Feminist Politics, Racialized Imagery, and Social Control

Abstract

This article looks at how dominant feminist narratives regarding the expansion of women's political rights is limited by their inattention to issues of race, sexuality, class and other variables that limit women's freedom. The authors argue that rhetorical claims about "gender progress" mask very significant differences among various sub-groups of women with regard to their ability to exercise their rights to control many aspects of their lives; their work, their family, their relationships and the ways that their bodies are mistreated and unfairly represented. Using a Black feminist analytical argument, the article makes the case that legislative threats to reproductive freedom are deeply linked to hegemonic notions of racialized patriarchy.

Keywords:

• birth control legislation
• black feminism
• Black women
• reproductive justice