This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, is a feminist literary collection of essays, prose, poems, and transcripts on the experiences of women of color and Third World women, in a mainly United States context. While many of the contributors may have been lesser-known beforehand, this anthology has become a foundational text in feminist theory. Originally published in 1981, it set precedence by delving into the intersectionality of identity politics, providing a platform for women of color, including queer women, to publish their work when there were few avenues to do so.

Plot Summary

This Bridge was written and published in part as a response to the exclusive, white, middle-class, women’s movement of the era, adding to a growing wealth of feminist literature to which Third World women and queer women had little prior input. Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, both Chicana, lesbian, feminist scholars, experienced firsthand the racism and tokenism of the women’s movement and were motivated to reach out to fellow Third World women to put together this book.