This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color is a revolutionary anthology that challenges the whiteness of mainstream feminism and calls for an intersectional approach that centers the experiences of women of color. Edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, this collection, first published in 1981, remains a foundational feminist text. Through poetry, essays, personal narratives, and manifestos, contributors examine the intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality, and colonization and critique the ways white feminism has excluded and marginalized them.
This book is not just a critique—it is a call to action for feminists to dismantle oppressive structures within and outside of feminism and work toward radical, inclusive change.
Editors: Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa
Publisher: Persephone Press (First Edition, 1981); SUNY Press (Latest Edition, 2015)
Section Summaries
The book is divided into four sections, each with its own thematic focus, highlighting how women of color have been shaped by oppression and how they resist it.
Section 1: Children Passing in the Streets – The Roots of Our Radicalism
This section delves into the early experiences of racism, sexism, and cultural identity that shaped the contributors' radical consciousness. The writers reflect on internalized oppression, colonial legacies, and the struggle to reclaim their identities in a society that marginalizes them.
Key Essays and Themes:
"La Güera" by Cherríe Moraga – Moraga explores her light-skinned privilege as a Chicana and how it has given her access to white spaces while alienating her from her own community. She describes the process of unlearning white feminism and recognizing that true solidarity must be anti-racist, anti-colonial, and intersectional.
- “To allow myself to be oppressed because I am afraid of existing in my full truth is to become complicit in my own oppression.”
"When I Was Growing Up" by Nellie Wong – A deeply personal poem about internalized racism, Wong describes wishing she were white as a child, believing it would bring her more acceptance and love.
- “I wanted to be white, I wanted to be like those girls with blue eyes who had their futures handed to them.”
"I Am What I Am" by Rosario Morales – Morales asserts pride in her Puerto Rican identity, rejecting assimilation and celebrating the resilience of her culture.
- “We are the daughters of our history, we are the strength of our mothers and grandmothers.”
✔ Key Idea: Women of color’s radical consciousness is shaped by lived experiences of oppression and the struggle to reclaim their identities in a white-dominated society.
Section 2: Entering the Lives of Others – Theory in the Flesh
This section introduces the concept of "theory in the flesh", arguing that feminist theory must emerge from lived experience, not abstract academia. The writers challenge white feminists’ reliance on intellectual detachment and instead center bodies, emotions, and personal narratives as valid sources of knowledge.
Key Essays and Themes:
"The Bridge Poem" by Donna Kate Rushin – This poem critiques the burden of women of color in white feminist spaces, where they are often expected to educate white women while being excluded from leadership.
- “I will not be your bridge to your womanhood. You must walk across on your own.”
"And When You Leave, Take Your Pictures With You" by Jo Carrillo – A scathing critique of white feminists who romanticize women of color’s struggles without engaging in real activism.
- “We are not your picturesque suffering sisters; we are fighting for our survival.”
"Gee, You Don’t Seem Like an Indian from the Reservation" by Barbara Cameron – Cameron reflects on identity erasure as a Native American woman who constantly faces stereotypes and disbelief about her heritage.
✔ Key Idea: Feminist theory must come from lived experience—bodies, emotions, and everyday resistance are as important as academic knowledge.
Section 3: And When You Leave, Take Your Pictures With You – Racism in the Women’s Movement
This section critiques racism in mainstream feminism, highlighting how white feminists often erase, tokenize, or exploit women of color while failing to address their own complicity in white supremacy.
Key Essays and Themes:
"The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House" by Audre Lorde – Lorde famously argues that white feminists cannot use the same oppressive tools of patriarchy and racism to fight for justice.
- “Those who stand outside the house of white feminism are expected to walk in quietly, to remain grateful for the space given.”
"I Am Your Sister" by Gloria Anzaldúa – Anzaldúa calls for true intersectional solidarity, arguing that unity among women must be built on honest confrontation of privilege and oppression.
- “We are not all the same, and our feminism must reflect our differences, not erase them.”
✔ Key Idea: White feminism must dismantle its own racism rather than expecting women of color to bear the burden of education and activism.
Section 4: Breaking Boundaries – Writing from Experience
This section highlights writing, storytelling, and art as forms of feminist resistance. The contributors explore how personal narratives can be acts of defiance against colonization, patriarchy, and white supremacy.
Key Essays and Themes:
"The Other Heritage" by Rosario Morales – Discusses the dual identity of colonized and colonizer, exploring the complexities of being Puerto Rican.
"Chicana’s Feminism" by Ana Castillo – Castillo describes the unique struggles of Chicana feminists, who must fight both sexism in their own communities and racism in mainstream feminism.
"A Letter to Ma" by Merle Woo – A deeply personal letter in which Woo bridges generational and cultural gaps, explaining to her mother why feminism is essential to her survival.
✔ Key Idea: Art, storytelling, and writing are political tools—they allow women of color to reclaim their voices, histories, and futures.
Key Takeaways from This Bridge Called My Back
✔ Feminism must be intersectional. Race, class, gender, and sexuality are interconnected, and feminism must reflect this reality.
✔ Lived experience is valid knowledge. Women of color’s stories and emotions are powerful sources of feminist theory.
✔ White feminism must address its racism. White feminists must do the work of dismantling their privilege, not expect women of color to do it for them.
✔ Creativity is activism. Art, poetry, and storytelling are forms of feminist resistance.
I Think…
This Bridge Called My Back is one of the most powerful feminist anthologies ever written. It is bold, unapologetic, and deeply necessary. It forces readers—especially white feminists—to confront their complicity in racism and exclusion.
This book is not just a historical document; it remains a guide for intersectional activism today. If feminism is to truly be for all women, then This Bridge Called My Back must be essential reading.