Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought

1986/10/01 by Patricia Hill Collins, Patrícia Hill Collins · 3,503 citations
Social Sciences · #Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice #Epistemology #Gender Roles and Identity Studies #Gender studies #Philosophy #Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics #Sociology

paper · pdf · doi:10.2307/800672

published in Social Problems 33(6), S14-S32 (Oxford University Press)

openalex publication_date 1986/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Black women have long occupied marginal positions in academic settings. I argue that many Black female intellectuals have made creative use of their marginality—their “outsider within” status–to produce Black feminist thought that reflects a special standpoint on self, family, and society. I describe and explore the sociological significance of three characteristic themes in such thought: (1) Black women's self-definition and self-valuation; (2) the interlocking nature of oppression; and (3) the importance of Afro-American women's culture. After considering how Black women might draw upon these key themes as outsiders within to generate a distinctive standpoint on existing sociological paradigms, I conclude by suggesting that other sociologists would also benefit by placing greater trust in the creative potential of their own personal and cultural biographies.

Citations

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