Centering Black feminist thought in nursing praxis

Abstract

Femininity and whiteness dominate Western nursing, silencing ontologies and epistemologies that do not align with these dominant norms while perpetuating systemic racism and discrimination in nursing practice, education, research, nursing activism, and sociopolitical structures. We propose Black feminist thought as a praxis to decenter, deconstruct, and unseat these ideologies and systems of power. Drawing from the work of past and present Black feminist scholars, we examine the ontological and epistemological perspectives of Black feminist thought. These include (i) the uniqueness and particular experiences of people, (ii) the acceptance of ontological and epistemological pluralism of truths and ways of knowing, and (iii) the mandate for equity in the health, social, political, and environmental structures of society. By focusing our attention on lived experiences and voices of those systematically excluded in nursing practice, education, research, and society, Black feminist thought offers an anticolonial, antiracist, and antidiscriminatory foundation for more effectively upholding nursing's disciplinary mandate for social justice and equity.

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“…Within the oppressive and exclusive structures of nursing are lived experiences that many nurses describe as traumatic and violent (Canty et al, 2022; Weitzel et al, 2020). The consequences and outcomes of these oppressions also link to thinking practices in nursing—non diverse epistemological practices, persistent knowledge erasure, knowledge exclusions (Bell, 2021; Bourque Bearskin, 2011; Hantke et al, 2022; De Sousa & Varcoe, 2022).…”

What does person‐centred care mean, if you weren't considered a person anyway: An engagement with person‐centred care and Black, queer, feminist, and posthuman approaches

“…Reversely, nonwhite practitioners within the healthcare sector are also negatively impacted. De Sousa and Varcoe (2021) point to racism and racial injustices in healthcare settings, including…”

“…Reversely, nonwhite practitioners within the healthcare sector are also negatively impacted. De Sousa and Varcoe (2021) point to racism and racial injustices in healthcare settings, including more negative and stressful experiences in the work environment of nurses with diversity dimensions in relation to race. Iheduru‐Anderson et al (2021) highlight how few leadership positions in nursing are held by members of the Black, Indigenous, People of Colour community (Iheduru‐Anderson, 2020).…”

Exposing othering in nursing education praxis

“…The continual search for more data and metrics to describe these phenomena delays institutional change and reinforces and upholds a particular kind of epistemic knowledge about, for instance, the challenges of "recruitment and retention of diverse faculty" (Outlaw & Outlaw, 2020, p. 25;De Sousa & Varcoe, 2022). As Outlaw and Outlaw (2020) note, institutions need to "recognize and respect cultural and experiential differences" that can "enrich the shared life of the institution" rather than focusing solely on numeric diversity (p. 25).…”

“…There is already a significant body of research detailing the experiences of “underrepresented” and “minority” faculty in predominantly white institutions of higher education, including nursing (Beard & Julion, 2016; Hassouneh et al, 2012; Killough et al, 2017). The continual search for more data and metrics to describe these phenomena delays institutional change and reinforces and upholds a particular kind of epistemic knowledge about, for instance, the challenges of “recruitment and retention of diverse faculty” (Outlaw & Outlaw, 2020, p. 25; De Sousa & Varcoe, 2022). As Outlaw and Outlaw (2020) note, institutions need to “recognize and respect cultural and experiential differences” that can “enrich the shared life of the institution” rather than focusing solely on numeric diversity (p. 25).…”