On September 30, 2021, Mignon R. Moore, professor of sociology and department chair, published a chapter in the book Black Feminist Sociology: Perspectives and Praxis (Sociology Re-Wired). The chapter, titled “Family Background and the Meanings of Economic Autonomy for Black Lesbian Women,” focuses on Black, lesbian family dynamics in order to comment on a sexual minority culture outside of lesbian-feminism.
Professor Moore found class differences in how feminist ideologies are understood and practiced among sexual minority women. Black women from low-income backgrounds saw the feminist principle of economic self-sufficiency as essential for their own economic stability; working-class Black lesbians interpret economic independence as consistent with an expectation that all adults provide economic contributions to the family for its well-being. Middle-class Black lesbians value economic independence as a pathway to self-autonomy and personal fulfillment.