TRAVELLING THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY AND BYWAYS
2.6 Why A Black Feminist Perspective?
Critical theory also examines the issues of gender, which I present in the next section. Females as well as those not from the dominant culture are born into language thus they have little choice in what they speak. They are also born into history, society and ideology. Therefore beliefs and 'common sense' were largely 'given' to them by society. For example, if a girl's 'common sense' tells her that she is 'naturally' inferior to boys, she is in the grip of ideology. In order to understand the grip of such ideology one cannot blame the victim but to use various strategies to create awareness for their liberation. The various theories that I use in this study explore different methods with slight nuances to achieve similar goals. Feminist theory as located within this study demonstrates how women and in particular Black women in South Africa have been oppressed and marginalized.
In both feminist and critical theory, education is used as a tool to raise the level of consciousness of the oppressed so that they can be empowered and emancipated.
is in feminist philosophy that women's experiences are highlighted and used as material for philosophical discussion (Code, Mullet & Overall, 1988).
The Personal Narratives Group (1989) explains how feminist philosophers are in the process of understanding some of the complex and subtle ways in which socially constructed institutions and theories have contributed to the invisibility of women and hence to the inaudibility of women. Feminist theory emerges and responds to the lives of women (The Personal Narratives Group, 1989: 4).
Feminist theory is grounded in women's lives and aims to analyze the role and meaning of gender in those lives in society. Life histories and autobiographical writing are essential primary sources for feminist theory. Feminist philosophy realizes that there is a need for new ways of thinking and it is important to find these ways instead of trying to accommodate women by simply making semantic changes such as 'he' and 'man' to 'she' and 'woman', which cannot give redress to women's concerns. It is imperative to give redress to women's experiences through a feminist perspective of consciousness-raising, which can be transformative. Reinharz (1992) clarifies the principles of consciousness-raising as enabling women to discuss and understand their experiences from their own viewpoints. Hence, consciousness-raising can be defined as a political, therapeutic or educational activity. According Weiner (1994) radical feminism:
...is that of the 'universal oppression of women'? It necessarily follows that if all men oppress women, women are the oppressed class, though there are some disagreements about how patriarchal relations were/are created and sustained. Consciousness-raising can be defined as a political, therapeutic or educational activity (Weiner, 1994: 55).
In order to be aware of the effects of male domination, women have to undergo a process of women-focused re-education, which is known as consciousness- raising. This consciousness-raising is a means of education for women sharing information about female experience.
Weiner (1994) stresses that the most important challenge to radical feminism comes from Black feminism which criticizes not only the White patriarchal
society for oppressing Black women thrice over on the basis of sex, colour and class but also the oppressive nature of the White women's movement which had glossed over economic and social differences between women in its attempt to articulate authentic female experiences. Carby (1994) argues that the concept of 'patriarchy' has different meaning for Black women:
We can point to no single source of our oppression. When White feminists emphasize patriarchy alone, we want to redefine the term and make it a more complex concept. Racism ensures that Black men do not have the same relations to patriarchal/capitalist hierarchies as White men (in
Weiner, 1994:58).
As a South African Black I identify with Black British feminist experiences. Brah and Minha (1994) present their feminist position as follows:
We start from the position that any discussion [of education] ... must be understood in the context of the complex social and historical processes, which account for the subordination of black groups in British society Social relations between white and black groups in Britain today are set against a background of colonialism and imperialism (in Weiner, 1994:
59).
What is of major concern to the British Black feminist is the exploitation and unjust treatment of women. South African Black women undergo triple oppression first in their home, then in the work place and society (ANC Newsletter, 1993).
According to Weiner (1994), it is important for the researcher to position herself or himself within educational discourse and to promote a critical awareness. My position in this research will be discussed in my research methodology Chapter Four.
As I travel through the literature it becomes essential to understand how critical theory, critical pedagogy and feminism intersect. The boundaries are sometimes blurred as they deal with similar issues with nuances in meaning. The next stop in my journey through the literature is the anthropological and socio-linguistic perspectives on literacy. These perspectives shed some light on how literacy is
practised in various countries. There has been a lack of critical postmodern critique in adult education (Flannery, 1995) and these perspectives offer views on the new approaches.