The theoretical framework that the researcher uses to ground the research and perspective of the study is Black Feminist thought with a specific interest in Womanist theory to examine and analyze typical, gender, class, and racial biases that could be associated with Black Feminist Thought. Womanism was selected as the theoretical framework because it is grounded in social change, and allows for there to be an equal treatment of race, class, gender, and other sights of oppression within the research study. Womanism focus on community, ground level problem
solving, and the everyday experiences of the oppressed will allow the researcher to focus on the interpretation of feminist messages, based on their lived experiences (Walker, 1983).
Womanism is a theory that can explain the experiences of African American women in the context of self, in relationship to Black men, and within the community. Womanist scholars argue that much of African American women’s everyday experiences in the United States are
often over looked and considered commonplace (Philips, 2006). Whereas in fact, due to the historical experiences of chattel slavery, domestic servitude, and not having authority over their own bodies, African American women’s work in their communities and society has been highly
political. When scholars argue that African American women’s work was political, necessary, or nuclear to social movements and political struggles, these arguments validate African American women’s roles as American citizens (Harris-Perry, 2011).
The five overreaching tenants of Womanism are that the theory is anti-oppressionist, vernacular, non-ideological, communitarian, and spirituality (Phillips, 2006). Womanism is focused around the liberation of all people. These tenants recognize that the oppression experience under the lenses of gender, class, and race are not separate for women. That one’s
identity as Black or white, man or woman, poor elite, should not be given a hierarchy of
importance, because they are all experienced at the same time. For African American women, in the United States, there is an argument that one must choose which lens she identifies with. If she identifies first with being African American, then she is more concerned about the
advancement and liberation of her race, and not of her gender. In terms of intra racial
relationships, there has been the argument that sexism is a bourgeoisie experience. If a woman is poor, and has no resources, it is assumed that her oppression is class and not the intersection of race, class, and gender under capitalist patriarchy.
Black Feminist Thought is a social and political theory that stipulates that African American women’s experiences with both racial and gender oppression result in needs and problems that are distinct from white women and African American men, and that African American women must struggle for equality both as women and as African Americans (Sheftall, 1995). Womanism is a social change perspective rooted in African American women and other women of color’s everyday experiences and their everyday methods of problem solving in
everyday spaces. These everyday strategies of organizing are then extended to the problem of ending all forms of oppression of all people, restoring the balance between people and the natural environment and reconciling life with a spiritual dimension (Phillips, 2006). Unlike its less modern sisters of feminism and Black Feminism, it does not prefer a focus on gender or sexism, but rather attempts to elevate all sites and forms of oppression. These forms of oppression are typically socially addressed issues of race, gender, or class, on equal levels of importance.
Although, Black Feminist Thought is the larger theory that encompasses Womanism, there are some critical points of tension that allows for Womanism to be more inclusive. One of those tensions is the reliance on biology: to be Black and to be a woman. Although Sheftall argues that prolific Black men of the 20th century, like Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois, were Black feminists, the argument has weak footing given the specific social and political issues of their times. Another point of tension is what does Black Feminism does. Black Feminism is directly linked to freeing Black women from sites of oppression. The sites of oppression are multiple, including race, class, gender, sex, economic status. These sights of oppression require different tactics, for liberation, and often there is not a clear consensus on how to combat these issues. These tensions between who can be a Black Feminist and what can
be considered Black Feminism, made the author choose Womanism as a more inclusionary, practical theory.
In summary, Chapter One includes a brief introduction of the research interest as well as the implication of the research and the projection of how the research could impact and have significance within the African American community, specifically African American women as the target population. In Chapter Two, the researcher addresses notions of Black Feminist Thought and Womanist theories and the contemporary discussions around performance, gender, and sexuality. The discussion of past, and present discourses on African American women and how they live their lives and the impact that has, speaks directly to the nature of the study and the impact of feminist or womanist performances on the millennial generation. In Chapter Three there is a discussion of the means, modes, and methods that are used to collect rich, and useful qualitative data. In Chapter Four, I will discuss findings and the codes that were used to
transcribe the data. In Chapter Five, I will conclude findings, limitations, areas of opportunity, in addition to where the findings of the study fall in the current body of literature.
2 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW