African Feminists? Present!

A difficult aspect of trying to be a feminist is that Black feminists in the U.S. often overshadow other types of feminists. It seems that Third World women and women of color who are interested in women's liberation through feminism are only heard if they are from Asia or Latin America. Africa, however, is largely excluded from most discussions around feminism, which I find both racist and disturbing. This exclusion reflects an incomplete understanding of feminism, especially considering that Africa is the second-largest continent and the important work being done there is often overlooked.

I wanted to attend sessions on feminism, but when I look at the lineup and see only Asian—especially South Asian—women dominating these discussions, alongside white women, and occasionally women from Latin America and the Caribbean, I am at a loss. Where are the African feminists? But then, when I read the work and scholarship of African feminists, they always focus on themselves, positioning their experiences in comparison to Western feminists. I live in the West, where feminism is thriving, yet they seem to ignore most feminists in the West who are not white. They go on about how white notions of feminism don’t apply to them, yet so many completely disregard the work of U.S. Black feminists, Indigenous feminists from the Western Hemisphere, and essentially anyone who is not white claiming the feminist label—even as they argue their gender practices don’t fit into a Western model.

Well, guess what? A lot of communities in the West do not fit into the white feminist trope. I keep buying and skimming books on African feminism, only to be disappointed because there's a complete disconnect from the work of Black feminists, at least in the literature I've been scanning. But then, when I look at the work of Black feminists, there's a complete disconnect from the work of African feminists. Perhaps I'm just reading the wrong people, or I'm in the wrong circle. If anyone could direct me to someone who does this kind of work and does it well, I'd be more than happy. I would be super happy. I'm just frustrated at this point.