Self-Reflection and the Coalitional Praxis of (Dis)Integration

In “Unsettling the Privilege of Self-Reflexivity,” Andrea Smith argues that self-reflection is a deterrent to coalitional work and that in doing the work we will transform ourselves into coalitional beings. María Lugones, however, exposes how the “do-the-work-and-the-transformation-will-follow” formula does not address the lack of motivation to do coalitional work that challenges one’s sense of integrity as a good person. This article addresses the political problematic of “self-reflection” among the “relatively privileged” in feminist coalition work that requires disintegration of one’s unified sense of being committed to resistance against all oppressions.