''This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color'' is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

edited by

Cherríe Moraga Cherríe Moraga (born September 25, 1952) is a Chicana writer, feminist activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. She is part of the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Department of English. Moraga is also a founding m ...

and

Gloria E. Anzaldúa Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa (September 26, 1942 – May 15, 2004) was an American scholar of Chicana feminism, cultural theory, and queer theory. She loosely based her best-known book, '' Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza'', on her li ...

, first published in 1981 by Persephone Press. The second edition was published in 1983 by Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. The book's third edition was published by

Third Woman Press Third Woman Press (TWP) is a ''Queer and Feminist of Color'' publisher forum committed to feminist and queer of color decolonial politics and projects. It was founded in 1979 by Norma Alarcón in Bloomington, Indiana. She aimed to create a new po ...

until 2008, when it went out of print. In 2015, the fourth edition was published by

State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

, Albany. The book centers on the experiences of

women of color The term "person of color" (plural, : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "White people, white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily a ...

and emphasizes the points of what is now called

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...

within their multiple identities, challenging white feminists who made claims to solidarity based on sisterhood. Writings in the anthology, along with works by other prominent feminists of color, call for a greater prominence within feminism for race-related subjectivities, and ultimately laid the foundation for

third wave feminism Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-wav ...

. It is among the most cited books in feminist theory.

Impact

Though other published writings by women of color existed at the time of ''This Bridges 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 made ''This Bridge'' unique and influential.

Barbara Smith Barbara Smith (born November 16, 1946) is an American lesbian feminist and socialist who has played a significant role in Black feminism in the United States. Since the early 1970s, she has been active as a scholar, activist, critic, lecturer, au ...

, a contributor, wrote that Black, Native American, Asian American, and Latina women "were involved in autonomous organization at the same time that we erebeginning to find each other. Certainly ''This Bridge Called My Back'' ��has been a document of and a catalyst for these coalitions."Smith, Barbara. ''Home Girls: a Black Feminist Anthology''. New Jersey: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983, p. xliv. 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. 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 Bridges 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."Calderon, Hector. "'A New Connection, a New Set of Recognitions': From ''This Bridge Called My Back'' to ''this bridge we call home''". From ''Discourse'', 25.1&2. Wayne State University Press, 2003, pp. 296–301. 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 Alarcón Norma Alarcón (born November 30, 1943) is a Chicana author and publisher in the United States. She is the founder of Third Woman Press and a major figure in Chicana feminism. She is Professor Emerita of Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of ...

's essay entitled "The Theoretical Subject(s) of ''This Bridge Called My Back'' and Anglo-American Feminism." In her essay, Alarcón 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 believed 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 United States. Chela Sandoval, in her essay on

third-world feminism Postcolonial feminism is a form of feminism that developed as a response to feminism focusing solely on the experiences of women in Western cultures and former colonies. Postcolonial feminism seeks to account for the way that racism and the long- ...

, 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 The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

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." A review of ''This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation'' edited by Gloria E. Anzaldúa and AnaLouise Keating. New York:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2002. 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."Anzaldúa & Moraga, ''This Bridge Called My Back'', Persephone Press, Author Preface p. xxiii.

Teresa de Lauretis Teresa de Lauretis (; born 1938 in Bologna) is an Italian author and Distinguished Professor Emerita of the History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her areas of interest include semiotics, psychoanalysis, film theory, ...

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." de Lauretis, Teresa "The Technology of Gender" in Cherríe Moraga,

Ana Castillo Ana Castillo (born June 15, 1953) is a Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator and independent scholar. Considered one of the leading voices in Chicana experience, Castillo is known for her experiment ...

, and Norma Alarcón adapted this anthology into the Spanish-language ''Este puente, mi espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos''. Moraga and Castillo served as editors, and Castillo and Alarcón translated the text. 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.

Contributors (writers)

Toni Cade Bambara Toni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade (March 25, 1939 – December 9, 1995), was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor. Biography Early life and education Miltona Mirkin Cade was bor ...

* Barbara May Cameron * Andrea Ruth Ransom Canaan * Jo Carrillo * Chrystos *

Cheryl Clarke Cheryl L. Clarke (born Washington DC, May 16, 1947) is an American lesbian poet, essayist, educator and a Black feminist community activist who continues to dedicate her life to the recognition and advancement of Black and Queer people. Her schol ...

Combahee River Collective The Combahee River Collective ( ) was a Black feminist lesbian socialist organization active in Boston from 1974 to 1980. Marable, Manning; Leith Mullings (eds), ''Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal'', Combahee R ...

Gabrielle Daniels Gabrielle Daniels is a poet, writer, and essayist. Daniels was born in New Orleans in 1954 and attended school at San Jose State University. She was published in This Bridge Called My Back ''This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women ...

doris davenport Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan (January 1, 1917 – June 18, 1980) was an American actress in movies of the 1930s and early 1940s. Early years Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, and lived in Davenport, Iowa, before s ...

* hattie gossett *

Aurora Levins Morales Aurora Levins Morales (born February 24, 1954) is a Puerto Rican Jewish writer and poet. She is significant within Latina feminism and Third World feminism as well as other social justice movements. Biography Early life and education Levi ...

Genny Lim Genny (Genevieve) Lim was born on 15 December 1946, in San Francisco, California. She is an American poet, playwright, and performer. She served as the Chair of Community Arts and Education Committee, and as Chair of the Advisory Board for the San ...

* Naomi Littlebear Morena *

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," who ...

Rosario Morales Rosario Morales (August 23, 1930 – March 23, 2011) was a Puerto Rican author and poet. She is best known for her book ''Getting Home Alive'' which she co-authored with her daughter Aurora Levins Morales in 1986.Anderson, Kelly''Rosario Morales ...

* Judit Moschkovich * Barbara Noda *

Pat Parker Pat Parker (born Patricia Cooks; January 20, 1944June 17, 1989) was an American poet and activist. Both her poetry and her activism drew from her experiences as an African-American lesbian Feminism, feminist.Pat Parker. Contemporary Authors On ...

Mirtha N. Quintanales Mirtha Quintanales was a Cuban lesbian feminist, writer, and a professor at New Jersey City University. Her short writing piece "I come with no Illusions" was featured in the feminist anthology ''This Bridge Called My Back''. Early life Born in C ...

Kate Rushin Donna Kate Rushin (born 1951), popularly known as Kate Rushin, is a Black lesbian poet. Rushin's prefatory poem, "The Bridge Poem", to the 1981 collection ''This Bridge Called My Back'' is considered iconic. She currently lives in Connecticut. ...

Beverly Smith Beverly Smith (born November 16, 1946) 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. Beverly Smith is an inst ...

Luisah Teish Luisah Teish ( ; also known as Iyanifa Fajembola Fatunmise) is a teacher and an author, most notably of ''Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals.''Casey, Laura. "There's magic between plants, food and beauty" ...

Max Wolf Valerio Max Wolf Valerio (born February 16, 1957, in Heidelberg, West Germany) is an American poet, memoir writer, essayist and actor. He has lived for many years in San Francisco, California. Valerio described his transition and experiences as a trans ma ...

Nellie Wong Nellie Wong (born 12 September 1934) is an American poet and activist for feminist and socialist causes. Wong is also an active member of the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women. Biography Wong was born in Oakland, California to Chinese ...

Merle Woo Merle Woo is an American academic, poet and activist who has been described as "a leading member of the Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party". Her essay "Letter to Ma" was selected for inclusion in the 1981 feminist anthology ''This Br ...

* Mitsuye Yamada

Contributors (artists)

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Theresa Hak Kyung Cha ( ko, 차학경; March 4, 1951 – November 5, 1982) was an American novelist, producer, director, and artist of South Korean origin, best known for her 1982 novel, ''Dictee''. Considered an avant-garde artist, Cha w ...

* Celia Herrera Rodríguez * Happy/L.A. Hyder * Yolanda M. López *

Ana Mendieta Ana Mendieta (November 18, 1948 – September 8, 1985) was a Cuban-American performance artist, sculptor, painter and video artist who is best known for her "earth-body" artwork. Born in Havana, Mendieta left for the United States in 1961. Earl ...

Betye Saar Betye Irene Saar (born July 30, 1926) is an African-American artist known for her work in the medium of assemblage. Saar is a visual storyteller and an accomplished printmaker. Saar was a part of the Black Arts Movement in the 1970s, which eng ...

* Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie * Liliana Wilson

''Este Puente, Mi Espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos'' contributors (artists)

* Pilar Agüero *

Juana Alicia Juana Alicia (born 1953) is an American muralist, printmaker, educator, activist and, painter. She has been an educator for forty years. Juana Alicia, as part of the faculty Berkeley City College, founded and directed the True Colors Public Art ...

Santa Barraza Santa Barraza (born April 7, 1951) is an American mixed-media artist and painter who is well known for her colorful, retablo style painting. A Chicana, Barraza pulls inspiration from her own mestiza ancestry and from pre-Columbian art. Barraza ...

* Marina Gutiérrez * Ester Hernández * Michele Ku * Margo Machida

References

External links

''Esta puente, mi espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos''
the Spanish translation and adaptation of ''This Bridge Called My Back'' {{DEFAULTSORT:This Bridge Called My Back 1981 non-fiction books Asian-American feminism African-American feminism Chicana feminism English-language books Literature by African-American women Literature by Hispanic and Latino American women Multicultural feminism Native American feminism Womanist literature Radical feminist books Mexican-American literature American Book Award-winning works American anthologies Black feminist books Books about race and ethnicity

Impact

Related readings

Contributors (writers)

Contributors (artists)

''Este Puente, Mi Espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos'' contributors (artists)

See also

References

Further reading

External links