The F Word: Aboriginality

Maxine Beneba Clarke, Celeste Liddle and Melissa Lucashenko

‘Black women are socially not as entitled to take up space as white women,’ writes Indigenous feminist and unionist Celeste Liddle. ‘Our experiences are special, are marginal and therefore, no matter how much we may have achieved, reside on the periphery.’

The perception that feminism is characterised by a sense of solidarity remains persistent, despite continued evidence pointing to the reality that the struggles of Aboriginal women can be varied and unique. Indigenous women continue to experience violence at a higher rate than non-Indigenous women, and are forced to deal with the confluence of multiple systems of racist and sexist discrimination. In some cases, while intersectionality provides a new feminist vocabulary for speaking about the difficulties faced by racially marginalised groups, mainstream feminist ideology can still appear inadequate or inappropriate for Indigenous women.

What does ‘Aboriginal feminism’ look like, and how might the feminist movement better accommodate difference while still presenting a united front in the fight for broader equality? What are the most pressing issues facing Indigenous women today? Join host Maxine Beneba Clarke to discuss the complex and critical interplay between feminism and Aboriginality with Celeste Liddle and Melissa Lucashenko.