Black Feminists Must Be Heard

I needed to read the articles on black feminist/black female sexuality a few times. At first I wasn’t sure what the main concern of Hammond’s article was but upon delving deeper I found that it’s a few concerns all having to deal with the voice of the black, female, gay woman. Hammond makes an interesting point of what concerns black feminist theorists such as herself, what is the image that appears in society’s mind when you hear the word "lesbian". I have asked a few people at random what they thought when they heard the word lesbian and surprise, they all thought of a white, stout, butch-type woman with bad hair. When I asked if they at all thought of a black woman, all but one said no. The exception blurted out, “Whoopi Goldberg!”

At the start of the article, it seemed that Hammond is concerned with the classification of white vs. non-white and how non-white doesn't have sexuality. Because black females conjure up an image of strong, childbearing, center of the black family and not a sexual being. She then explores her own self-identification by asking if she should add the word "queer" to her already long laundry list of labels. Why does she feel the need to box herself in with labels? She also seemed to have blamed white, female, gay women with not helping the situation of bringing the black lesbians more to light. She then retracts that by saying, “At this juncture, I cannot cast blame for lack of attention to black lesbian sexuality solely on white feminist theorists.” (104).

What strikes me is that when you think about black lesbians and their having a voice, it really is a definite scarcity. As we have read this term, to be black and female was a double whammy in colonial times but now in modern times to add gay onto that stigma seems to become a burdensome load. To be gay alone had its liberating wave and now to be black and gay there needs to be a second wave of liberation. This is where articles like, A Black Feminist Statement; From The Combahee River Collective” need to be recognized. It is a declaration and agenda laid out for all who are curious to know more about black feminists. They stand for education, fighting oppression and the commitment to consciousness-raising.