Throwback Thursday: International Woman's Day (Part 2)

The Colour Purple

Some of you who may read this blog regularly or follow me on Facebook or Google+ may have noticed I have updated the look of my blog so it takes on a purple (or purplish) colour scheme.  Well, wonder no more, as in this 2nd instalment of International Woman's Day, I now explain how and why purple has come to be associated with Feminism, and more specifically, Womanism.

I have made another blog post on the colour purple recently as to why so few national flags use purple in their colour scheme, and why only royalty was allowed to wear this colour.  You may view the entry here.

So, firstly, what is Feminism?

Wikipedia defines Feminism as:

Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes.^[1][2] This includes seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to those for men.

These goals can include things such as:

the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages or equal pay, to own property, to receive education, to enter contracts, to have equal rights within marriage, and to have maternity leave.

 And feminists have also lobbied for the following: 

access to legal abortions and social integration, to protect women and girls from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence,^[3] and even for changes in dress and acceptable physical activity .^[4]

And how does Womanism differ from Feminism?

This is also quoted from Wikipedia which defines Womanism as:

a social theory based on the discovery of the limitations of the second-wave feminism movement in regards to the history and experiences of black women, and other women of marginalised groups.^[1] Writer, poet, and activist Alice Walker is credited with coining the term "womanist".^[2] Since Walker's initial use, the term has evolved to envelop varied, and often opposing interpretations of conceptions such as feminism, men, and blackness.^[3] 

So, in other words, womanists (and other proponents of 'Black Feminism) believe that feminism doesn't always cover the experiences of particular types of women, including African American and other black women.  This, in turn, has meant that women of colour, particularly black women, have had to really step up to the plate when it comes to getting what they need or want.

So who is Alice Walker?

And what is it about The Colour Purple? 

Alice Walker is a novelist and poet who wrote The Colour Purple in 1982, which had won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983.  Furthermore, she is the first woman of colour to win such a prestigious award.

And The Colour Purple is has become a 'must read' for most avid feminists because the main character of the novel is an African American woman by the name of Celie, who is first subjected to physical and sexual abuse from her father, and then to domestic violence by her husband.

Alice Walker is also quoted as saying:

“Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender."

Taken from Quora.com:  What is the difference between womanism and feminism?

So anyway, I hope this explains how purple has come to be associated with Feminism and Womanism?

cheers,

Colleen