Please use Barbara Smith’s essay, “Towards a Black Feminist Criticism” to answer one of the following questions. If you would like to address more than one question, you are, of course, always welcome, though it is not required.
- According to Smith, why is Black feminist criticism necessary? In other words, why did she write this?
- What are some principles of Black feminist criticism?
- What do you make of Smith’s reading of Sula as a lesbian novel?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Don’t forget we have another round of blog posts and comments for Monday!
Skip to content
Barbara Smith shows in great detail her love and passion for supporting black feminism in this essay. She wants the public to try and understand the role these black women play and how influential their words and actions can be. Smith wrote this essay because she wanted to involve “connections between the politics of Black women’s lives, what we write about and our situation as artists.” The way black women are viewed is extremely crucial in finding a way to move away from the negativity and inferiority placed on women and their work. Smith also wants these women writers to be known for their work because of how well written and real it is. She talks about the “invisibility” aspect of black women’s literature and how it is not known to other readers. The reasoning for writing this essay is to promote the importance of black feminist writers because it is a “dangerous” subject that many people do not even think about discussing, but she knew it had to start somewhere.
Barbara Smith attacked multiple points of confusion and rejection from parties that are not familiar with, nor acknowledge Black Feminist Criticism. “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism” covers principles of the Black Feminist Movement, but what struck me the most was the reasoning behind this practice was formed and looking to be broadcasted in the first place. Black Feminist Criticism was deemed as necessary to Smith and currently still essential to spread across all populations of society because a movement “in this country would open up the space needed for the exploration of Black women’s lives and the creation of consciously Black woman-identified art” (20). Smith raises the point, to fully take part in the politics of feminism, you must have a more profound acknowledgment of Black women’s literature. To read to words of Black Feminists is not enough; it is the practice of connecting to this community’s literature and applying their differences in “women’s existence, experience, and culture” in ways to erase corruption. Making connections to eradicate the ignorance of society makes a difference in this world of patriarchy and racism, which is the “real world.” The description of people of color can be changed from “invisible” and “unknown” to valuable through Black Feminist Criticism.
Black Feminist Criticism helps close the gaps between the politics of Black women’s lives and the white feminist movement. The artist of color, women, and part of the LGBTQ+ community, that have spent their lives to portray their unique knowledge gathered by their intersectionality experiences and the systematic ways of oppression. Smith introduced to everyday readers the Black Feminist approach to literature incorporates the politics of sex, race, and class, which are all factors that rely on each other in the works of Black women writers. Without the criticism behind these works of literature, a reader cannot completely understand what the writers mean when reading with the lens of bias, intentional or not.
In all of my work/study of literature I have found that there are a lot of different interpretations that can be pulled from one text, as long as there is ample, supportive evidence. Smith’s reading of Sula does this very well. She teases out a lesbian relationship between Sula and Nel. Smith uses the depth of their bond, Sula’s view of taking a husband and of sex as a strong case for a romantic/sexual relationship between the women. On the most basic level, Smith has found two characters that share chemistry and a powerful connection and made a strong case for them being together. Regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender, characters like Nel and Sula would be paired together by audiences due to the moments Smith points out.
Smith states that “obviously Morrison did not intend the reader to perceive Sula and Nel’s relationship as inherently lesbian” (pp 25). However, I think that the code switching and Smith’s reading are justified regardless of Morrison’s authorial intentions. One of Smith’s main points of this essay and why she includes this reading of Sula is to point out the lack of Black lesbian literature. She shows how Sula and Nel’s relationship could have been written if Black lesbian literature was unveiled.
In my own writing here at Cortland, I once had to do a queer reading of a text, and I chose Shelley’s Frankenstein. I argued that Victor was a closeted gay man and his monster represented his experimentation and journey of acceptance with his sexuality. The examples I used in that paper fall in the same categories as Smith’s reading. This kind of reading requires no more work or evidence than any other type of interpretation or analysis.
Barbara Smith’s essay wrote her essay in order to advocate for other black women like herself. She writes this essay through passion and showing others that black women have voices just like anybody else. Smith says “This invisibility, which goes beyond anything that either black men or white women experience and tell about in their writing, is one reason it is so difficult for me to know where to start”(p.20). This moment was powerful in my opinion because it shows how much of the black female view is needed. I think it is primarily needed because a lot of people don’t understand what these women have to offer, it can teach them, and also open them up to more ideas in order to have a better understanding of what they are reading. These women are also viewed negatively when they shouldn’t be. Ultimately with a little bit of education and open-mindedness, Smith’s Ideas can hopefully be attempted to be viewed and understood.
Barbara Smith expresses her concerns of how the critical literary world has failed not only black women writers but specifically black lesbian writers. She feels this is necessary to deconstruct as the literary world has completely omitted the experiences of black women writers during a time of feminism. As Smith states, “I think of the thousands and thousands of books, magazines, and articles which have been devoted by this time to the subject of women’s writing and I am filled with rage at the fraction of those pages that mention Black and other Third-World women” (20). The importance of this reaches further to the subjects of race-politics and sexual identity politics and as Smith points out these are not mutually exclusive ideas. Smith provides a base point for her criticisms and basic principle, “Beginning with a primary commitment to exploring both sexual and racial politics and Black and female identity are inextricable elements in Black women’s writing she would also work from the assumption that writing by Black women constitutes an identifiable literary tradition” (22). Barbara Smith understood how black feminist work was being received and pushed back against the critical constructs. She offers the insight that black women as writers cannot have their experiences reduced or separated because the elements of race politics and gender politics are too indivisible and must be examined with a greater respect.
I think that Smith wrote, “Towards a Black Feminist Criticism” to draw attention to the silence that has been put on African American women authors. On page 20 Smith writes,” This invisibility, which goes beyond anything that either Black men or white women experience and tell about in their writing, is one reason it is so difficult for me to know where to start” (P 20, Smith). I believe that Smith wants there to be more diversity and break that silence that has been put on not only her but many other authors of color. I think this essay was just the start of breaking that silence that’s has been placed on these authors.
Smith and Lorde express the same sentiments concerning the interaction with the work released by black women. Specifically, with white women, Smith states “When Black women’s books are dealt with at all, it is usually in the context of Black literature, which largely ignores the implications of sexual politics. When white women look at Black women’s works they are of course ill-equipped to deal with the subtleties of racial politics” which indicates the effect of the racial gap upon the reception of black women’s work (p. 21). Lorde claims something similar “But as Adrienne Rich pointed out in a recent talk, white feminists have educated themselves about such an enormous amount over the past ten years, how come you haven’t also educated yourselves about Black women and the differences between us – white and Black – when it is key to our survival as·a movement?” (p.113). This question. or questions addressing the racial tension outside of the work is part of why I believe Smith wrote this. The acknowledgment of feminist works are whitewashed and in befitting solely white women, women of color are erased from history. Erasure of w.o.c is a large detriment to the movement of feminism along with the understanding of one another on the most basic level- being human.
Barbara Smith’s “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism” defends Black women writers who have been “ignored,” including herself, as she strongly encourages her readers to realize that “…it is important to remember that the existence of a feminist movement was an essential pre-condition to the growth of feminist literature, criticism and women’s studies, which focused at the beginning almost entirely upon investigations of literature” (Smith, 21). Smith continues to express that dominating groups have also ignored the opportunity to pay attention and become familiar with Black Feminist criticism, especially towards Black lesbian writers and artists. Due to the lack of attention, it has prevented the Black feminist movement from flourishing and evolving in these dominated fields. She strongly defends this point, as she introduces the topic of intersectionality into her explanation, stating: “A Black feminist approach to literature that embodies the realization that the politics of sex as well as the politics of race and class are crucially interlocking factors in the works of Black women writers is an absolute necessity” (Smith, 21). Here, Smith clearly expresses the fact that Black lesbian writers and artists have especially suffered because of their intersecting identities that aren’t as accepted within society. She stresses to her readers that Black feminist criticism is needed in order to move away from the preconceived negativity that is placed upon these women. Smith further continues her point that criticism plays a huge role in making the literary pieces of black women writers more respected and “recognizable” because “For books to be real and remembered they have to be talked about. For books to be understood they must be examined in such a way that the basic intentions of writers are at least considered” (Smith, 20). If there isn’t any criticism being applied to any of these literary pieces, the readers who come across them cannot fully grasp a fair understanding of how significant the piece’s context is. Not understanding the context fo the piece doesn’t allow for these Black women writers to equally express their individual stories of their experiences, history, and culture.
Barbara Smith elaborates on how educated black women should emphasize education. As women they should have their minds set on how they want to address their community through their gender, “Stewart saw the potential for Black women’s activism as educators. She advised, “Turn your attention to knowledge and improvement; for knowledge is power” (p. 41).” Black women’s perspective of literature has aimed to encourage the growth of black feminist activity. Through solidarity and sharing a community of other black women, their intellectual ideas could be introduced and solidified within their community. Smith touches upon the lack of intersectionality with just the word “feminism” whereas in history the wealthy white women in charge of the rallies would just focus on their problems and did not consider inclusion. Smith has lived and witnessed black feminism in her lifetime thus she pushes for the creative growth of black feminism towards future generations to instill intersectionality and diversity. They are minorities in the aspect of being women of color, the emphasis on education could eradicate the sexism and racism within their society by enlightening other groups through education.
According to Smith, Black feminist criticism is necessary because it is a topic that has not been discussed very much in the past. It is important as well because black women have been in this country for centuries but were not allowed access to literacy or even “decent human life.” It is also important because it would owe Black women critics the credit they deserve and also it would give ideas to the women in the movement who may need ideas and inspiration. Smith is also trying to emphasize the importance of black feminist criticism because black females are the most oppressed out of both black and female groups in general. Even certain critics such as Sara Blackburn, a white female critic and Darwin Tuner, a black male critic exclude black female critics because they see them as inferior. White female critics see black female critics as inferior due to race and black male critics see black female critics as interior due to gender. These are all social constructive ideas that allow people to believe that black female critics are inferior but when people put aside these social constructs, they can see that black female critics are just as good as if not better than other critics because of the oppression they have had to and still have to face. These are the reasons Smith wrote this article.
In the interpretation of Smith’s essay that I gathered was that she believes Black feminist criticism is needed due to the fact that most feminist movements and research has been solely based on concepts of white feminist needs. She makes a statement stating that “Black women’s existence and experience, and culture and the brutally complex systems of oppression which shape these are in the ‘real world’ of white and/or male consciousness beneath consideration, invisible, and unknown.” (Smith, 20). Whites are not invisible and unknown or even considered this. Throughout history, blacks men and women have been oppressed, silenced, and even killed for their speaking out or bringing to people’s attention that they as a race matter. White was considered superior and all that wasn’t was silenced. Smith also makes it known that there is a blindness to womanhood that is not white womanhood. Which is very crucial and deep racism. Smith wrote this essay to bring forth the need for there to be an acknowledgment of black women and Third world women in the feminist culture. To have their experiences and cultures represented. For there is no such thing as just white in the world.
According to Smith’s essay, “Towards a Black Feminist Criticism”, there is a great need for black feminist critics. Smith states that those who currently critique works by authors such as Audre Lorde and Toni Morrison, do so from a misogynist euro-centric perspective and refuse to validate any of their perceptions. Smith states, “Black women’s existence and experience, and culture and the brutally complex systems of oppression which shape these are in the ‘real world’ of white and/or male consciousness beneath consideration, invisible, and unknown.” (Smith, 20). This furthers the systemic oppression faced by black feminist writers. In order to ensure that Black Feminists can attain a voice in academic and literary circles, Smith offers a set of guidelines to look at in order to view black feminist literature from the perspective of a black feminist. Furthermore, Smith produces an example through her own criticism of “Sula”, by Toni Morrison as a piece of black feminist lesbian literature, regardless of the fact that there is no explicit lesbian encounters.
Within Smith’s essay, Toward a Black Feminist Criticism”, there is an implied notion that Toni Morrison’s novel, “Sula”, is in fact layered with lesbianism. Although the main characters within Morrison’s novel are both portrayed as straight women, Smith argues that, “Not because women are ‘lovers,’ but because they are the central figures, are positively portrayed and have pivotal relationships with one another.” Smith argues that the lack of homosexuality within the novel does not deviate from the fact that the primary female relationship among the two driving female characters invites it to have lesbian undertones. Further, Smith insinuates that the male and female relationships in the story were entirely corrupt, if not toxic, and focusing on the strong female bond accentuates how this novel could be considered lesbian. Each female character, unlike most other novels, is a strong black woman. These women are nearly all independent and rely on themselves as well as their fellow females for survival in a world where the men in their lives cannot be counted on. Focusing on this imperative aspect, it can be agreeable that this perhaps is a lesbian novel in a sense that the female relationships, although heterosexual, are quite strong. Evidently, Smith’s argument that “Sula” is a lesbian novel is absolutely agreeable considering the incredible female bonds between the characters.
Barbara Smith believes Black feminist criticism is necessary because it is often ignored and rarely discussed. Smith is writing this to support and speak for Black women like herself. Smith addresses the fact that this topic is often not spoken about. She claims that she was writing “something dangerous merely by writing about Black women writers from a feminist perspective and about Black lesbian writers from any perspective at all.” She wanted to be an advocate for fellow Black feminists who weren’t as brave as she was. She speaks about how males, White or Black, act like Black feminist writers don’t even exist. Black feminist writers are either ignored or their work isn’t taken seriously. Smith writes this to show the lack of attention Black women get in society strictly because of their color and gender and how that needs to change. If they are ostracized socially, their writing stands no chance in being taken seriously. I think Smith is aiming to open the minds of those who won’t educate themselves on the brilliant works done by these Black feminist writers. Smith’s writing gives the male oppressors a chance to change their views and opinions of Black feminists and to see just how powerful their writing is.
When reading Barbra Smith’s essay, “Towards a Black Feminist Criticism”, I noticed that Smith focuses on how others treat women of color who are writers. She mentions several different types of people within different genders and race, but primarily pays close attention to black male writers, “women’s experience in sexual as well as racial terms. Unfortunately there are also those who are as virulently sexist in their treatment of Black women writers as their white male counter parts”(pg 22). To me, it was very surprising to know that black males would treat black women just as poorly as white men did. Barbra goes on to say that they treated them as if they did not exist. As all people of color, I thought they would want to help each other and support one another to fight against discrimination and oppression. I think this was also eye opening for Smith and forced black women to join together and become stronger.
Smith believes that there is a lack of representation in Black Feminist criticism. She writes this piece to inform readers that because of the lack of representation, there are no outlets for POC who align with this idea to feel welcomed. Many of Black Feminist literature goes by unnoticed whether it is due to the lack of knowledge on the subject by White women, or the lack of interest on the subject by men of both races. Smith concludes her essay with,
“I finally want to express how much easier both my waking and my sleeping hours would be if there were one book in existence that would tell me something specific about my life. One book based in Black feminist and Black lesbian experience, fiction or non-fiction. Just one work to reflect the reality that I and the Black women whom I love are trying to create. When such a book exists then each of us will not only know better how to live, but how to dream”.
Smith infers in this concluding paragraph that being in order for society to strengthen and produce more valuable pieces of literature we must remember the minorities as well as pay homage to their past inspirations. If and only if we, as society, accept the realities of minorities, then Black feminist can thrive and go on to create essential works for society that will encourage growth and wisdom.
Smith chose to write this in order to bring awareness to the minority of writers that are black, female and lesbian. These women and their work is often overlooked, considered not true literature or ignored entirely. Critics are not often women, black and lesbian either, in fact other critics, even black males, ignore these works and critics despite having similar inferiority assumptions due to race. Smith acknowledges that some black, lesbian writers do write but all the writings are not consistent and create “segments” rather than establish a base for other writers of this background. Smith wrote this to establish the need for consistency, to establish that women that are black and lesbian can be writers and are! Just as they can be critics. This is her sort of “coming out” for them.