UNTANGLING the F WORD The rich and complex history of Fe m i n i s m Who is Your Mother Red Roots of White Feminism 1986 Dr Paula Gunn Allen Key Terms Mother Motherhoo d Identity Colonialism Context and Matrix Gynarchy Allen makes the argument that the primary tenets of feminism equality presence of women in government autonomy etc did not originate in the 1800s with the fight for Women s Suffrage According to the author feminism and these elements of social equity were present in pre colonial Native American societies The feminist idea of power as it ideally accrues to women stems from tribal sources 23 The Author s Claim Allen claims that Western society advocates forgetting history and tradition American history omits the traditional Indians view 19 Conclusively Allen argues that were American society to embrace the red roots of its history many of the social issues that are experienced would be ameliorated Gynarchy was present in many pre colonial Native Societies During the ages when tribal societies existed in the Americas untouched by patriarchal oppression they developed elaborate systems of thought that included science philosophy and government based on the belief in the central importance of female energies autonomy of individuals cooperation human dignity human freedom and egalitarian distribution of status goods and services Gynarchy was the norm rather than the exception 19 If American society judiciously modeled the traditions of the various Native Nations the place of women in society would become CENTRAL the distribution of goods and power would be egalitarian the elderly would be respected as a primary cultural resource the ideals of physical beauty would be considerably enlarged to include others who in contemporary American culture are viewed as ugly The destruction of the planet would be curtailed and If pacifist models were emulated war would cease to be a major method of human problem solving 19 Allen illustrates that the Indian Matron was the source of inspiration to the French philosopher Montaigne Karl Marx and the radical communities of Europe and America 23 An exemplary Matron Allen reasons is Sacagawea The author maintains that the gynarchic Matron societies are the way to achieve the social equity that feminists desire The source of just government of right ordering of social relationships the dream of liberty and justice for all can be gained by following the Indian Matrons guidance 24 Important Figures Susan B Anthony Elizabeth Cady Stanton Alice Paul Images Iron Jawed Angels Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Seneca Key Terms Falls 1848 Suffrage Abolition Moral superiority Inalienable right Modeled after the Declaration of Independence the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions addresses the U S government and the gender social and economic disparity The document addressed topics such as marriage obedience to one s husband property employment education Church and self respect The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman having an absolute tyranny over her Resolved that woman is man s equal A BLACK FEMINIST STATEMEN T Combahee River Collective 1977 We are actively committed to struggling against racial sexual heterosexual and class oppression and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking As Black women we see Black feminism as the logical political movement to combat the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face This document serves as the basis of intersectionality It addresses the historical racism that exists in the feminist movement It identifies the need for inclusivity It expands on the idea that the personal is political Key Words Oppression Identity Autonomy Liberation Revolutionary If Black women were free it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression Being on the bottom we would have to do what no one else has done we would have to fight the world Multiracial Feminism Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism Becky Thompson 2002 Pays homage to the Combahee River Collective and the Black Feminist Statement Challenges feminism s racist past Thompson challenges the notion the women of color emerged as members of the Feminist movement during the Second Wave Offers retelling of feminist history as a solution to progress Key words Hegemony Marginalize Analysis Centrality Interlocking Coalition If the only issues that feminists deem political are those they have experience personally their frame of reference is destined to be narrowly defined by their own experience Multiracial feminism is the heart of an inclusive women s liberation struggle Young women should know the rich complicated contentious and visionary history of multiracial feminism Radical Heterosexuality 1992 Naomi Wolf What it is Radical heterosexuality demands substituting choice for dependency What to do Radical heterosexuals must try to stay conscious Radical heterosexual women too must give up gender benefits Key Terms Radical Gender Sexism Privilege Hierarchy THIS IS NOT WHAT WOLF MEANS You can hate sexism and love men That s radical heterosexuality The Brown Girl s Guide to Labels The Problem Subramanian felt compelled to pick a label She could not identify with the people in the white washed suburban community She could not identify with the labels present in a contingent of South Asian Americans White girls were sexy Bespectacled Indian girls who took AP physics and ran for president of the debate team were not The Big F The words feminist and feminism reverberated throughout all the stages of the author s life but she could not identify as feminist Key Words Ethnic Identities Desi Postmodern Feminist m Positionality Finding a Feminism that Fits Why wear a short skirt The Solution Subramanian found a feminist with whom she could relate Chandra Mohanty Mohanty called herself a third world feminist Western feminists fought for the right to work while third world feminists acknowledged that women did most of the world s work I had discovered a strand of feminism that resonated with me and didn t require me to compromise myself or my past or my future Being able to see herself and her aunts mother and grandmother in the ideology and activism of Third World Feminism allowed