Feminist speakers 'bridge' cultural boundaries

A panel of prominent feminist scholars spoke on issues of prejudice and struggle during "25 years after 'This Bridge Called My Back,'" a special event put on by the Wismer Center for Gender and Diversity Studies in the Pigott Auditorium last Thursday.

"This Bridge Called My Back," a book by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, was the centerpiece of the day's event. First published in 1981, the book is a compilation of essays by feminist women of color who challenged traditional views of feminism and social change. In the book, authors present their unique struggles as women from different cultural backgrounds and upbringings, and make the inclusion of different viewpoints their central issue.

The event was planned by Professor Gabriella Guti?rrez y Muhs of the Wismer Center for Gender and Diversity Studies at Seattle University.

Guti?rrez y Muhs has a special relationship to the book, she explained. While working with immigrant women in California, Guti?rrez y Muhs helped raise money to bring the two authors of "This Bridge" to lead workshops and speak with the Latina women about their experiences as women of color. Some of the stories shared during those workshops were later printed in the Spanish edition of "This Bridge."

All of the speakers at the event were deeply inspired by the publication of "This Bridge."

"I can say for sure that this work, along with others from the second wave of feminism in the 80s, greatly shaped my feminist views," said Jacquelyn Miller, associate provost for Academic Affairs during her introduction to the panel discussion.

Speakers for the panel included professor Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano of Stanford University, professor Grace Chang of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Seattle University professors Jodi O'Brien and Carmen Gonzalez. All experts in various fields of women's issues, the speakers shared their reflections on "This Bridge," as well as personal experiences in their search for equality and fairness.

One of the book's main themes was diversity, and the important role it needs to play in shaping a more just world. The contributors for the book were women who stood apart from the norm, because they were not white, middle class women.

"We saw in 'This Bridge' the richness of the idea of difference within ourselves and within our many communities, not as fragmenting or dividing, but making possible many sites of social and critical intervention," said O'Brien.

Feminists need to include the different views of all women and men, agued the speakers, in order for true progress to be made. While this is a noble thought, Gonzalez explained that it is not always easy.

"Sadly, many of us have been trained to hide our differences. We have been told day in and day out by the dominant culture that those who are white, thin, male, young, able-bodied, heterosexual, Christian and economically privileged are better than the rest of us," said Gonzalez. "In order to protect ourselves […] we erect rigid boundaries between 'us' and 'them' and live our lives inside the identity boxes created in the dominant culture."

"Identity is so much more fluid, complex, and multifaceted than these narrow identity boxes," she added.

Chang expounded upon this notion in her speech, agreeing with Gonzalez that Northwesterners seem especially prone to conforming to their 'identity boxes.'

"People in Seattle, and people in the Northwest in general, seem very conflict avoidant," said Chang. "They would rather keep quiet than risk breaking out of their boxes. But if we want to change anything, we need to break out of our boxes and interact with people who are different than us, even if that makes us uncomfortable."

All four speakers agreed that communication and education are what is most necessary to create understanding between women, and men, of different cultures. All feminists, they said, must educate themselves about the sufferings of other women.

"It is not the duty of the oppressed to educate the oppressors," said Gonzalez.

The meaning behind the title "This Bridge Called My Back" is that the authors had to use themselves as a bridge across the cultural divide, when, in fact, others should be bridging it themselves.

"I would like to acknowledge those who came before us and built this bridge, who paved the road so lovingly, so painstakingly and courageously," said Chang. "We must continue to walk it at all costs and against all odds and obstacles."