† ˈwomanist Obs. rare.
[f. woman n.: see -ist.]
A womanizer.
| 1608 Day Law-Tricks v. I 2 b, Hee's a sweet womanist. |
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Restrict † Obs. rare to sense 1 and add: 2. [Adopted by the novelist Alice Walker as more relevant to Black people than feminist a. and n., because of its similarity to womanish a.] A proponent of womanism (sense *b); a Black feminist. Also as adj.
| 1981 Black Scholar Spring 85/1 The evolution of the wife's ‘womanist’ consciousness reflects her preoccupation with these three authors. (Walker says that ‘womanist’ approximates ‘black feminist’.) 1984 B. Christian in M. Evans Black Women Writers 468 Walker defines a womanist as a ‘black feminist’. 1990 New Statesman & Society 30 Nov. 39/1 Cultural production by black women, particularly by those who define themselves as feminist or womanist, has often been denounced. 1991 Theology Jan./Feb. 57 The repudiation by womanist writers of a universal feminist ethics. |