Womanists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A movement advocating for the social, political, and cultural rights of women, especially those of African descent
2. A perspective that emphasizes gender and race intersectionality in feminist thought, promoting collective empowerment
3. A philosophy that centers the experiences of Black women and opposes both sexism and racism in societal structures

Etymology: "Womanists" is the plural of "womanist," a noun that has been in use only since the late twentieth century. It was formed in English from "woman" and the suffix "-ist," on the model of "humanist," which is why the word can sound like a relative of "feminist" while the two came from different sources. The name for the people who hold the view is one of the more telling parts of the story. Built this way, the word's sense is simply a person who advocates for women, and the base "woman" carries the whole meaning. Because it was coined by analogy rather than inherited, its shape reflects a deliberate choice to echo an existing family of "-ist" words.