womanism

noun

wom·​an·​ism ˈwu̇-mə-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce womanism (audio)
: a form of feminism focused especially on the conditions and concerns of Black women
womanist noun or adjective

Examples of womanism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Barbie’s debut was also a sign of game-changing conversations, books and periodicals (like 1963’s The Feminine Mystique and Gloria Steinem’s Ms. magazine), and movements (from second-wave feminism to womanism) that fueled professional and political progress for women in America. Maressa Brown, Parents, 25 July 2023 Additional topics that no longer appear in the final AP course materials include reparations and ideas proposed by contemporary theorists, such as womanism — a movement that focuses on the Black, female experience first coined by Alice Walker in 1979. Dallas News, 21 Feb. 2023 However, Gates could have turned to other scholarly resources, including the canon of womanism in religious studies and other classic texts in the field of Black Church studies that would have truly opened the floodgates of the Black Church tradition. Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2021 For example, Alice Walker creating womanism, a term specific for Black women. San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Dec. 2021 Writer and activist reflects on freedom, Black feminism/womanism and writing in community. San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2021 In response, some black feminists decamped from feminism to create womanism. Constance Grady, Vox, 1 June 2018 Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, and Kimberlé Crenshaw couldn’t create terms like Black feminism, womanism, and intersectionality to spread the word about our struggle without that knowledge. refinery29.com, 8 Mar. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'womanism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of womanism was in 1984

Dictionary Entries Near womanism

Cite this Entry

“Womanism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/womanism. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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