Can (or should) white women do Black feminist theory?: exploring tensions, contradictions, and intersectionalities while performing justice-focused research

Abstract

ABSTRACT Black feminist thought is produced by and for Black women, but could it be applied by – be the conceptual lens for – others? How do/should I position myself as a white woman doing Black feminist work? How do I de-centre myself, centre Black voices, and also use the power that my whiteness provides to do the type of social justice work Black feminist thought approaches demands? Here, I wrestle with the answers to these questions mainly through my ‘conversations’ with Black feminist intellectuals such as Collins (2000), Lorde (2007), Cooper (2018), and Kendall (2020). In this reflective piece, I explore six ‘lessons learned’ which emerged from the tensions/conflicts I encountered while doing this project in the confines of academia with the goal of considering how academics and practitioners can create knowledge in anti-racist ways.