Feminism in Coalition

Thinking with US Women of Color Feminism

Book Pages: 304 Illustrations: Published: December 2022

Author: Liza Taylor

Subjects
Gender and Sexuality > Feminism and Women’s Studies, Theory and Philosophy > Feminist Theory, Politics > Political Theory

In Feminism in Coalition Liza Taylor examines how US women of color feminists’ coalitional politics provides an indispensable resource to contemporary political theory, feminist studies, and intersectional social justice activism. Taylor charts the theorization of coalition in the work of Bernice Johnson Reagon, Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith, the Combahee River Collective, Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga, and others. For these activist-scholars, coalition is a dangerous struggle that emerges from a shared political commitment to undermining oppression and an emphasis on self-transformation. Taylor shows how their coalitional understandings of group politics, identity, consciousness, and scholarship have transformed how activists and theorists build alliances across race, class, gender, sexuality, faith, and ethnicity to tackle systems of domination. Their coalitional politics enrich current discussions surrounding the impetus and longevity of effective activism, present robust theoretical accounts of political subject formation and political consciousness, and demonstrate the promise of collective modes of scholarship. In this way, women of color feminists have been formulating solutions to long-standing problems in political theory. By illustrating coalition’s vitality to a variety of practical and philosophical interdisciplinary discussions, Taylor encourages us to rethink feminist and political theory.

Praise

"This well-written and clearly organized book challenges the reader to explore effective activism over time with directions for the future. Thus, the book would be ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in sociology, women’s studies, and criminal justice that include contemporary political theory, feminist studies, and intersectional social justice. The 'call to action' structure of the book creates a platform for the facilitator to really engage the student in the option of taking an actual step to make change within the current politically diverse arena. Exercises such as this makes the book unique within this discipline and a must have within the classroom." — Shauntey James, Ethnic and Racial Studies

"Taylor is a feminist political theorist who offers sophisticated arguments about philosophical principles and feminist practices together with an accessible discussion of core texts from women of color. She writes for multidisciplinary feminist readers already familiar with classics such as position papers from the Combahee River Collective and essays by Audre Lorde but does so with sufficient attention to explaining these and other arguments from the rich field of feminist theorizing. Students just becoming aware of this area of study will get a vibrant introduction, and more knowledgeable readers will find this an innovative and helpful approach. . . . Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals." — M. M. Ferree, Choice

“Too often, even today, women of colors’ work is used to illustrate, rather than to theorize. Liza Taylor avoids this trap; she honors and theorizes with women of colors’ theories. Urgently calling for coalitional politics and providing a rarely considered perspective on US women of color texts, theories, and practices, Taylor offers a refreshing, much needed analysis that can open up identity politics. This book will invite a broad audience of feminist scholars in a range of fields.” — AnaLouise Keating, author of The Anzaldúan Theory Handbook

“Liza Taylor convincingly argues that women of color theories of coalition can solve what seems to be an unsolvable crisis in poststructuralist approaches to contemporary political praxis. By analyzing the concept of coalition across their work, Taylor helps us understand anew the work of theorists such as Audre Lorde, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Gloria Anzaldúa, María Lugones, and others. A book of the highest caliber, Feminism in Coalition is invaluable for thinking about how to build movements across difference.” — Christine Keating, author of Decolonizing Democracy: Transforming the Social Contract in India

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Author/Editor Bios Back to Top

Liza Taylor is Assistant Professor of Political Science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Table of Contents Back to Top
Acknowledgments  ix
Introduction  1
1. From Rosa Luxemburg to the Combahee River Collective: Spontaneous Coalition as a Precursor to Intersectional Marxism and Politico-Ethical Coalition Politics  33
2. Women of Color Feminism and Politico-Ethical Coalition Politics: Recentering the Politics of Coalition with Reagon, Smith, Combahee, and Lorde  67
3. Coalition from the Inside Out: Struggling toward Coalitional Identity and Developing a Coalitional Consciousness with Lode, Anzaldúa, Sandoval, and Pratt  106
4. Writing Feminist Theory, Doing Feminist Politics: Rethinking Collective Feminist Authorship with This Bridge Called My Back  150
5. The Women's March on Washington and Politico-Ethical Coalitional Opportunities in the Age of Trump  189
Conclusion: Lessons for Contemporary and Future Feminist Activists  225
Notes  249
References  259
Index  277
Sales/Territorial Rights: World

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Additional InformationBack to Top
Paper ISBN: 978-1-4780-1915-2 / Cloth ISBN: 978-1-4780-1651-9 / eISBN: 978-1-4780-2378-4
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