Feminist Complicities and Solidarities
When:
—
Venue:
Online
In a time of intensified global white supremacist and patriarchal violence, anti-racist feminist movements and analyses have never been more vital. Women of colour are at the forefront of these struggles worldwide. How do we build a coalitional feminist movement? One that avoids complicity with racist liberal agendas and is built on meaningful solidarity?
Despite a rich history of Black and postcolonial critiques of racist and imperial feminist politics, racism still exists within contemporary British feminism. To explain why, Terese Jonsson examines the history of feminism over the last forty years. In her book 'Innocent Subjects: Feminism and Whiteness' (Pluto Press, 2020) Jonsson argues that Black feminism's role in shaping the movement has been marginalised through narratives which position white women at the centre of the story, from the women's liberation movement in the 1970s to today.
Analysing the ways in which whiteness continues to pervade feminist literature, as well as feminist debates in the liberal media, Jonsson demonstrates that, despite an increased attention to race, intersectionality and difference, stories told by white feminists are shaped by their desire to maintain an 'innocent' position towards racism.
Join Gail Lewis, Sita Balani, Tanya Serisier and Sarah Keenan (Chair) at the Centre for Research on Race and Law in discussion with Terese Jonsson about her new book.
Contact name:
School of Law