Reframing Feminism: Gynarchy, Liberal Thought, and Feminist Memory

Locating Feminism in the Present Tense

In this moment of global transformation, the terms often used to describe feminist theory—especially when applied to regions shaped by ancestral stewardship—require careful reexamination. For communities rooted in Black/African lineages across the U.S., Americas and Africa, language is never neutral. It carries memory, aspiration, and sometimes, imposed limitation.

 

What We Mean When We Say Gynarchy

Historically, gynarchy has referred to leadership structures in which women or female-identified beings hold central decision-making roles. Yet, contemporary use of the term often veers toward distortion, employed either as caricature or as theoretical construct far removed from grounded practice (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

In spiritual and cultural frameworks where care, consensus, and ecological reciprocity have long directed governance, the notion of a singular power center is foreign. Here, collective wisdom—not imposed hierarchy—guides the way forward.

 

Liberal Feminism: A Framework Under Review

Liberal approaches to feminism emerged primarily within Euro-American political institutions, emphasizing state-based rights and access to existing structures of influence. While these goals have advanced tangible benefits for many, the framework often centers the individual over the interconnected, and policy over practice (Left Voice, n.d.).

This orientation rarely accounts for decision-making shaped by extended kinship, ecological relationship, or spiritual obligation—core tenets for many African-descended communities (E-International Relations, 2015).

As systems of public influence undergo overdue examination, voices grounded in memory and earth-centered reasoning are reminding us that not all paths must align with dominant institutional models (Left Voice, n.d.).

 

Living Knowledge Beyond State Structures

Rather than seeking reform within limiting constructs, many thinkers and stewards from the Global South are reactivating memory-based systems that do not rely on extraction or forced visibility. These lifeways emphasize protection, mutual recognition, and time-honored rhythms of contribution.

The logic is not to insert oneself into systems not designed with care in mind, but to nurture self-determined alternatives that serve both land and life.

 

A Patterned Construct of Experience

Where some frameworks attempt to categorize identity through multiple access points (TIME, 2019), these traditions view lived experience as a continuous weave—responsive and relational. One’s position is not merely assigned by category, but cultivated through role, responsibility, and the quiet agreements of care.

Rather than requesting acknowledgment within foreign frameworks, these approaches bring forward whole structures formed outside the logic of conquest. They move like underground rivers: sustaining, hidden, and essential.

 

Looking Ahead, Quietly

Feminist contributions from the Global South do not arrive with the noise of spectacle. They arrive through gesture, offering, and survival. They do not seek entry into fading empires, but rather restoration of what was once—and remains—possible.

To truly listen now is not to name every difference or claim mastery over narrative, but to accept that something older and wiser may already be at work.

 

Sources and References

E-International Relations. (2015). United by strength or oppression? A critique of the Western model of feminism. E-IR. https://www.e-ir.info/2015/09/29/united-by-strength-or-oppression-a-critique-of-the-western-model-of-feminism/

Left Voice. (n.d.). Liberal feminism is an imperialist project. Left Voice. https://www.leftvoice.org/liberal-feminism-is-an-imperialist-project/

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Gynarchy. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gynarchy

TIME. (2019, March 19). What’s “intersectionality”? Let these scholars explain. TIME. https://time.com/5560575/intersectionality-theory/

 

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