1; in an effort to express succinctly the aim of the movement. This slogan was also an attempt to unify women by asserting a sharedconnection and circumstance, and thereby to build fundamental and lasting cohesion. “Sisterhoodis powerful” was embraced by the women in order to convey a common identity of sisterhood,one firmly grounded in family-based concepts of interdependence. Biological sisterhood is aneasily understood relationship within the nuclear family. According to social identity theory, one way to define an “in-group” is to define an“out-group” (Hinkle and Brown 1990, 48). The liberation movement attempted to define femalesas the “in-group” and males as the “out-group,” with the two groups distinctively and sharplyseparated. The rallying cry “Sisterhood is Powerful” was primarily designed to solidify theidentity of the “in-group.” However, in reality, it is easier to define racial groups than it is todefine gender groups as separate divisions, since black people and white people are generallygeographically and socially separated from each other, white men and women are not.In order to incorporate women successfully into the movement, it was essential to broadenand expand the meaning of sisterhood to that of a common bond between women. Consolidatedby sisterhood, by a common connection of gender, heterogeneous women were expected todevelop an allegiance and common purpose. Although the women working within the movementwere mostly white and middle class (Tax, 319), the slogan “Sisterhood is Powerful” was directedat all women - married and single, young, middle aged, and old, mothers and daughters, of everyrace and religion, rich, poor, employed, unemployed, women on welfare, and those with differentcultures and sexual orientations (DuPlessis and Snitow, 15). The objective of the slogan was tofoster a common identity for ...
