Both Africana
womanist and Black feminist theory continue to develop in terms of their breadth and complexity.
Coined by writer and social activist Alice Walker (1983),
womanist defines "good" women as voiceful, inquisitive, and socially active community members who are guided by a vision of inclusiveness and fairness.
Mitchem weaves heartfelt
womanist disclosures with the realities of the "isms" of our world.
Last year was the 10th anniversary of Delores Williams' landmark text Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of
Womanist God-Talk.
The volume of thirteen essays is divided into six major sections--Storytelling Methods and Interpretations; Patriarchal and Colonizing Translations; Reading with and from Non-Academic Readers; Womanhood and
Womanist Methods; The Divination Method of Interpretation; and In Response.
Also included: "3 fat cats & 1 fat girl" (letters written to three popular clothing companies about why their sizes end at 14 or 16, with corporate responses); a young mother's vision for a better school system; thoughts about sex toys as well as body image; "Beyond the Itch: Yeast Infection Homepage"; the personal story of a "progressive
womanist sistah's" conversion to Islam ("a thinking chick's religion"); photo profiles of six women with their responses to the question "Who do you think is Fierce and why"?; a tribute to Sor Juana de la Cruz ("Mexico's fiercest nun").
Chapter One, "In Search of Rivers:
Womanist Writers and the Essay," draws upon Alice Walker's essays to develop a framework accounting for the connections between literacy and sociopolitical intent.
This article reports two studies aimed at developing a new scale of attitudes toward women, incorporating six theoretically derived perspectives: conservative; liberal, radical, socialist cultural feminist; and women of color (
womanist).
The overall perspective of the book is decidedly "
womanist"/black feminist, and is of particular interest since the author captures the voices of the civil rights activists.
Differences dans la conceptualisation du temps et son expression dans un texte narratif oral" ("Differences in the Conceptualization of Time and Its Expression in Oral Narratives") (Natalia Dankova); "La traduction des textes
womanist: le cas de 'La couleur poupre' d' Alice Walker" ("The Translation of
Womanist Texts: The Case of 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker") (Chantal Gagnon); "Traduction de la literature francais en Chine: survol historique et reflexions theoriques" ("The Translation of French Literature into Chinese: A Historical Survey and Reflections on the Theories") (Dazhi Wang); "La transmission orale de consignes.
The elocution of the cultures of the colonized and marginalized thus became a multivocal concern signified by the advocacy for continental, race, and colour identification, enriched by gender, sexuality,
womanist, lesbian, gay and aging issues.