Womanism in Afrofuturism

 Leah Natalia Ashlak

English 2016 CRN-45498

Dr. Harris

December 1, 2024

Womanism in Afrofuturism

Womanisn is defined as a “feminist movement that focuses on the experiences of black women and other women of color, and works to improve the world for all people”. Afrofuturism is defined as “a movement in literature, music, art, etc. featuring futuristic or science fiction themes which incorporate elements of Black history and culture”. Knowing these definitions, how does womanism or black feminism affect and help black women as a whole, in afrofuturism? There are many examples of womanism in afrofuturism such as Shuri and Okoye from Black Panther and Anyanwu from Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler. Shuri is a phenomenal scientist and engineer and Okoye is the lead female warrior. Whereas Anyanwu is the only female that can live forever and change her shape into any living creature, as long as she understands their anatomy. Just these few examples show how black women can be strong, smart, and resilient. Without this representation the world might be stuck in the old way.

So how do strong black women in movies, shows and books help and affect black women? First we have to look back in time. The first black women to be broadcasted on tv was Ethel Waters in 1939. Whereas white men and women had been broadcasted for a much longer time. When young black women are growing up and they see no representation for them, they might feel discouraged or even disconnected with their peers of similar interest. The show Mixed-ish does a great job at showing this on television. One of the main characters, Rainbow, when she was little she liked doing well in school. Though the other young black women did not mind failing the tests because they did not want to go to college and get a degree. Seeing that this is, the other kids would make fun of young Rainbow and it would make her upset. This is because during that time all women were expected to stay home and work around the house. If the young women had someone to look up to, like young black women do today, then Rainbow might not have been made fun of for making good grades. Having representation in the media is also important because it helps give someone motivation for something they want to do. If you have no representation in the media it can be scary going out and being the representation for everyone else. Also when someone does not have any representation in the media they might feel as if they do not belong. This could lead to depression and separating themselves from their peers. 

Another way that womanism in afrofuturism has helped and affected black women is by rejecting stereotypes. In Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler Anyanwu is not a Jezebel, a black woman who is over sexualized, or a Mammy, a black woman taking care of white children. She is also not the stereotypical ‘angry black woman’ or the token black friend. Anyanwu is the main character and is a very spiritual being that also has super powers to live forever and change into any animal she pleases. She takes care of her kids until they are old enough and sends them on their way. She runs from Doro when no one else could. Anyanwu breaks many stereotypes such as being the ‘angry black women’, she is not angry, yes she does get angry but it is not something she is. She simply feels anger, just like everybody else. This helps allow black women to break from the chains of the stereotypes.  Another piece of media that helps black women break the chains of these stereotypes is the television show Black-ish. The main character Rainbow is now grown up and an anesthesiologist. She also has a nice house and wonderful kids, even if they can be a handful. This show helps break stereotypes because many people believe black women cannot become doctors. Stereotypes also place black women in trailer parks or trashy rundown neighborhoods that are riddled with drug addicts or are unsafe, while Rainbow and her family live in a nice suburban neighborhood, that is none of those things. It is important to note that black women are none of the things they are labeled, even if they might feel angry this does not make them an ‘angry black woman’. If a black woman likes to have fun with a partner this does not make her a Jezebel, this makes her human.

Overall womanism in afrofuturism is a wonderful thing. Not only does it give young black women someone to look up to for inspiration. It also helps break stereotypes by showing black women, being regular black women. This is important because without someone there to help fight against an oppressive system then the system would never change. If the system never changed then the oppressed people in it would drown in violence and hate, just like it had happened in the past. Though when you look at afrofuturism through a womanist lens then afrofuturism becomes a tool for resistance against the oppressive system. By doing this it opens your eyes to the struggles of black women in the oppressive system. Womanism in afrofuturism has helped and affected many black women, young or old. It has helped them by allowing them to be who they are or who they want to be, instead of staying inside of a box because society had told them so. It has also helped black women gain the right to vote and the right to go to school without discrimination, even though there are people out there that still hate on black women. It has also helped black women by opening new doors for them in any part of their life, whether it be a promotion at work or becoming the first female black president. Without a doubt womanism in afrofuturism has helped many women and will continue to do so until there is a perfect world without hate and violence.

Works Cited

Pearl Stewart, Rejecting Stereotypes, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 2018, file:///C:/Users/lashl/Downloads/EBSCO-FullText-2024-12-02%20(1).pdf

Josie Andrews, Adam McClain, Oppositional Gaze: Disrupting the Controlling Images of Black Women’s Development in Film, Eric, 2023, eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED649400.pdf

Ashley R. Hall, Slippin’ in and Out of Frame: An Afrafuturist Feminist Orientation to Black Women and American Citizenship, Quarterly Journal of Speech, file:///C:/Users/lashl/Downloads/EBSCO-FullText-2024-12-01.pdf 

Elizabeth Gilliam, S. R. Toliver, Black Feminist Wondaland, Journal of Teaching in Higher Education, 2021, https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/view/167

Not All Women Gained the Vote in 1920, PBS, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-not-all-women-gained-right-to-vote-in-1920/ 

The Clerks Black History Series, DK Superior Clerk, 2019, https://dksuperiorclerk.com/mt-content/uploads/2019/10/clerck-file10.pdf

Marie Diby, Moving Past Stereotypes and Colorism: Why Can’t Black Women Ever be the Main Role in Cute and Heart-Warming Media, Heroica, https://www.heroica.co/commentary/moving-past-stereotypes-and-colourism-why-cant-black-women-ever-be-the-main-role-in-cute-and-heart-warming-media