Hey, what do you mean “Same with Africana Womanism”? I’m just curious.
Thanks for this question! For reference, this is about my comment here.
In a similar way to how I relate more to the fundamentally different and more fluid Yoruba concept of obinrin vs. popular Western ideas of “woman,” I also feel a lot more comfortable with the principles of Africana womanism as a non-binary person. The principles of an Africana womanist intentionally reach beyond conventional Western gender norms and standards because these principles are part of an inherently Afrocentric framework.
What are these more flexible and gender-inclusive principles of Africana womanism? Self-naming, self-defining, adaptability, completeness in oneself, authentically expressing oneself’s through one’s own culture, inclusivity in working together with other genders, and not being trapped into conventional gender roles. The creator of Africana womanism, Clenora Hudson-Weems has written about that last principle, “The Africana woman has never been restricted to the home and household chores, and her male counterpart has more often than not shared the role as homemaker” (x pg 63).
So, yes Africana womanism focuses on Africana “women,” but looking at these principles it is very clear that Africana womanism’s notion of an Africana woman is not the same as “woman” in the context of dominant Western gender norms. There are also Africana male-womanists for men who also identify with Africana womanism. It’s a term directly inspired by Yoruba culture’s concept of a “man-woman” or obinrin bi okunrin. Similarly, there can be Africana enby-womanists and more (enby is a non-binary term).
This is why as a non-binary person, I feel more able to relate to Afrocentric gender constructs that are inherently more flexible and inclusive. Africana womanism’s approach to gender is just as much an example of this as gender in Yoruba culture.
