In this book, the author argues that gender studies as a mostly white field has taken insufficient account of black contributions, and that more than being an ethnocentric limitation or blind spot, this has represented a structural anti-blackness in the field. Engaging with the work of black feminist authors Sylvia Wynter, Hortense Spillers, and Saidiya Hartman, the author critiques a selection of canonical white gender studies texts to make this case. The book discusses this problem at the core of gender theory as a practice which the author terms enslavism - the ongoing abjection of black life which Hartman has called the afterlife of slavery.
Arranged in three thematically interrelated sections ( Archives, Connections, and Work ) this book brings together essays, interviews, Lorde's unpublished speech about Europe, and personal reflections and testimonials from key figures throughout the world. Contributors assess the reception, translation, and circulation of Lorde's writing and activism within different communities, audiences, and circles. They also shed new light on the work Lorde inspired across disciplinary borders.