities to commit time to dating boys. I certainly never came out to anyone.

Ironically, it was the theology classes I took in college combined with the freedom of living away from my parents that helped me to finally realize that the Church as I knew it did not have the final say.

I learned that Biblical canon was not always set in stone and that it varies from denomination, that Hebrew and Greek words can have more than one translation or even no direct translation in English, I learned about liberation theology, and about womanist/feminist interpretations of scripture. Outside of theology class I took classes focused on Islamic history and literature. I had conversations about faith with my Muslim, Jewish, and Pagan peers. I met queer people who were both queer and Christian and who didn't see these identities as conflicting.

I had an old, hardass British lit professor who said something once during our study of Paradise Lost that I'll never forget, and that was that he believed God was like a diamond or some other precious gemstone, and that that all the different groups of Christians, Jews, and Muslims were all just seeing different facets of the same thing. Apparently this statement was something he had once told university higher-ups and it nearly cost him his job.

Despite all the deconstruction and the private acknowledgement that the church I grew up in did not have a monopoly on truth, I still went to church for years after. I did have the good sense to stop going to my parents' church and found one that was much more progressive and openly accepting of queer people, but even still it was hard to separate how much of me was there because I wanted to be there and how much was out of obligation or some sense of needing to reclaim my now tarnished view of the Church. I'm not sure where I sit now, only that I don't think I can be the one to create change from within, I am too damaged and tired for that.

All of this is why I think I relate so deeply to Aziraphale and the journey his character has undertaken, and why claims that he behaved out-of-character in the finale or that his coffee was drugged irritate me so much, because in another universe where I'm Aziraphale, I could see myself doing and saying the exact same things.

Letting go is hard, it's been painful and traumatic for me, I can't imagine what it would be for a being like Aziraphale with a much longer history.

There's such a strong desire to believe that it's only some of the Church that's bad and that if we have enough good people on the inside we can change it for the better.

Aziraphale has been hurt by Heaven and he's realized that Heaven is just as capable of doing bad as Hell (in many ways what Heaven does is more sinister because they won't admit to the bad and hide behind the façade of goodness and moral superiority), but he's a people pleaser and he's been an angel for so long, he can't just let go of his community and everything he has ever known no matter how poorly he has been treated by said Heavenly community. So then he gets this offer, work for Heaven, be in charge, make a difference. He can keep Heaven and Crowley, have his cake and eat it too. Of course he takes the job.

Crowley has had the outsider perspective for longer, he was the first to start asking questions. Perhaps there was a time when he too would've said yes to the Metatron, but now he knows better.

"We don't need Heaven, we don't need Hell. They're toxic!"

Aziraphale hasn't reached the same level of understanding that Crowley has, that no matter how many times he goes crawling back, Heaven will never truly accept him or be the place for him.

They way this story has been told over the past two seasons has been magnificent. Just as I can pinpoint all the different moments in my life that have helped to unravel what I thought I knew, we as the audience get to watch Aziraphale have these revelations too. In the first season we have the ineffable plan and this idea that armageddon is necessary and that Aziraphale shouldn't be the one to question it, but he does question it because he loves humanity, sees their goodness, and can't understand why a good God would allow them to be destroyed.

In season two, I found the bits surrounding Job to be especially poignant. First the shock that Heaven would condone the killing of children, then the realization that Crowley wouldn't kill the children or the goats going against his demonic "nature" proving Aziraphale's assumptions wrong, and finally the fear that lying would make him into a demon and the surprise when this turned out not to be true.

I have a feeling that by the end of season 3, when we get it, we will have the satisfaction of seeing Aziraphale and Crowley finally on the same page and I for one can't wait.

[cigaretteliker]

im going to delete this in a second but like it sucks for the field in general that the only way i can criticize theology is to not be a theologian. ig im going to get my doctorate in feminist literature and then continue doing theology (i see a lot of crossover scholarship and its sooooo good) bc all the white theologians hate me and want me to die, a fact i know to be true bc when i presented this research over the summer i had one singular white woman scholar come up and say "oh it was weird that you used he/him pronouns for god" and then prison chaplains, womanist theologians, indigenous theologians, puerto rican liberation theologians, all sought me out after the conference to tell me they 100% got what i was saying and i should keep doing it. this place is a fucking disaster lol

edit: opened twitter after posting this and this was the first thing on my feed LMAOOOOO

[eesirachs]

i know it's a slim chance considering your specializations but do u happen to know anything abt ecological theology?

Cynthis Moe-Lobeda, “A Theology of the Cross for the ‘Uncreators’” in Cross Examinations; Melanie L. Harris, Ecowomanism: African American Women and Earth Honoring Faiths; Rosemary Radford Ruether, “Toward an Ecological-Feminist Theology of Nature,”; Elizabeth Johnson, Ask the Beasts; Bakken, Peter Joan Gibb Engel and J. Ronald Engel. Ecology, Justice and Christian Faith: A Critical Guide to the Literature; Hessel, Dieter T. and Rosemary Radford Ruether, eds. Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans; McFague, Sallie. The Body of God: An Ecological Theology; Keller, Catherine. Apocalypse Now and Then: A Feminist Guide to the End of the World; Isasi-Diaz, Ada Maria. En La Lucha: Elaborating a Mujerista Theology; Baker-Fletcher, Karen and Garth Baker-Fletcher. KASIMU: My Sister, My Brother: Womanist and Xodus God-Talk.

radford reuther, mcfague, harris. womanist eco-theology and mujerista eco-theology. these are all sites you should start at. indigenous wisdom, too. the above sources are from an introductory class i took in my masters program, but i think they are all very accessible!

[cocofetti]

There is no way for me to read a Bell Hooks book and just take out one good quote. I just wanna take a highlighter and color the whole damn book! Almost every sentence and thought from that woman is an automatic banger in the quotes for life living category!!

[a-gay-a-day]

Alice Walker

Alice Walker is a novelist best known for her work the Color Purple. As a child, she was blinded by a BB gun in one eye, and after that incident she began to write in earnest. Her writing primarily centers around African American issues, and she is well known for her work within black feminist circles.

Alice walker coined the term womanist, which she uses to describe black feminists, saying that it gives black women a word of their own to use when discussing the intersection between their race and gender. She has spoken out in defense of Julian Assange, supported boycotts against Israel, and spoken out against apartheid.

She has also been vocal in her position against transgender people, and has explicitly supported J.K. Rowling online. In an essay she wrote, she states that the use of the word "guy" for both men and women confuses children and that the "miracle" of the human body should not be tampered with. She has also been very antisemitic, supporting conspiracy theories against Jewish people, and the anti-defamation league has condemned her as "infected with antisemitism." She has also been called Antisemitic by Jewish friends and her own writing backs up this claim. She has dismissed these criticisms as an attempt to shut down her website.

To end on a queer note, she had relationships with both men and women. It is a bit of a shame that despite the impact she had on feminism and african-american literature, she decided that her bigotry was more important than her work, and therefore it saturated her online legacy so completely that it was easier to find antisemitic quotes from her than it was for me to find quotes about her own writing.

[apatosaurus]

I just finished reading Ecowomanism at the Panama Canal: Black Women, Labor, and Environmental Ethics by Sofía Betancourt.

This is an academic book in the field of religious ethics. It builds on foundations of environmental knowing and ethical praxis passed down through the women working in the Canal Zone during the periods during and just after construction, and on ecological, feminist, womanist, and ecowomanist literature published more recently.

While I’m familiar with Katie G. Cannon’s Black Womanist Ethics, and with Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens, and Sharon Welch’s A Feminist Ethic of Risk, the gaps in my knowledge in this field were very apparent to me as I read. I definitely have more homework to do. Nevertheless, I was able to glean enough from my limited understanding to be excited by the implications of this work. The author makes a compelling case for “both the utility and urgency of emerging ecowomanist responses to environmental devastation.” We need ways of making meaning, collective action, accountability, and relationships with the earth that are not formed by and for colonization. Our ways of knowing and acting have to respect the wisdom and experience of people whose relationships with the earth are impacted by terror and forced migration. We need ways of understanding that move us to act differently and to structure society differently as we face even greater environmental devastation.

The author is a classmate from my first Master’s degree, back at the turn of the century, and a colleague since then. She is currently running for President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, a campaign I ardently support. If you are an academic or a theologian or a big fan of womanist ethics, see if you can get your hands on a copy.

[thisbookisbanned]

March is Women’s History Month, and what better way to commemorate it than with a deep reading of The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The Color Purple is simultaneously one of the most acclaimed and most banned books in the United States. Among other accolades, it won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983, and made Alice Walker the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. Yet, it consistently remains among the most frequently banned books since its debut in 1982.

As important as all that is, The Color Purple's true significance lies in the work’s movement-defining history. Describing The Color Purple as a Womanist work is like saying the Iliad is a heroic poem. It isn’t just an example – it’s the defining text of the movement that emerged when Alice Walker coined the term “Womanism.” What is Womanism? If you aren't already familiar with what it means, find out here:

[gbpflag]

Love your LGBTQ+ Kids: Black LGBTQ+ Icons

Since Feb 14 is Valentine’s Day, this month we’re looking at ways to #LoveYourLGBTKids! February is also Black History Month. One of the best ways you can support your LGBT kids is to become educated on LGBT history. In this thread, we want to highlight a handful of Black LGBT icons throughout history.

Possibly the most well known icon is Marsha P. Johnson. Johnson was an American activist between the 1960s and 1990s, being one the most influential and prominent members in the Stonewall Riot Uprising in 1969. Her and her close confidant Sylvia Rivera started Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), making a name in New York City for trans representation.

Stormé DeLarverie is another LGBT icon who would also influence Stonewall. Born in New Orleans, DeLarverie would be later identified as the butch lesbian whose scuttle with police would ignite the Stonewall Riots to happen. She is remembered as an LGBT icon and entertainer.

Known for his writing as activism and healing, James Baldwin remains one the greatest American authors of the last century. His publications “Notes of a Native Son” and Giovanni’s Room remain staples in the LGBT literature canon. Baldwin connected Blackness and queerness in beautifully written prose and served as a literary activist.

In a similar vein, Audre Lorde, another American author and activist, wrote about this intersection as well. She is known for her books Sister Outsider and Zami as well as poetry. Lorde self-described as “Black, lesbian, feminist, mother, poet, [and] warrior.” Her works are mostly circulated within feminist, womanist, and critical race studies spheres.

Although only four Black queer icons are listed here, there are so many both known and unknown. Whether they be actresses like Laverne Cox or MJ Rodriquez or politicians like Ritchie Torres, Black queer folks have always been here. Black history does not end when February does..