I’m a white feminist, and let me tell you something: white feminism* is pretty bullshit. It’s exclusive, oppressive, and serves to further marginalize the people who are most impacted by misogyny. Unfortunately, white feminism is also the western status quo of feminism, meaning that white feminists have the biggest platforms, have increased access to resources and media, and are generally considered to be The Voice of Feminism. In theory, someone truly interested in equality would use these assets to amplify the voices of women of colour. In practice, white supremacy is a real thing and white feminists often seem to forget that their white privilege makes it easy as hell to trample over women of colour as they work to dismantle the patriarchy.
So, in honour of International Women’s Day, here is a non-exhaustive list of Shit White Feminists Need to Stop Doing:
1. Believing Their Experiences of Marginalization Are Universal
White feminists like to pretend that they get it. They get it because they’ve been there. They’ve experienced sexism. They’ve experienced misogyny. They’ve been passed over for promotions, whistled at on the street, and had to listen to boring dudes at parties who require approximately ten years of your time in order to explain how fascinating they actually are. These white women have been down in the feminist trenches for years, and like your world-weary Grandpa, they’ve seen it all. They understand the oppression of all women, ok?
Except not. Intersecting forces of oppression mean that women who are queer, racialized, disabled or trans will experience misogyny in very different (and frequently more deadly) ways than white women do. Saying that just because you’re a woman you totally understand all different ways that women are marginalized is not only wildly inaccurate, it’s also just plain ignorant. Just because you don’t have male privilege doesn’t mean you aren’t the proud owner of a whole host of other types of privilege. And whether you like it or not, those various forms of privilege influence how people treat you.
White women don’t own womanhood, and they don’t get to explain it to women of colour. End of story.
2. Crying About How We’re All On The Same Team
Also known as: “Why are you being so mean to me?”
White feminists tend to have this fantasy that we’re going to tackle this giant, slavering beast called The Patriarchy, and then once that’s done everything will be magical and all of the world’s problems will be solved. They’ll vaguely explain that destroying The Patriarchy will also end racism, transphobia, homophobia and basically everything other societal ill, but they don’t seem to have any clear idea of how exactly that will happen. It just will! Because science.
These feminists will choose specific causes to back – often those that most benefit straight, white, cis-gender women – and will balk if anyone questions why they’re ignoring other types of marginalization that have a greater impact on, say, Black women or trans women. But we’re all on the same team, they’ll tweet frantically. I thought you were on my side. We’re all women, right? The subtext is: you should help me now with the things that directly hurt me, and then maybe one day I’ll help you.
They never seem to wonder why they get to be the ones who delineate the borders between “sides,” or why they get to constantly call the shots about who’s on what team.
3. Talking About Hijabs (Or Burqas, Or Sex-Selective Abortion, Or Anything, Really)
Literally I just want to see all the white feminists take a back seat when it comes to hijabs. It’s amazing that these women will talk up the idea of pro-choice when it comes to pregnancy, but flip out if a woman chooses to cover her hair.
Look, I get it. You think those women are being oppressed, even when they very kindly and patiently tell you they aren’t. You know better than them, right? Because you’ve thrown off the shackles of … something? You think their culture or religion is forcing them into something they don’t really want, and if they believe differently, well, that’s just their internalized misogyny talking.
White women: you literally aren’t more enlightened than everyone else. Stop talking. Go to bed.
Also, explain to me exactly how telling a woman that she shouldn’t wear a specific article of clothing is “empowerment.” It seems to me that limiting women’s choices is the opposite of feminism.
4. Thinking That All Sex Workers Are All Miserable Wretches Who Hate Their Lives
This one isn’t really white women-specific, but I’m going to include it because I’ve seen a lot of white feminists pull this shit and frankly it’s garbage.
Like, this is literally what you’re saying: “I believe women have agency and can make decisions about their lives except for when it has to do with sex work, at which point I will assume that either someone is exploiting them or else they are self-hating gender traitors only interested in the male gaze.”
So just to clarify, you think that women can make choices except when it’s a choice you disagree with, at which point you’re pretty sure she’s being coerced. You also think that sex workers need to be “rescued,” even if they’re happy with what they do. You would rather see women further marginalized by anti-prostitution laws than find ways to keep sex workers safe.
Again, explain to me how this is a pro-woman stance?
5. Arguing That All Other Forms Of Oppression Are Over So We Need to Focus On Women
I’M LOOKING AT YOU, ARQUETTE.
Look, I know that her Oscar speech has been critiqued and analyzed to death, so I won’t dwell on this too much, but – come the fuck on. First of all, saying that we need “all the gay people and people of colour that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now” kind of insinuates that none of those gay people or people of colour are women, no? Second of all, literally read a book or something because racism and homophobia and transphobia are far from over. Third of all, you are a white woman who has benefitted from enormous privilege her entire life. You don’t get to tell other marginalized groups what to do.
I know that her remarks were well-intentioned. I get that. But that’s a huge part of the problem – white feminists toss this kind of shit off the cuff, then get huffy when they’re called out, and then we’re right back to number two on this list. Just own your privilege for a hot second and stop bleating about how mean everyone else is being when they point out how you’ve rightfully fucked up.
White feminists: this is a call for you to get your shit together. The point of equality isn’t to claw your way to the top so that you can treat other people just as badly as white dudes have treated you – we need to elevate each other, amplify each other’s voices, and maybe let someone else tell us if we’re allowed to be on their team. Because, as per Flavia Dzodan, if your feminism is not intersectional, then I’m sorry but it’s complete bullshit.
* by “white feminism” I mean a certain demographic of white women who are straight, cis and able-bodied and view their brand of “feminism” as being better and more “real” than that of anyone else’s.
The Belle Jar 
Reblogged this on rennydioknodotcom and commented:
I support this blog…
Good points here. I call myself a feminist, but I agree with how white feminists do seem to have these mindsets sometimes.
Thanks for this. I’m actually confused about what white feminism is about these days. There seems to be a lot of criticizing of women’s choices. I get the feeling that there is one way to be a feminist. I fit the model pretty well at the moment, but may not forever. I choose to be pretty traditional in certain things and have decided that if I want to be a stay at home mom at some point, I’ll go for it. I’m also starting to value a marriage to a good man as something that would benefit my overall well-bring and hustle- kind of how like Bey mentioned Jay improves hers, and some feminists jumped all over that. Um, people need other people. Some of those people are of other genders. No one does anything alone. Chill ladies.
True “feminism” isn’t against marriage, staying at home or being traditional. It is about being valued for your choices, in thought and deed.
“White women don’t own womanhood, and they don’t get to explain it to women of colour. End of story.” WOOP THERE IT IS.
Couldn’t agree more!
I remember the shock when I learned that lots of women involved in the suffrage movement were explicitly, unapologetically and inexcusably racist.
And some of the men of the civil rights movement were explicitly, unapologetically and inexcusably pro-male privilege.
It is sad to think how much we haven’t really evolved – maybe the racism has moved to be more implicit, but it’s still there.
A lot of abolitionists used the argument that slavery was bad because it robbed black men of their rightful place as the head of the household, I.E. their ability to control the woman they were married too. Try to wrap your head around that one.
Oh my god this post is amazing! Some girls at my school seem to think that the worlds biggest issue is the fact that we are not allowed to wear crop tops at school. Seriously, there are bigger problems. But then again I am a white feminist….
Reblogged this on Sweet Cleo.
Duly noted. An excellent essay. I do admit my white woman privileged and you explained it eloquently.
I hear what you’re saying, and I think it’s compelling. I also think it’s so fucking complicated. I’m a white, lesbian, rapidly-aging feminist. I constantly examine my racism, my sexism, and every other -ism i know is in me. In us all. We need to listen and hear each other, all of us. And stop trashing each other. All of us. It only serves to weaken us. It’s what keeps us all from taking back power – more accurately, from taking power for the first time. I shake my head at myself when I find myself doing it. (I shake my head a lot these days.) If we could only band together, if we could keep from tearing ourselves apart, and letting others tear us apart, we could change things so much more quickly. (Stepping off my soapbox.)
~Audrey
AMEN! I’m a white feminist and I don’t believe or do those things. It is self defeating to trash each other. Personally, I’ll accept support wherever I find it.
people could do what you’re talking about. i try my best. but sometimes i just need someone to validate my anger and respect my analyses and that’s when I know we can work in alliance. dismissing it as divisive feels invalidating because it’s just not that simple. as a queer older woman of color, i am grateful for the white women who really hear me and don’t dismiss me. at the end of the day – this is how I’ve seen change happen.
I hear you, believe me. And I’m never one to turn away from learning. I believe firmly in active listening, and try to model that for my daughter (for whatever good it does with a teenager!). I don’t dismiss any of it. The divisiveness of which I speak is different, at least in my mind. Probably I’m not articulating it clearly – by the time it gets to 11 pm, my brain is usually fried. I hate it when i feel dismissed. My experience has been that the divisiveness often feels like dismissal to me – it feels like my experience and the life I’ve lived for almost 60 years mean nothing. Know what I mean?
Yes
you are so right Audrey – nothing is as simple as it seems and the more we oppress each other the less energy we have to deal with corporate patriarchy which is killing “Mother Earth”.
I couldn’t agree more! Thanks so much for saying this.
Reblogged this on lonely.
Touché! I’ve probably thought for at least a few moments all of the things above – although, hopefully, not seriously, lastingly, in public. But, as Armasakimbo says above: ‘we need to listen and hear each other – and stop trashing or judging each other’. There is no single correct way to be human or a woman or a feminist.
“There is no single correct way to be a feminist”, true. But there are wrong and damaging and oppressive and colonial ways to be feminist, and those ways deserve to be called out, always.
Im with Marina sofia. I feel like this call-out culture of ours is more self-indulgent than helpful. People get on there high horse then tell other people how their views are unjust and mine are more noble. How about we deal with each case within its own context, and use empathy rather than labels?
Reblogged this on THE IMPOSSIBILITIES CAN BE MADE POSSIBLE .
Good points, but when I apply the white feminist privilege theory to my own surroundings, I specifically mean the middle classes. White working class women have as much in common with them as many minority groups. Trickle down feminism is also bullshit. Fair play on the straight up unequivocal calling on. These issues are too frequently fluffed over.
That’s interesting, because as a queer working class woman who could be categorised as disabled, when I see stuff talking about how awful and privileged white women are I assume it’s talking about all white women or at least all the ones who are oppressive to PoC, and being working class etc doesn’t erase my white privilege. Lena Dunham gets called a white feminist but she’s bisexual I think? Considering that there are many White Feminists who are working class and/or queer etc I feel like it’s inaccurate and unhelpful to use ‘white feminists’ to refer to white women involved in feminism who are basically privileged in every axis other than gender. If you wanna talk about white, middle class able-bodied cishet feminists imo it’not adequate to use ‘white’ as shorthand in the same way that it wouldn’t be adequate to use ‘men’ as shorthand for ‘white able-bodied cishet men’.
I wouldn’t disagree with that either. But, in the context of Ireland, where I am based, I would specifically call out white, middle-class mothers specifically, as a group currently monopolising mainstream discussion on lack of fairness for women, using all the terminology, values, and discourse of feminists, while ignoring everything you’ve just said. In fact, it quite angers me at the moment, as I feel the diversity and deliberating narrowing of women’s experiences and identities is irresponsibly misrepresentative. I think we can all form part of a collective, universal value set; but I don’t ignore the regional and cultural nuances. Recognising those, and calling them out, doesn’t undermine or negate your broader points. It’s another relevant aspect of it, from where I’m sitting. Well, hunched.
Thanks for banter.
As a white woman who has spent most of her life working minimum wage jobs, and watching my mother do the same, I can attest to there being a huge amount of class-ism on the part of white feminists. It’s easy to be self-empowered when you’re middle or upper-middle class and have a college degree, and I’ve heard a lot of criticism directed toward women who’ve had children whose father isn’t around, or women who stay with abusive partners because they need their income and help in order to keep a roof over their head (and who may reason that living with an abusive husband is better than their children being homeless), women who haven’t been able to go to college, etc. Self empowerment regarding your sexist boss, or confronting sexual harassment as a female server at a restaurant because you need the tips… often, that’s a whole order of magnitude more difficult for someone who’s trying really hard just to keep the electricity on. I don’t think that a lot of white middle class feminists really “get” how much more difficult it is to assert yourself as a working class woman who is barely able to make ends meet.
THAT SAID…
White working class women still have a great deal of privilege that working class women of color don’t have. Women of color and LGBT – particularly trans women – definitely get screwed over a lot more in basically every situation.
I have witnessed other “feminists” – who should be allies – fighting against trans women. I’ve seen so-called feminists actively do harm to trans women. It’s very rarely called out, because trans women seem to practically be invisible to mainstream feminists, and particularly because they live in an extremely dangerous world. One of my friends can’t even go to bars in some places without someone threatening to kill her.
What I’m trying to say is that white working class women are far more marginalized than white middle class women, but not nearly as much as women of color or LGBT women. We need to work from the bottom up. In a world that openly accepts lesbian trans women of color, the rest of us will be liberated as well.
Thanks for your considered response. Appreciate that. I wouldn’t disagree with any of that, and take it to be a given. Where I’m based, the issue of class divide is rarely, if ever, called out. Sometimes I think that’s worth calling out, too, without undermining the wider facts of oppression :0
Oh is it just me, or am I the only one that thought ‘woman of colour’ wasn’t used anymore? All these cultural subtleties eh. Guess that’s what makes the chat just as interesting.
As a working class queer woman I don’t think LGBT middle class women as a group in the UK are way more oppressed than working class cishet women tbh?
I’m not sure I understand your question, paleseptember. For a start, Ireland is not part of the UK, and while they are close neighbours and overlap culturally in many ways, there are historically and culturally very different when it comes to sexual rights and equality rights for women. Historically bound up in deep conservative Catholic informed structures, there is a catching up going on. We’re getting there. Furthermore, as an island, with a fairly mono-cultural (well, purportedly) and singular ethnic community (white) until recent years, diversity is a fairly recent development.
We’re currently going through a recession that continues to cripple the poorest people in Ireland who now include asylum seekers incarcerated for years under an oppressive processing system with 19 euro per week to live on. In the context of poverty, feminism has the power and potential to call these injustices and inequalities out. It is impossible to filter all variables and configurations of female identities through every single issue relevant to feminism. Call them poor people, or impoverished, or working class; but until those who currently have access to the public platform acknowledge them and include them in their pursuit of fairness, I’m calling it out. Unapologetically so. Because having the means to survive is the pertinent issue for so many people here currently. Not feminist theory. I take it to be a given that all group include women of a multitude of self-defining identities. But when it comes to blunt financial security, working classes – in all their guises are squeezed out of the airwaves. There is a separate debate taking place around gay marriage with a referendum scheduled in a few months. Not all issues can be lumped together and discussed as a whole, that’s just impractical.
Happy to chat.
My friends and coworkers who aren’t white generally use the words “women of color” to refer to themselves, and have told me that they prefer it, which is why I chose those words. If those words aren’t okay here, then I definitely won’t use them.
Reblogged this on Imaginary Reality and commented:
As today is International Women’s Day, here’s to why (white) feminism isn’t always as inclusive as it thinks it is. Only by considering the aspects and effects of Intersectionality can progress be made.
It’s important to highlight that feminism isn’t monolithic as too often feminism’s critics tar all with the same brush. But the author goes to the opposite extreme in telling women to shut up about the harms of men being entitled to buy women’s bodies in porn and prostitution, or of sex selective abortion (really you think that’s not part of patriarchy?!) which clearly devalues girls. The debate needs to continue on these issues and telling women they don’t have the right to express their views is just as oppressive as the attitude you are trying to criticise (which I have never encountered by the way).
My thoughts exactly — here is what I commented to this piece when a friend just posted it on Facebook….. And, I’ll make my own comment also. “Well — there they go… I was waiting for women to start dissing on other women, claiming that one has it better than the other, that one doesn’t understand the other, etc, etc, etc….. So what THIS author has done is fallen to the ultimate weapon that we just can’t seem to get away from — the male version of divide and conquer. Put down, put down, put down each “category” of “that other woman” thinking that you are somehow “raising” yourself up – and that’s pure BS. Shame on the author. (I’ll wait for the attacks.)”
Fantastic post
You make some great points especially the hijab and sex worker issue. If women don’t want to be sexualized that is an awesome choice they should make for themselves. If they do want to sexualized slut shaming isn’t the answer. respect and equality go hand in hand.
I agree with you in theory, but as a member of a Indonesian-Muslim family, hijabs ARE oppressive. I get the desire not to be racist, but there’s literally no non-sexist justification for why women wear them and men don’t (even if it’s not compulsory). Some are more misogynst than others- for example, the idea that women need to be ‘modest’ in a way men don’t is a product of rape culture- but they’re all bad. Even if it’s just to demonstrate your religious affiliation, why aren’t men given the exact same set of expectations/ choices?
It’s like makeup. It’s fine that individual women enjoy makeup. I wouldn’t tell someone to stop wearing it. But the fact that women, and not (usually) men, are expected to spend more time and money on their appearance, is tied to a notion that women should be ‘decorative’ or sexual in a way men aren’t.
So actually, I deeply appreciate the input of white feminists who are brave enough to criticize the hijab; contrary to your post, in my experience, most aren’t. Most are so afraid of being called racist (as if Muslim was a race) they just stop applying their feminist analysis when it comes up.
Thank you for this. It makes no sense to me to stop calling misogyny misogyny when it’s enforced by non-white cultures. Surely it’s more racist to say that misogyny should in some cases be celebrated (or downplayed at least) when its victims are non-white women, but viciously attacked when it’s coming from a majority white culture? Making out like non-white cultures aren’t capable of misogyny like majority white ones are is denying the hardships of a load of nonwhite women in the end. White feminists must make sure that they’re not hypocritical and that they critique misogyny in Christianity, Judaism etc as well as in Islam but imo it’s fucked up to say we (not meaning you’re a white feminist, but that I am) need to shut up about MISOGYNY. Which btw does sometimes affect white women who live in Muslim countries, marry into Muslim families etc and ofc white Muslim women. When Muslim men say to me that women should wear hijab because if they don’t they tempt men/could be raped/will get sent to hell/etc I actually feel like if I am like actually no that’s vile rape culture and misogyny that it’ s not my place to be saying that stuff and part of me knows that people in social justice who’ve made me feel that way have fucked up politics. If I expressed sexist views and a guy disagreed with me, that wouldn’t be wrong. Identity isn’t everything.
Interesting point…
This is the best response to this article! I agree 100% – from a white feminist who thinks Islam is oppressive to women.
This is a great comment. White people who avoid naming institutions that oppress people of color (like the hijab) out of a fear of being “culturally insensitive” are enabling abuse.
I think as opposed to this being an issue of white feminists, it’s an issue of specifically second wave white feminists. Third wave feminism promotes intersectionality and accepts the varying levels of privilege between women. Personally, I’m a third wave white feminist and I think I’m in no position to comment on the use of the hijab and believe sex workers have the choice to be able to work safely in whatever they choose to do.
My thoughts exactly. I try very hard to understand or at least step back and respect intersectionality.
And what’s more….just because someone is for a cause does not mean that they are perfect and understand all the nuances of all arguments. We all have our backpack to unpack, some of us are better at it than others, some don’t realize they have on.
As someone married to a scholar on the Middle East, the hijab is a very complicated topic. I’ve had many conversations with women who celebrated that ban on hijab, until I started to point out the nuances, balancing the law against cultural expectations, marital pressures, personal modesty, and potential for being a trigger for DV etc. I look at it this way…..if you are not willing to tell/legislate women that they must be topless on the beach, then don’t be so quick to judge about hijab and even burqah.
Feminists ain’t perfect, and neither is everyone else.
Great post! Thank you for writing this. It serves as a great reminder that we need to be careful before we project our own experiences onto another. Chrissy x
I’ve heard the hijab argument before, I whilst I do agree with you that no one should be told what they can or can’t wear, would you agree there is a difference between someone the decision to wear a particular kind of clothing in an culture that says they have a choice and one that says they don’t? It’s all very well to say they wouldn’t want to take off the hijab even if they could, but it still isn’t real choice. They are countries where misogyny is so ingrained that you can’t choose to drive and are flogged when you are raped. It’s not my role to sit and and say I know best about how all people throughout the world should live their lives, but you can’t necessarily just ask the question ‘are you happy that men control your live and your decisions absolutely? Yes? Well you can’t be being oppressed then’.
Fantastic points! Might I also add excluding men and the transgender community.
The amount of times I have been told that I cannot be a feminist because I’m a man is too damn high! The refusal to let someone believe and fight for your cause and the cause of all people who are oppressed because they don’t tick a box is kinda absurd.
I think this is fab. Keep doing what your doing! This is rapidly becoming my favourite blog!
The stupid. It’s everywhere. I would just say that you believe that men and women should have equal opportunities and responsibilities, be free to choose. Then ask if their understanding of feminism is different.
Honestly, so much of what feminism is doing today, is also liberating men from artificially fabricated roles and goals.
Lately I read your blog and think I am white so I better just shut up cause I have no idea or experience as the world we live in does not believe I know enough to be able to speak. It does not feel good and life is short. I will leave you to it.
Some great points. I do think, however, that lumping all white feminists together, as if they have some kind of group think, is a mistake.
Oh Christ. You didn’t just “Not all White Feminists”, did you? Remember “Not All Men”?
Amen,amen! I cringed at the thought of arquette’s speech. My thought is that it is okay and perfectly fine to exist as a traditional white woman, but if that is you, please stop acting like you can relate to my struggle and definitely don’t tell me that the struggle of my people no longer exists.
Quirky, Brown Love
The hijab issue is part of a larger problem of them judging any foreign, gendered cultural tradition as oppression. This is particularly annoying when the targets of their criticisms are endangered, American indigenous cultures that are, for all intents and purposes, egalitarian, but still happen to have clear gender roles and taboos. Addressing their own problems is not enough – they seem bent on exercising the West’s colonial imperative by invading spaces where the are not welcome.
This to me is doing the opposite of feminism. You are putting down a specific race because of generalization!! Isnt that what feminists are trying to fight: generalizations? So really you are just perpetuating an ongoing stereotype about white women: “we dont get it”.
Exactly!!!! This author has fallen to the oldest and worst trick in the book — divide and conquer. We women are our own worst enemies sometimes….. we bicker about each other and put each other down…. giving the sexist world the time and freedom to continue their BS. SHAME on this author for bringing such shame and damage to women’s issues on a day meant to be in celebration – International Women’s Day.
“* by “white feminism” I mean a certain demographic of white women who are straight, cis and able-bodied and view their brand of “feminism” as being better and more “real” than that of anyone else’s.”
“White women don’t own womanhood, and they don’t get to explain it to women of colour. End of story.”
100% agree! And if feminism doesn’t allow women to critique the movement that is supposedly for them, then it’s doing damage.
That sentence and your agreement are BOTH SEXIST AND RACIST. Shame on you for falling into the worst snare of all — putting down other women for any reason…. when instead you should be supportive. Shame on the author and shame on you.
Care to elaborate how it’s racist and sexist to desire open dialogue and criticism within the movement I am part of?
Reblogged this on PIGSPITTLE OHIO and commented:
Yes to this. Thank you, Belle Jar.
You forgot being classist, and being assholes to younger women if you feel threatened by them.
Can I talk about the hijab issue if I share your opinion? Or are they off limits in general?
Context: I am a white woman, and I recently shut down another white woman who was supporting the idea that my government should ban head coverings. Is this ok?
I think in that case it’s being a good ally – if you’re arguing that other women should have a say in how they dress 🙂
Thanks for the feedback! I believe strongly in all of your points.
I didn’t read every word – but I acknowledge most of the points you made.
Do you agree that the fight is a catch 22 for most women?
Do we ask all white women to be quiet – even though they have the largest platforms?
Or do we ask them to pussyfoot when speaking on issues that they do have relevance to, just not the worst possible scenario? Because Arquette made some stupid comments on TV we were able to acknowledge a misstep by many in the country.
The alternative, is not having these topics discussed at all – yes, Arquette didn’t exactly state every statement as appropriately as possible. So does every woman’s speech need to be combed by their PR before going on stage for PC & feminism clauses? Is that the era we have arrived to? – how are we going to evolve from this by merely telling women (of any race) to shut up?
I’m curious for your thoughts or suggestions! – nice post.
I’ve been wondering this recently myself. If all the movement is interested in is purging people who aren’t on their “level” (while we all tell them they don’t “get it” without ever telling them what “it” is), then what improvements are we actually bringing about in the lives of women? Yes, we should absolutely be intersectional. Yes, we should absolutely be available to internal critique. Wake me up when we’re also directing this energy outwards toward sources of oppression other than categories in language.
OH I so agree with you!
I get that I have privilege due to the color of my skin alone, and that I cannot possibly know how much harder it is for women of color. Does that mean I shouldn’t raise my voice as an ally? Does that mean I shouldn’t use that advantage to assist, support, encourage, or defend women of color?
Why do we attack a woman for standing up for equal pay? Seriously? It IS an issue – for ALL women, not just women of color, LBGT women, etc… for ALL women. Does the obvious truly need to be stated every single time for an argument to be valid or a statement to be valued?
Why shouldn’t she use the platform her privilege gives her to make a statement about the oppression of women? Why doesn’t she have the right to choose which issue to fight for… just as we all have the right to choose whether or not to follow the customs of patriarchy in terms of make-up or the hijab?
There are so many, many reasons for oppression and so many variables for individuals within the patriarchal culture! Do we truly want to say that working toward a non-oppressive world requires a complete encyclopedia reading of all the varieties of oppressed person each and every single time a stand is taken?
I don’t know – this makes my head hurt. Can’t we applaud any step forward without nit-picking it to death?
I completely agree that censorship ends important conversations and that critiques are important. That was my problem with the Arquette thing; yeah, she said some dumb stuff but she used her Oscar spotlight to TRY to do some good and I don’t think she deserved the shit she got for it. Is “Shit White Feminists Need to Stop Doing” a respectful title? No it’s not. It is disrespectful and crude but I read it anyway. I’m glad I did because it’s excellent and I learned from it.
Yes! Whether if you are a public figure or not, you should have a PR person or a close equivalent comb through your speech before you address it to such a public audience. And Patricia Arquette has no excuse for not doing so.
Why do I suddenly feel as though I’m not “allowed” to call myself a feminist? I’m white and heterosexual. How does that put me in a different class of woman? Seems to me that what this article is asking of “women like me” is to disregard our experience because “yours” is somehow better (worse?). I’m of the mindset that we ARE ALL WOMEN. Who cares that I’m not a lesbian or black or Hispanic or old??? Does the fact that I’m a recovering alcoholic put me somewhere further on the spectrum of feminist, because that makes me “different” from the other white privileged women of the world? The rhetoric in this article is offensive and just proves to divide us further, making us ineffective as a whole.
Well — there they go… I was waiting for women to start dissing on other women, claiming that one has it better than the other, that one doesn’t understand the other, etc, etc, etc….. So what THIS author has done is fallen to the ultimate weapon that we just can’t seem to get away from — the male version of divide and conquer. Put down, put down, put down each “category” of “that other woman” thinking that you are somehow “raising” yourself up – and that’s pure BS. Shame on the author. (I’ll wait for the attacks.)
Great stuff. There is no substitute for intersectionality. ¡Adelante!
I’m white, female and 25 years old. I also live in London, England and have no real ties to any particular religion. I also regard myself as a feminist and yet I don’t feel that I’m represented in any of the above criticism.
Are all us white feminists the same? Does every white female experience the same level of inequality? Can it not be true that white women of different sexualities, cultures, religions, class and spanning all parts of the world all possibly have different experiences of inequality and discrimination?
I’m not disagreeing with this post but I feel it’s just another contribution to labelling and ‘boxing in’ of our human characteristics that humans have suffered at differing degrees throughout time.
Tired of the hate. The divides are obviously pevelant so let’s understand them and break them down rather than labelling further.
Again to clarify some western women who are white and of a higher class may well fit the above stereotypes. But let’s not continue to use one size fits all.
I’m a white feminist.
Reblogged this on HaifischGeweint.
Just……THANK YOU. Thank you, so much, for THIS.
It’s ridiculous to claim that either racism or homophobia is “over”, but the efforts against them have each passed milestones that feminism hasn’t reached its equivalent of yet despite feminists having been at it for longer.
Exactly
Interesting read I don’t call myself anything because labels aren’t my thing. But I love to read ppl’s points of view on things such as this.
Reblogged this on openmindsandheavyhearts and commented:
LISTEN!!
For the most part, I thought this article had a lot of good things to say.
But since you’re calling people out on stuff, I think I can call you out. In your footnote about the specific “white women” you’re referring to, you listed “able bodied” as though to say “not disabled.” But there are lots of different kinds of disabilities, both mental and physical. I’m guessing this was an oversight, and not your claim that all white women with non-physical disabilities don’t face their own set of problems. Just change the wording, okay?
YES! That comment struck me as well. Don’t forget – many of us have non-visible disabilities.
While I appreciate a push for equality, there are some things about this post that scare me, especially concerning the sex work. There are actually women, even in this country, who feel that they do not have a choice and implying that they all do is belittling. Human trafficking is still a thing. A big thing, actually. Do we turn a blind eye on oppressed women for the sake of being politically correct to those who want to be there? I’m not saying we should loftily look at every prostitute and “pity” them, but we have to be careful when it comes to simply assuming that they want to be there. I’d much rather insult many and help one than not step on any toes and do nothing.
wow, I was with you on the Spock post (really right there with you), but this is just terribly hateful. you must have met some real jerks. I hope no one is offended like this when I offer them my support and empathy. thanks for diminishing the injustices I’ve faced just because of my skin color, gender, and sexual orientation.
I appreciate this blog! but I think its very important to see the universal in your experiences of marginalization. As a white feminist, I know that all women can relate to the ways in which I’ve been marginalized. That being said, I know that the same cannot be said in reverse. I know that I cannot relate to all experiences of female marginalization. I don’t think anyone should count themselves as the prototype of oppression but I think its important to not exclude basic shared experiences. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we do have shared experiences. We just do and ignoring that is very detrimental to any kind of human rights movement.
Excellent. Thanks for including sex workers.
Thanks for posting this. Some excellent points.