Fugitive Feminism

by Akwugo Emejulu, Edna Bonhomme (Foreword)

What does existence mean for Black women without the anchor of humanity and the struggle to inhabit it? How can one be oneself without being human? What is it to become a fugitive from the confines of ‘the human’? Humanity has always excluded Others on the basis of race and gender; this is a book about studying the contours of Black women’s non-humanity, to ask what people might become if they chose to flee, following the footsteps of those who resisted enslavement. This audacious manifesto investigates Black women’s processes of divesting from humanity, drawing on the legacies of bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis and others in the pantheon of Black feminism. Sociologist Akwugo Emejulu combines the concepts ‘fugitive’ and ‘feminism’ to signal that Black women’s becoming must be grounded in a collective process of speculative dialogue and action for liberation. Fugitive Feminism speculates about an emancipated new world to prefigure another mode of living and being.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Politics, Philosophy, Womens, Gender

136 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2022

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully strong and imaginative in its argument! Especially the last chapter is a vision. As a reader I would’ve profited from a little more discussion of her understanding of some of the concepts she uses, such human/non-human as concepts.

[huda 💋 · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved it !!! felt full of hope after and lots of new thoughts that made me have an „ahhh“ moment at least 1000 times. really recommend reading so we can do the yappa about it! Emejulu absolute queen

[Marthe AllGoodreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

heel goed en heel interessant !!!

[Shardia Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A welcomed insight into experimental theorisation, placing Black women's experiences of being, at the centre of their own alternative version of humanity. Though a stretch from the usual gaze, the author offers a plausible execution of reality and what ought to be. Also, I enjoyed the recall of some classic foundational Black Feminist Activist, who I often shelve.

[AinaBN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura molt potent. Emejulu parteix de la premissa que la noció d'humanitat va lligada a la blanquitud i, per tant, les persones racialitzades són sistemàticament excloses d'aquesta concepció. De la mateixa manera, Emejulu explica que la categoria "dona" es limita a les persones blanques. En lloc d'intentar aspirar a aquestes nocions d'humanitat i feminitat excloents, l'autora proposa fugir d'aquestes categories i abraçar la no-humanitat com una altra manera de ser, fora de la concepció binària, racialitzada i antropocèntrica de la subjectivitat.

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about intersectional feminism, and this book has opened my eyes about it. Through her research and explanation, I learnt about what feminism is trying to fight and how Black women brings themselves into the conversation.

The criticism of white feminism also something that I found interesting (and I want to dig more about it).

Fugitive Feminism is a good read 👌👍

[Kev Nickells · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot to this which, like any good philosophy, offers new ways of considering old problems. That might seem platitudinal but Emejulu is doing some very careful (and caring) thinking here. Speaking broadly, a lot of theory starts with establishing 'the human' at its centre. Emujulu offers a provocation - what if we don't start from the human? Another, imperative, side to this provocation - why should black folk fight to establish themselves in a category so utterly saturated with white identity?

So she develops the notion of fugitivity, within feminism - a caring and a community-led perspective but not, loosely, one which is constantly trying to get a foothold on a broader community and society which has established itself as white supremacist (whether explicitly or otherwise).

This all sounds heady and high intellectual in my abstraction but this is one of those books that shows that it's eminently possible to be highly erudite and intelligent without cowing to academicisation, to highly abstracted language. She uses the works of a great many writers in this effort and while she's not stylistically that similar to bell hooks, she does certainly share her capacity for plain writing which never lacks for intellect.

There's a lot here that gels with a lot of what I broadly think of as anarchist - collectivisation, direct action, community building - but take that with a pinch of salt. Most anarchists will tell you everything that's good is secretly anarchist and it'd be just like a white guy (me) to fold a black woman's work into someone else's tradition. My saying this is kind of laconic - Emujulu does spend an amount of timing talking about establishing ways of thinking that don't cede to white traditions that end in 'the human'.

Among the litany of great things Emejulu says here, there's a wonderful point about the academic and citational thinking - academics are often encouraged to think in terms of their individuality, but end up citing other workers. That is to say, there's already a strong collectivism in a great many traditions that can be pulled on, made fugitive and non-human.

While this is very much focussed on the experiences of black folk, I don't see this as being a work that wouldn't apply to most liberatory (but not liberal) modes of thinking, and activism.

If you're teaching philosophy you should stick this in front of your students.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the recurring questions in many struggles for social justice, for liberation, is that of the ultimate aim; often the answer is that that the goal is equality. In this engaging and powerful short interjection into that question, Akwugo Emejulu asks of feminism ‘equality with what’? This itself is a perennial, and what Emejulu does that is so compelling is place the question in the context of an Enlightenment rationality that denies the humanity people of African descent. This denial is no secret – it is woven through European philosophy and social theory. It is also a powerful presence in much contemporary political practice that takes for granted the whiteness of the political subject, and is challenged by post- and decolonial approaches. Emejulu then embraces this challenge to ask what contemporary feminism offers her, a woman of Nigerian descent raised in the USA and living and working in the UK. Her answer is exciting and compelling….

Drawing on work by Sylvia Wynter, and weaving in the insights and approaches of bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Mariame Kaba, and Kanien'kehá:ka scholar Audra Simpson, Emejulu makes a powerful case for refusal and working from the margins as the basis of community building. So rather than seek to prove her humanity in a philosophical and everyday setting that denies it, she sets out to change the terms of practice, to accept that the world is anti-Black at some profound levels and in fundamental ways and seek new forms, means, and modes of collectivity – and with that new forms, means, and modes of struggle and organisation, beyond, against, and despite the conventions of power. This is what she casts as ‘fugitive feminism’, as a rejection of a definition of ‘human’ that excludes her in favour of an assertion of sociality, communion, dialogue with others on terms not determined by Power.

I may not be the target audience – but that doesn’t make this any less invigorating for this late middle aged white bloke.

[*•Ava•* 🇵🇭 hapa haole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing book. Picked it up in Germany, finished reading in the US. I think Emejulu is finally expanding on some things theorists have always talked about, but forming it into an actionable reality. Even though her writing is framed as speculative, her sanguine expectations mark a distinctive separation from Afro-pessimism, which I think many people use to discount the discussion of African American experience as living in a reality separate from that of ‘humanity’. I would like to mention, Du Bois has been on that since 1903, so this is not a new concept - and therefore should be considered less controversial than people consider it - the change is only in its application to the specificities of black women and the call for the creation of an entirely new society.
As a scholar of German literature, I also deeply enjoyed her discussions of the liminality of the black female experience. I found many connections to the theorizing of Bachmann, who expressed similar experiences through many of her writings, the only difference being Emjulu positioning her work to account specifically for the experiences of black women, while Bachmann expresses this concept in its application to all women in a heteronormative society. I believe Emejulu found the solution to the problem posed by Bachmann, and the connection is truly insightful.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book on a whim as I enjoy sociological insights into race and gender. I was not disappointed and I am very glad I read this. Whether you could call this perspective from Emejulu radical is up for debate as I believe that she encapsulates the idea of humanity and its creation as being overtly white very well, and I think as a white person I deserved to hear this message. Emejulu writes with such eloquence and draws a reader in to want to keep reading her thoughts. The use of black arts figures quotes to make the points clearer I thought was very interesting and made me realise that everything I learnt at school was told from a white perspective. I learnt a lot from this book about how feminism can both produce inequality and intrench it, therefore intersectionality is most important when discussing issues in society. I would like to read more on this topic and look at different perspectives but this is a starting point for me to gain knowledge about issues which I know I don't experience but should recognise is occurring around me.

[Lu Castello · Rating 5 out of 5]

truly interesting and thought provoking book.

I will be sharing the chapter about community, care and joy as forms of resistance with the communities I am building.

I would say the Book does a good job at being accessible to people who might not know much about Black Feminism- and I hope this would be a wonderful introduction to contemporary Feminism.

I found particularly interesting the section briefly discussing gender as a tool of oppression, wish more contemporary authors discussed this.

great work and I will be seeking to read more of Emejulu's work.

[Sara S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great critique of what intersectional feminism has become, a must-read.

[Niall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true manifesto - brief, profound and indispensable.

[Bete Boe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant put into words how inspired and hopeful I feel after reading this

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5