Drowning in the Feminist Void

My dignity as a feminist is not something that is hidden. I am very outward about my beliefs in the ability for society to reach in more equitable function. However, I have felt almost silenced by the mass of new feminist thought leaders. Thought leadership has expanded from outside the halls of academia to the screens of our devices. There are so many it seemingly takes one viral piece of contact to become an "expert". Or perhaps, I am just unfamiliar with them all. 2020 brought on many things. But it also brought on a lot of social justice warriors. Many of the social justice warriors have only been compelled into caring about the state of our society and the place of women and other marginalized groups within the past 20 months.

I have been a Black Feminist before George Floyd, before Breonna Taylor, and before Beyoncé’s Lemonade. My earlier days of feminism involved me barking at men who called me sweetheart without invitation or challenging ideas about the place of a woman in my Christian upbringing. Feminism was not cool when I dug into “He’s a stud, She’s a slut” by Jessica Valenti. Feminism once had very few voices from women of color, let alone black women. bell hooks, Nikki Giovanni, and Zora Neale Hurston were the three black feminists I was most familiar with. Now, there is a litany of prominent black feminists; Britanny Cooper, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Joan Morgan, Mikki Kendall, to name a few.

Often I think about the community I could have developed if I had known other women who shared my ideas. The thought of a friend group of feminists sounds intoxicating. However, in the current climate of feminism that weighs heavily on opinion, sensation, and vitality, I am not sure if my approach to feminism is direct and pensive.

Unlike the thinkers and feminist adjacent content creators on TikTok, I understand the altogether oppression of the patriarchy on men and women. You may find me in comments partaking in heated dialogue with people who I have admittedly assumed learned about feminism through social media and tweets. Thankfully I have learned to be more selective about the discussions I take part in.

This is not a negative critique or dissension or diss taste of the new wave of feminism on social media. I understand they serve an important role to progress and dismantling the patriarchy. However, I always encourage knowledge first. To avoid drowning in the void of this continued wave of feminism, I have curated a list of great feminist reads here

Happy Reading!

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