This Bridge Called My Back
Encyclopedia
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color is a feminist
anthology
edited by Cherríe Moraga
and Gloria E. Anzaldúa
. The anthology was first published in 1981 by Persephone Press, and the second edition was published in 1984 by Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
. The book
feminists who made claims to solidarity based on sisterhood
. Writings in the anthology, along with works by other prominent feminists of color, call for more a greater prominence within feminism for race-related subjectivities, and ultimately laid the foundation for third wave feminism. This Bridge has become "one of the most cited books in feminist theorizing" (emphasis in original).
, contributor, writes that Black, Native American, Asian American, and Latina women “were involved in autonomous organization at the same time that we [were] beginning to find each other. Certainly This Bridge Called My Back […] has been a document of and a catalyst for these coalitions.”
In addition to providing the framework for new activist-based coalitions, This Bridge has had a considerable impact upon the world of academia for its linking of feminism, race, class, and sexuality. Though not appearing immediately, the concept of intersectionality
is now widely explored in fields like sociology, and This Bridge offers evidence of its exploration from decades past. It also brought “an intellectual framework” of identities based on race and ethnicity to lesbian and gay studies. In this bridge we call home, the anthology published in 2002 to examine the impacts of This Bridge twenty years later, Australian anthropologist Helen Johnson details This Bridge’s effects on institutional teaching environments. She describes how the anthology “has allowed her to offer global perspectives on issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and power against the now antiquated white feminists’ utopian ideal of universal sisterhood.” This Bridge has been hailed for providing an “easily accessible discourse, plain speaking, a return to Third World storytelling, voicing a difference in the flesh, not a disembodied subjectivity but a subject location, a political and personal positioning.”
Though This Bridge is referenced in many essays and books regarding the development of Third World feminism, one of the most widely recognized explorations is Norma Alarcon
’s essay entitled “The Theoretical Subject(s) of This Bridge Called My Back and Anglo-American Feminism.” In her essay, Alarcon discusses the importance of looking at relationships not just between gender groups but within gender groups, as highlighted in This Bridge. Through questioning the existence of objective “truth” as separate from human construction, and through an analysis of language that acknowledges deep contextual and historical meanings, she highlights the intentions of This Bridge to challenge the forces that put all feminists into one category, as well as the oppositional thinking that makes differences hierarchical instead of inter-related and interdependent. Barbara Smith feels that these messages are made clear within the pages of This Bridge, asserting that “more than any other single work, This Bridge has made the vision of Third World feminism real.”
However, even with these aforementioned impacts, many individuals contend that women of color feminisms still remain marginal within women’s studies in the U.S. Chela Sandoval, in her essay on third world feminism, writes, “The publication of This Bridge Called My Back in 1981 made the presence of U.S. third world feminism impossible to ignore on the same terms as it had been throughout the 1970s. But soon the writings and theoretical challenges of U.S. third world feminists were marginalized into the category of what Allison Jaggar characterized in 1983 as mere ‘description.’”
This Bridge "offered a rich and diverse account of the experience and analyses of women of color; with its collective ethos, its politics of rage and regeneration, and its mix of poetry, critique, fiction and testimony, it challenged the boundaries of feminist and academic discourse."
Anthologists Moraga and Anzaldúa stated in the preface that they expected the book to act as a catalyst, "not as a definitive statement on Third World Feminism" in the United States. They also expressed a desire to "express to all women, especially white, middle class women, the experiences which divide us as feminists ...we want to create a definition that expands what 'feminist' means."
Teresa de Lauretis
noted that This Bridge and All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women's Studies (1982) created a "shift in feminist consciousness" by making "available to all feminists the feelings, the analyses, and the political positions of feminists of color, and their critiques of white or mainstream feminism."
Cherríe Moraga, Ana Castillo
, and Norma Alarcon adapted this anthology into the Spanish-language Esta puente, mi espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos. In 2002, AnaLouise Keating and Gloria Anzaldúa edited an anthology (this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation) that examined the impact of This Bridge twenty years later while trying to continue the discussion started by Anzaldúa and Moraga in 1981.
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
edited by Cherríe Moraga
Cherríe Moraga
Cherríe L. Moraga is a Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright.-Biography:Moraga was born in Whittier, California. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, California and her Master's from San Francisco State University in 1980...
and Gloria E. Anzaldúa
Gloria E. Anzaldúa
Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa was considered a leading scholar of Chicano cultural theory and Queer theory. She loosely based her most well-known book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza on her life growing up on the Mexican-Texas border and incorporated her lifelong feelings of social and...
. The anthology was first published in 1981 by Persephone Press, and the second edition was published in 1984 by Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press was an activist feminist press started in 1980 by author Barbara Smith at the suggestion of her friend, poet Audre Lorde.-Beginnings:...
. The book
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
feminists who made claims to solidarity based on sisterhood
Sisterhood is Powerful
Sisterhood Is Powerful , published in 1970, was one of the first widely available anthologies of early Second Wave radical feminist writings...
. Writings in the anthology, along with works by other prominent feminists of color, call for more a greater prominence within feminism for race-related subjectivities, and ultimately laid the foundation for third wave feminism. This Bridge has become "one of the most cited books in feminist theorizing" (emphasis in original).
Impact
Though other published writings by women of color existed at the time of This Bridge’s printing, many scholars and contributors to This Bridge agree that the bringing together of writing by women of color from diverse backgrounds in one anthology is what made This Bridge so unique and influential. Barbara SmithBarbara Smith
Barbara Smith in Cleveland is an American, lesbian feminist who has played a significant role in building and sustaining Black Feminism in the United States. Since the early 1970s she has been active as an innovative critic, teacher, lecturer, author, independent scholar, and publisher of Black...
, contributor, writes that Black, Native American, Asian American, and Latina women “were involved in autonomous organization at the same time that we [were] beginning to find each other. Certainly This Bridge Called My Back […] has been a document of and a catalyst for these coalitions.”
In addition to providing the framework for new activist-based coalitions, This Bridge has had a considerable impact upon the world of academia for its linking of feminism, race, class, and sexuality. Though not appearing immediately, the concept of intersectionality
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a feminist sociological theory first highlighted by Kimberlé Crenshaw . Intersectionality is a methodology of studying "the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations"...
is now widely explored in fields like sociology, and This Bridge offers evidence of its exploration from decades past. It also brought “an intellectual framework” of identities based on race and ethnicity to lesbian and gay studies. In this bridge we call home, the anthology published in 2002 to examine the impacts of This Bridge twenty years later, Australian anthropologist Helen Johnson details This Bridge’s effects on institutional teaching environments. She describes how the anthology “has allowed her to offer global perspectives on issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and power against the now antiquated white feminists’ utopian ideal of universal sisterhood.” This Bridge has been hailed for providing an “easily accessible discourse, plain speaking, a return to Third World storytelling, voicing a difference in the flesh, not a disembodied subjectivity but a subject location, a political and personal positioning.”
Though This Bridge is referenced in many essays and books regarding the development of Third World feminism, one of the most widely recognized explorations is Norma Alarcon
Norma Alarcón
Norma Alarcón is a Chicana author, professor, and publisher in the United States. She is the founder of Third Woman Press and a major figure in Chicana feminism.-Biography and Schooling:...
’s essay entitled “The Theoretical Subject(s) of This Bridge Called My Back and Anglo-American Feminism.” In her essay, Alarcon discusses the importance of looking at relationships not just between gender groups but within gender groups, as highlighted in This Bridge. Through questioning the existence of objective “truth” as separate from human construction, and through an analysis of language that acknowledges deep contextual and historical meanings, she highlights the intentions of This Bridge to challenge the forces that put all feminists into one category, as well as the oppositional thinking that makes differences hierarchical instead of inter-related and interdependent. Barbara Smith feels that these messages are made clear within the pages of This Bridge, asserting that “more than any other single work, This Bridge has made the vision of Third World feminism real.”
However, even with these aforementioned impacts, many individuals contend that women of color feminisms still remain marginal within women’s studies in the U.S. Chela Sandoval, in her essay on third world feminism, writes, “The publication of This Bridge Called My Back in 1981 made the presence of U.S. third world feminism impossible to ignore on the same terms as it had been throughout the 1970s. But soon the writings and theoretical challenges of U.S. third world feminists were marginalized into the category of what Allison Jaggar characterized in 1983 as mere ‘description.’”
This Bridge "offered a rich and diverse account of the experience and analyses of women of color; with its collective ethos, its politics of rage and regeneration, and its mix of poetry, critique, fiction and testimony, it challenged the boundaries of feminist and academic discourse."
Anthologists Moraga and Anzaldúa stated in the preface that they expected the book to act as a catalyst, "not as a definitive statement on Third World Feminism" in the United States. They also expressed a desire to "express to all women, especially white, middle class women, the experiences which divide us as feminists ...we want to create a definition that expands what 'feminist' means."
Teresa de Lauretis
Teresa de Lauretis
Teresa de Lauretis is an Italian-born author and Professor Emerita of the History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She received her doctorate in Modern Languages and Literatures from Bocconi University in Milan before coming to the United States...
noted that This Bridge and All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women's Studies (1982) created a "shift in feminist consciousness" by making "available to all feminists the feelings, the analyses, and the political positions of feminists of color, and their critiques of white or mainstream feminism."
Cherríe Moraga, Ana Castillo
Ana Castillo
Ana Castillo is a Mexican-American Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, and essayist.- Life and career :Castillo was born and raised in an inner city barrio of Chicago, Illinois. After completing undergraduate studies, she immediately began teaching college courses...
, and Norma Alarcon adapted this anthology into the Spanish-language Esta puente, mi espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos. In 2002, AnaLouise Keating and Gloria Anzaldúa edited an anthology (this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation) that examined the impact of This Bridge twenty years later while trying to continue the discussion started by Anzaldúa and Moraga in 1981.
Related Readings
- All the Women Are White, All the Blacks are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women’s Studies edited by Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith (1982)
- Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios by the Latina Feminist Group (1993)
- Companeras: Latina Lesbians (An Anthology) edited by Juanita Ramos (1994)
- Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Women of Color edited by Glora Anzaldua (1990)
Contributors
- Gloria E. AnzaldúaGloria E. AnzaldúaGloria Evangelina Anzaldúa was considered a leading scholar of Chicano cultural theory and Queer theory. She loosely based her most well-known book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza on her life growing up on the Mexican-Texas border and incorporated her lifelong feelings of social and...
- Toni Cade BambaraToni Cade BambaraToni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor.- Biography :...
- Ana CastilloAna CastilloAna Castillo is a Mexican-American Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, and essayist.- Life and career :Castillo was born and raised in an inner city barrio of Chicago, Illinois. After completing undergraduate studies, she immediately began teaching college courses...
- ChrystosChrystosChrystos is a Menominee rights activist and poet. Prior to being published, she worked as a home caretaker, and an activist for Turtle Mountain Band of Chipewa, Norma Jean Croy , and Leonard Peltier....
- Combahee River CollectiveCombahee River CollectiveThe Combahee River Collective was a Black feminist Lesbian organization active in Boston from 1974 to 1980. They are perhaps best known for developing the Combahee River Collective Statement, a key document in the history of contemporary Black feminism and the development of the concepts of...
- Audre LordeAudre LordeAudre Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer, poet and activist.-Life:...
- Cherríe MoragaCherríe MoragaCherríe L. Moraga is a Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright.-Biography:Moraga was born in Whittier, California. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, California and her Master's from San Francisco State University in 1980...
- Barbara SmithBarbara SmithBarbara Smith in Cleveland is an American, lesbian feminist who has played a significant role in building and sustaining Black Feminism in the United States. Since the early 1970s she has been active as an innovative critic, teacher, lecturer, author, independent scholar, and publisher of Black...
- Beverly SmithBeverly SmithBeverly Smith in Cleveland, Ohio is a Black feminist health advocate, writer, academic, theorist and activist who is also the twin sister of writer, publisher, activist and academic Barbara Smith...
- Max Wolf ValerioMax Wolf ValerioMax Wolf Valerio is an American poet, memoir writer, essayist and actor. He lives in San Francisco, California. He is ethnically Blackfoot Indian, Sephardic Jewish, and Northern European....
- Norma AlarconNorma AlarcónNorma Alarcón is a Chicana author, professor, and publisher in the United States. She is the founder of Third Woman Press and a major figure in Chicana feminism.-Biography and Schooling:...
- Aurora Levins MoralesAurora Levins MoralesAurora Levins Morales is a Puerto Rican Jewish writer and poet. She is significant within Latina feminism as well as other social justice movements.-Early life and education:...
- Mitsuye YamadaMitsuye YamadaMitsuye Yamada is a Japanese American activist, feminist, essayist, poet, story writer, editor, and former professor of English.-Early and personal life:Mitsuye Yamada was born as Mitsuye Yasutake in Fukuoka, Japan...
- Merle WooMerle WooMerle Woo has worked as a spokesperson, teacher, poet and activist throughout her life.-Biography:Merle Woo was born to a Korean mother and Chinese father, Helene Chang and Richard Woo, in San Francisco on October 24, 1941. She grew up in San Francisco’s Chinatown with her mother, a clerical...