Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought

@article{Collins1986LearningFT,
  title={Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought},
  author={P. Collins},
  journal={Social Problems},
  year={1986},
  volume={33}
}
Black women have long occupied marginal positions in academic settings. I argue that many Black female intellectuals have made creative use of their marginality—their “outsider within” status–to produce Black feminist thought that reflects a special standpoint on self, family, and society. I describe and explore the sociological significance of three characteristic themes in such thought: (1) Black women's self-definition and self-valuation; (2) the interlocking nature of oppression; and (3… Expand
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