What is the Difference Between Feminism and Womanism

The main difference between feminism and womanism is that feminism focuses on rights and opportunities for women, while womanism focuses on and fights against both sexism and racism.

Feminism refers to a range of sociological and political movements and ideologies that advocates women’s rights based on the equality of the sexes. Womanism, on the other hand, is a form of feminism that focuses on black women or women of colour.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Feminism 
     – Definition, Characteristics, History
2. What is Womanism
     – Definition, Characteristics
3. What is the Relationship Between Feminism and Womanism
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Feminism and Womanism
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Feminism, Womanism

What is Feminism?

Feminism refers to a range of political and social movements and ideologies based on the belief that women should have the same rights, opportunities and power as men, and be treated in the same way. Thus, the main concern of the feminist movement is women. Feminist movements attempt to bring equal rights and opportunities for women. Some of these rights and opportunities include right to vote, right to receive education, right to hold public offices, right to earn fair wages, etc. Furthermore, feminism also works to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual abuse and harassment. In fact, feminism is one of the main causes of social changes regarding women’s rights.

Figure 02: Women’s Suffrage Movement

There are several “waves of feminism”, i.e. different time periods focusing on different aspects of feminism. The first wave of feminism is basically the movement for suffrage right for women in the nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. The second wave began in the 1960s and focused on cultural and social rights, including sexuality, workplace, reproductive rights and family laws. Although feminism addressed issues related to gender and equality, it rarely addressed equality for women of colour. In fact, feminism was traditionally a middle-class white women’s movement.

What is Womanism?

The term womanism was coined by the writer and poet Alice Walker in her book In Search of Our Mothers’ Garden: Womanist Prose, in 1983. The term womanism has many definitions and interpretations. Alice Walker describes a womanist as a “black feminist or a feminist of colour” and womanism as a “simply another shade of feminism.”

Figure 2: Alice Walker

If we look at general dictionary definitions of womanism, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a form of feminism focused especially on the conditions and concerns of black women” while Oxford dictionary defines it as “a form of feminism that acknowledges women’s natural contribution to society”; Oxford dictionary further clarifies this term by saying “used by some in distinction to the term feminism and its association with white women”. According to these descriptions, we can discern two important characteristics:

• Womanism is a form of feminism
• Womanism especially focuses on black women or women of colour

Furthermore, womanism deals with two levels of oppression – racism and sexism. Thus, femininity and culture are equally concepts in womanism. In addition, womanism also fights against racial oppression against black men, women and children.

Relationship Between Feminism and Womanism

• Womanism is a form of feminism. As Alice Walker once said, “womanism is to feminism as purple is to lavender.”

Difference Between Feminism and Womanism

Definition

Feminism refers to a range of sociological and political movements and ideologies that advocates women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. Womanism, on the other hand, is a form of feminism that focuses on black women or women of colour.

Fight Against

Moreover, feminism mainly fights against sexism, i.e. issues like gender discrimination, inequality, gender-based violence, etc. However, womanism fights against both sexism and racism.

History

Feminist movements first began in the nineteenth century and have several movements like the first wave, second wave and third wave. In contrast, womanism is a comparatively recent concept; this term itself was introduced in 1983 by Alice Walker. 

Men vs Women

While feminism is sometimes seen as a separationist movement as some feminists view men as their enemy, womanism is inclusive of both men and women since it fights against racism against African Americans.

Conclusion

Feminism refers to a range of sociological and political movements and ideologies that advocates women’s rights based on the equality of the sexes. Womanism, on the other hand, is a form of feminism that focuses on black women or women of colour. The main difference between feminism and womanism is that feminism fights against sexism while womanism fights against both sexism and racism.

Reference:

1.“Feminism.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Aug. 2019, Available here.
2.“What Is a Womanist?” Progressive Pupil, 25 Feb. 2014, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Alice Walker” By Virginia DeBolt – Alice Walker speaks (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia 
2. “Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst” By Unknown – (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia