Instead of the “selfish” attributes of the white New Woman – sexual freedom and individual fulfillment – ​​Hopkins' expression of the New Woman emphasizes community fulfillment and racial advancement. Hopkins also rejects the basic patriarchal ideology of Washington's New Negro Woman as well as the capitalist individualism and consumption of the white New Woman. Instead, the New Women of the Contending Forces confront the legacy of slavery and work to heal this history of violence through local and collective action and a cultural identity that is based on this activism rather than distorted conceptions of virtuosity and submission to men.