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42
Palabres, Revue d’Etudes Africaines, Vol. III, n°1, 2000.
African Versions of Feminism
The best known alternative concept to feminism is Alice Walker's womanism. It is
interesting that the African American woman writer has no problem with feminism as
such. As for her
[F]eminism is the political theory that struggles to free all women; women of colour,
working-class women, poor women, disabled women, lesbians, old women - as well as
white, economically privileged, heterosexual women. Anything less than this vision of
total freedom is not feminism, but merely female self-aggrandizement. 28
Nevertheless, Walker holds that it is necessary to constitute a specific concept that
focuses on black women’s identity and commitment to gender issues. This is how she
came to conceptualize womanism, which «is to feminist as purple to lavender» 29 . I
disagree with Kolawole who argues that «[t]his distinction is not a sharp one and one
could easily confuse the two colours.» 30 This allegory rather indicates that Walker
assumes a common foundation and framework for feminism and womanism, but sees
important differences in the concrete interior design and the facades of both concepts.
The nature of the contrast between the colors she has chosen indicates at least two
differences which, according to Walker, exist between feminism and womanism. Just
as purple is much more vivid than lavender, womanism is more promising and
effective than feminism, because it is designed much more broadly. Thus, the core
statement of her definition is: A womanist is «[c]ommitted to survival and wholeness
of entire people, male and female» 31 . This statement implies that womanists are
concerned not only with the overcoming of sexist discrimination, but also with
discrimination based on people’s racial or socio-economic identity. Since this
approach also underlies Marxist and postmodernist feminism, the only difference
between feminism and womanism is ultimately that Walker contrasts the pale lavender
with the much darker purple: While Walker understands feminism as a white women’s
movement, a representative of womanism is a «black feminist or feminist of color» 32 .
By excluding white women, she contradicts her assertion that womanists are not
separatists. 33 Chiefly, however, Walker’s definition of womanism is separatist because
only women are spoken of here; it is also denied that men could or would want to
become active as womanists. This is problematic above all because Walker
simultaneously speaks of «wholeness», asserting that womanists fight for the survival
of the «entire people, male and female».
The Nigerian Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi arrived at the term womanism
independently of Walker. 34 The concept which she upholds resembles Walker’s in
28
Walker, cit. in: Kolawole 1997: 21.
29
Walker, Alice, « Introduction », in Id., In Search of Our Mother’s Garden. Womanist Prose, San Diego,
Jovanovich, 1983: XII.
30
Kolawole 1997: 21.
31
Walker 1983: XI.
32
Ibid: XI.
33
Cf.: ibid: XI.
34
Cf.: Ogunyemi 1985/86: 72. As Ogunyemi told me, due to internal problems it took the journal Signs two
years to publish her article.