The politics of “women of color”: a group identity worth investigating

ABSTRACT The political term “women of color” (WOC) emerged in the late 1970s in Black feminist organizing spaces as a rejection of a singular emphasis on a woman identity. At that time, a WOC identity signaled a political commitment to solidarity politics. Currently, the term “women of color” (WOC) is used by the media and among politicians but without much explicit discussion of its history. Given WOC’s continued presence in American politics, the question remains, who identifies as a WOC today and does the identity continue to hold political meaning? We examine Black women and Latinas and find the majority of Latinas and Black women self-identify as WOC and see it as an important part of their identity. Consistent with our expectations, the WOC identity is more likely to be taken up and regarded as important by native-born Latinas and Afro-Latinas compared with other Latinas. While past research has examined racial and gender consciousness, ours is the first public opinion study to examine whether there is continued utility in a WOC identity.