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Alice Walker Womanism Analysis

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Throughout this journal article, black women remain the focal point. In the first half, the term womanism is discussed and defined. It had originated from the expression “You acting womanish.” Which before Alice Walker interpreted it as acting with courage and willful behavior, was used as an insult. After Walker, the term developed into a brand of feminism in which people of color adopted. The oppression put on black women is quite distinctive. They were not only being put down for being women, but also for their race. Even black men were oppressing black women when they knew exactly how it felt to be oppressed by white people, and white women were oppressing them for being black when they knew how it felt to be oppressed for being a woman. …show more content…

I was previously aware that within the feminist movement, women claim different values in which they create their own brand. Womanism, I learned from the article, is specific to women of color. Now, I have come to the realization that a feminist theology is hard to come across. It can be difficult to decipher what beliefs and values remain consistent with both feminism and religion. This is why, I believe, black women created a theology just for them. The fluidity of Christianity becomes apparent in this case. Women belonging to other cultures and countries may choose to interpret the bible in accordance to their preconceived morals and values, just as most people tend to do anyways. Because of this, their interpretations of the text could be different than ours, but that does not mean they are incorrect. In my opinion, every person, specifically every woman in this case, wants to discover where they belong, and a part of that is discerning their “brand” of both feminism and theology. Wanting to find a purpose in life is no different for women in the United States than it is in the women of Africa or Puerto Rico. That is just human nature. Therefore, in regards to the journal article as a whole, I thought it was very interesting and I appreciate the idea that there is a piece of God for everyone and I admire these women for recognizing their need to claim

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