Feminisms and Womanisms

Book excerpt: This book brings together theory and praxis, so that feminist discourse interacts as a partner with the lived experience of women's social action. The selections combine classics in feminist thought with work from modern theorists and offer a solid foundation in international feminism. The conceptual understanding embedded in the terms 'feminism' and 'womanism' contributes to feminist discourse, a carefully differentiated focus on the ideological uses of language to define relationships that have been historically mired in domination. The terms also define the way gender often has been used to signify and support domination. Given that feminism and womanism are interpretative concepts, there is always a sense that knowledge-making is in progress; for there is nothing static or stagnant about feminism, feminist theory, and feminist action. The formative nature of the feminist movement has, of necessity, a parallel interpretative theory. This Reader embraces both the formative nature of the movement and the accompanying interpretative theories.It also pays attention to the chronological, cultural, geo-political, racial, and ethnic landscapes and sites where women live, carry out social action, and theorise issues of equality. For both the general and the academic reader, this book will be edifying while providing exposure to the feminist and womanist voices that inform the scholarship.