What The Health (WTH)?: Theorising Southern Black Feminisms in the US South

Abstract

abstractThe everyday lived experiences of Southern Black American women in the United States (US) are rarely explicitly characterised in Black Feminisms’ discourse. The lack of an active discourse surrounding the Southern Black women’s identity is a glaring weakness in the broader discussion of feminism (Rushing, 2009; 2017). From Black women who historically worked as day workers, cleaning the homes of white families while their families fended for themselves, to the contemporary phenomena of home health care aid workers charged with cleaning and caring for individuals, often older and white, Southern Black women’s ways of knowing have framed not only the civil rights movement (Emmons et al, 2013); but also contemporary social movements such as #SayHerName and the agency of digital social phenomena such as Black Twitter. Past social movements emphasised space and the meaningfulness of the South concerning civil rights, yet current discourse fails to integrate region and location in the narrative of these movements, thus missing opportunities to explore the “complexity and explanatory power” place contributes (Rushing, 2017:1). The proliferation of digital platforms such as podcasts, videos, social media stories focused on health demonstrate how Black women are reclaiming their health, and bringing others along with them. However, the theorisation of what we term Southern Black Feminisms, specifically as it relates to Black women’s health, is lacking. This theoretical article, informed by qualitative and quantitative data from both authors’ previous research, will build a profile for Southern Black women in the US, characterise Southern Black Feminisms and propose a Southern Black woman informed, evidence-based framework addressing health inequities among Southern Black women. The goal is to demonstrate how the experiences of everyday Black women in the US South and the Global South are connected, especially with African Diasporic women, and consider how potential alliances can contribute to collective resistance and action.