Up until recently, I might have been a white feminist. I know you might be thinking well duh you're white and you're a feminist therefore you're obviously a white feminist. However, I am talking about the negative label that has come to be associated with feminists usually who are white only looking out for certain types of women. It's not necessarily that they put down other groups it could be that they don't support them.
Feminism at its definition is females being equal to males socially, economically and politically. This is where intersectionality comes in. I'll come back to white feminism in a second.
Intersectionality first came about when black women were facing discrimination in the workplace because they were female and black. They tried to sue, saying that all jobs set aside for women were going to white women and all black jobs were going to black males. When the court examined this, they said it wasn't fair for them to sue on two accounts just because they were both. Being a black woman made them vulnerable to the laws because of how certain laws applied to groups since they were considered part of neither.
Back to white feminism. If you're truly a feminist, you believe that all women should be equal and that means fighting against racism. Some people would like to ignore that racism can affect some women making them worse off. White feminists prosper by elevating their status while not raising up the rest of women.
One example the professor gave was if a woman was running for a leadership position in the KKK it wouldn't be a triumph for feminism because it was indirectly pushing down women of color. Feminism is not about power for women it is about equality. If feminists don't actively fight racism, they are not promoting the equality they supposedly believe in.
How does intersectionality affect you? Has this changed the way you thought? Do you disagree or agree with this theory?
This theory has changed my mind. I thought that all feminist fought for the same cause and it never occurred to me that race, might be a dividing factor. I thought that all feminist wanted equality for all women. It was in my believe, that equality for all women might be a cause that could overcome racism, but this theory has changed my mind.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that we live in a euro-centric country largely helps cultivate what is considered "white feminism". It is easy for white women to ignore the experiences of their POC counterparts when they do not have the same experiences. I feel that feminists in general need to be educated on the fact that as feminists we should all pay attention to the problems faced by women across the world. The fact that the rest of the world is majority non-white further emphasizes the need for intersectional feminism as the need for feminism spans far beyond the western world.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. Also genuinely appreciate you acknowledging the white feminist experience, as a WoC. Intersectional feminism is not only thinking about how race relates to feminism, but also socio-economic makeup as well. Again, THANK YOU for understanding the white feminist issue.
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