Canadian Feminism And Women Of Color

This paper argues that the absence of women of color from mainstream feminist practice has resulted not from their culture and values but from their powerlessness based on class, race, and immigrant status. It examines the racial bias of feminist theory and practice in the first and second waves of the women's movement and documents the absence, exclusion, and marginalization of women of color. The acknowledgment of the different oppressions of women has not eliminated bias or changed the structure of dominant-subordinate relations between white feminists and feminists of color. The paper concludes by discussing a specific example of a coalition between black and white feminists, showing the difficulty of establishing 'sisterhood' across lines of race and class.