Voicing the Margins: Feminist Identity and Resistance in Barbara Smith's Home Girls

Abstract: This paper explores the politics of feminist identity and resistance in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (1983), edited by Barbara Smith. By situating the anthology within the historical context of Black feminist and lesbian activism, the paper critically analyzes how the collection gives voice to marginalized Black women and redefines the contours of feminist thought. Drawing upon essays, poetry, and autobiographical reflections in the anthology, this paper examines how Home Girls subverts dominant patriarchal and white feminist discourses through its intersectional lens, its emphasis on collective identity, and its strategies of cultural and political resistance.