Woman’s Tongue: An Afro-Caribbean Feminist Communication Theory

In previous work (Gordon, 2023; forthcoming), I have tried to make the case for a more culturally relevant Caribbean feminist rhetorical theory that more appropriately describes women’s communication practices in the Caribbean. Academic openness to this type of theoretical enterprise not only helps to de-essentialize the rhetorical eminence of Euro-American communication philosophies in the study of communication but also makes room for the perspectives of women whose voices have traditionally been silenced in the Communication discipline. Additionally, I believe that this brand of scholarship can contribute to a more robust articulation of transnational feminist theory in the Communication field. In this contribution, I argue for the foregrounding of locally produced knowledges in attempts to theorize about the material reality of Caribbean women’s feminist communication practices. I also highlight the need for an intersectional approach to Black feminist communication studies that include the perspectives of non-Western subjectivities and which makes room for a more transnational and transformative scholarship.