Conflict or solidarity: multicultural feminism and sisterhood among women of color

Abstract

According to a proverb of unknown origin: "Two are better than one because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can lift her up." This adage defines the essence of a multicultural feminism that encourages collective voice to benefit women of color by facilitating an improved quality of life for them. Evidence is lacking, however, about whether women of color practice multicultural feminism to affect change. To collect information to support or deny the practice of multicultural feminism in the lives of women of color, ethnographic interviews of a total of 24 women of color in New York City and Los Angeles were used. The research was designed to study three questions: 1. Do women of color believe that multicultural feminism is a way to improve their collective status? 2. Do women of color attempt to unite in an effort to raise their socioeconomic and sociopolitical status? 3. If women of color do not unite, are there either external societal factors or factors internal to women of color as a group that keep them from uniting? The research shows support for multicultural feminism, but women of color indicate they lack the time for or belief in the success of a multicultural feminism. Women of color do not attempt to unite in multicultural feminism because of external pressures such as the oppression of people of color by the dominant majority. Oppression affects whether women of color organize. Oppression leads to comparisons among the women of color of perceived minority inequality issues. The result is often the external appearance of complacency among women of color about working together to improve their socioeconomic and sociopolitical status. This research study also explores the relationships among women of color. Central to the findings is the recognition of the complex interaction of feelings of women of color about their similarities and differences, reasons for the existence of internalized racism and cross-racial hostility, and the effects of competition among them that denigrates solidarity and spurs conflict.