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Bocas: A Daughter’s Geography and Third World Feminism

When I was reading Reclaiming Third World Feminism: or Why Transnational Feminism Needs Third World Feminism by Ranjoo Seodu Herr, I could not help but think of Bocas: A Daughter’s Geography by Ntozake Shange. Herr’s assertion that Transnational Feminism has gained more popularity than Third World Feminism is true, as I had not heard of Third World Feminism until I joined this class.

 

Herr says that there are similarities between Transnational Feminism and Third World feminism, but what separates them is that Transnational feminists “consider nation-states and nationalism as detrimental to feminist causes, whereas Third World feminists are relatively neutral to, and at times even approving of, nation-states and nationalism” (Herr 2). Third World Feminism rejects white global feminism, which is the idea that women across the globe suffer from universal patriarchy.

 

Shange’s work in Bocas: A Daughter’s Geography reminds me of third world feminism, as it rejects the idea of a narrow understanding of gender oppression and it acknowledges nation-states. Shange writes:

 

“but i have a daughter/ la habana

i have a son/ guyana

our twins

santiago & brixton/ cannot speak

the same language

yet we fight the same old men”

 

In this quote, Shange mentions Cuba (la habana), Guyana, Chile (Santiago), and England (Brixton). In the entirety of the poem, she not only talk about South America and Europe but also Africa. Shange’s poem has a global context and she writes about nation-states, which is different from how Transnational feminists would write because they would have a global context without mentioning nation states. When Shange writes “yet we fight the same fight,” she is referring to imperialism, an important tool used to analyze the oppression of third world women.

 

One reason that Third World feminists don’t reject nation-states and nationalism in their analysis of their oppression is that nationalism has been an important tool to reject imperialism. Shange seems to work in this context because her poem is about imperialism (“the same old men”) and nation states/nationalism. Another reason Third World feminists don’t outright reject nation-states and nationalism is that relinquishing “the national political arena to patriarchal feminists [who identify as nationalists] . . . would be tantamount to authorizing them to continue with impunity and the subjugation of women’” (Herr 8). Male Third World nationalists have ascribed masculinity to nationalism, and by not associating with nationalism, Third World feminists don’t get to voice their objection to the association of masculinity with nationalism. Shange’s poem rejects the idea of nationalism as a masculine conception, as she says “but i have a daughter” and “i have a son.”

Shange’s poem pairs well with Herr’s essay because the definitions that Herr provides for Third World feminism are reflected in Shange’s poem.

In her essay, Herr cites Third World feminist Chandra Mohanty. I included a picture of a book Mohanty wrote because I thought the cover was beautiful. The dove and sun that the woman in the middle is holding stood out to me. It reminded me of the last line in Shange’s poem, “we are feeding our children the sun.”

Archives & Remembering Shange

I wanted to take some time to honor Ntozake Shange and her memory by discussing my experience with the Shange archives. Prior to exploring her archives, I didn’t have a concrete understanding of what the purpose and history of archiving was. Not only did the Shange archive give me that understanding, but it also brought me closer to Shange and her work.

 

My favorite thing in the archive is her journals. As someone who frequently journals, I understand how personal and vulnerable it is to share what you journaled about with another person. That’s why I was surprised to learn that Barnard had some of her journals.

 

I am thankful to Shange for allowing us into her personal thoughts and feelings. In her journal, on March 1, 2000, Shange writes, “Even though I took my medicine and paid my bills, I still feel really shaky & anxious. Talked to mama . . .”

 

This page stood out to me because I sometimes deal with the same emotions that Shange dealt with. It’s even more frustrating when I do everything that I am supposed to, everything from cleaning my room to fulfilling my extracurricular and academic activities, and still feel anxious. It’s hard to talk about these feelings, but because Shange so openly shared her feelings with us, it makes me feel more comfortable opening up.

 

In the same entry, Shange writes, “I think I did the syllabus wrong, not putting enough material for each session. But I’ll see tomorrow. I didn’t work on the novel today, either.”

 

It’s clear to see that she is dealing with doubt, anxiety, and an inability to work. When I looked at when her work was published, nothing was published the year she wrote this journal entry. The work she published after this journal entry was in 2003, three years after the entry. The works are titled Ellington Was Not a Street and Daddy Says.

 

Another thing that I found interesting was that she changed from a black pen to a blue pen in the middle of her entry. I thought this was interesting because she changed the pen in the middle of a sentence and it doesn’t look like the black pen was running out of ink when she switched it. The more entries I read, the more I want to understand where she wrote what she wrote, what time of day she wrote it, and every other detail.

 

The more I explore Shange’s archives, the more I want to read her work. I feel closer to Shange and her work more than any other author. Even though I am deeply saddened that she passed away, it makes me happy to know her memory will live on through the archives.   

Photos of Shange’s journal entries.