This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
By Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua, 2002, 3rd Woman Press, 370 pages (3rd edition)
Mel’s Reading Status: UNREAD
Commentary:
I really want to read this book, but ran into several issues getting my hands on the 3rd edition, not the least of which being that my library’s copy is missing. Most of the copies of the 3rd edition that I find online are much too expensive; most were over $200, some were only $100. Anything less than $100 was very used. This is the second, and biggest, problem I ran into while trying to locate this book. The second edition, however, is much less expensive, though it lacks the newer material. Both of these editions seem to be out of print.
UPDATE: I finally got my hands on a gorgeous copy of the 3rd edition, by basically stalking the “New & Used” from Amazon.com and AbeBooks. It was awesome, I found one that was barely used, for only $42. If you want to get your hands on this book, I would recommend doing that.
Summary, Description, and/or History:
Originally published in 1984 (1983? ‘84? Sources vary!), this anthology, which includes poems, prose, and essays, was edited by two radical women of color (Chicanas, both). This Bridge Called My Back was groundbreaking, the first well-known book that really held white feminists’ feet to the fire, so to speak, about their deliberate ignorance of the racial disparities within the feminist movement, and called for a radical restructuring of America. This third edition contains all the original material from the first two editions, including their forwards, prefaces, and introductions, as well as a new forward by Moraga that she began writing on September 11, 2001.
Additional Comments always welcome.
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Tags: Feminism, Feminist Cannon, Multiracial Feminism, Race |
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[…] The most prominent feature of multiracial feminism is its critique of other forms of feminism as dominated by white, middle-class issues. Multiracial feminism assumes that “woman” is not a unitary category — there is no “one woman”, and “woman” does not have any specific race, class, age, sexual orientation, or physical ability. Multiracial feminism is based on the idea that individuals’ are composed of an intersection of race, gender, class, age, and sexual orientation which produces a complex, multifaceted identity. It also notes that the goal of a “gender-neutral”, “colorblind” society ignores the structural inequalities based on multiple oppressions. This can also be known as “anti-essentialist”. The most important book for this portion of the movement is This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. […]