Talkin' Up to the White Woman

Through examining an extensive range of feminist literature written mainly by white scholars and activists, Moreton-Robinson shows how whiteness dominates from a position of power and privilege as an invisible norm and unchallenged practice. She illustrates the ways in which Indigenous women have been represented in the publications and teachings of white Australian women, revealing that such renderings of Indigenous lives contrast with how Indigenous women re/present and understand themselves. 

Persuasive and engaging, this book is a necessary argument for the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in the teachings and practices that impact on Australian society. This new edition proves the continued relevance of this classic work as a critique of the whiteness of western feminism.

Paperback. 288 pages. Published by University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 2020. Written by Aileen Moreton-Robinson. 198 x 127 mm.

Dr Aileen Moreton-Robinson is a Goenpul woman of the Quandamooka people (Moreton Bay). She is Australia’s first Indigenous Distinguished Professor and is Professor of Indigenous Research at the University of Queensland. In 2020, Professor Moreton-Robinson was the first Indigenous scholar elected outside of the US as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and she is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities. She was formerly the Director of the Australian Research Council’s National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN). Distinguished Professor Moreton-Robinson served as President of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium (NATSIHEC) in 2019. She is the founding President of the Australian Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Association.

Prior to her life in the academy, Professor Moreton-Robinson worked in public administration and served as a board member on Indigenous community organisations such as the Indigenous rights advocacy organisation: the Foundation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Action LTD (FAIRA) of which she is a current board member.