The term sisterhood is used among feminists to express the connection of women who are not biologically related but are bonded in solidarity. The sisterhood of women often refers to their feminism, their participation in the women’s movement, their support of other women or their recognition of female qualities that are unique to women’s nature. The use of the word sisterhood implies that women relate to one another in ways that are distinct from how they relate to men (although not necessarily exclusive of relation to men).
However, the term sisterhood defies easy explanation, and it can mean different things to different women. Robin Morgan edited a 1970 anthology called Sisterhood is Powerful that gathered writings from dozens of feminists. This sisterhood emphasized collective struggle, activism and feminist theory. Later in the 1970s, prominent black feminists wrote about the sometimes false notions of sisterhood among upper middle class white feminists. Michele Wallace, bell hooks and Audre Lorde were among those who critiqued the racist and classist assumptions of white women in the women’s liberation movement and commented on their use of the term “sisterhood.”