Black women and feminism

Little research to date has examined the attitudes of black women toward feminism, primarily because few national surveys contain sufficient numbers of black women to take meaningful generalizations. Using data from a national survey of blacks in 1980, this study explores the levels and determinants of feminism among black women. The results show strong support for feminism among black women, particularly among younger, well educated women who have experienced sex discrimination and who have close women friends. Although King and others have argued that black women see white women less sa allies than as oppressors, this analysis finds that most black women favor collaboration with white women in attacking sexism, and place equal emphasis on eradicating sexism and racism. Better educated black women, and those with high levels of black identification, are more likely to favor separatist feminist action, and more likely to favor emphasizing combatting racism over combatting sexism.