"FEMINISM DOESN'T EXIST. WHITE FEMINISM DOES"

I was sat in my politics class room and my teacher stated that we would be starting the module: ‘feminism’. All the white, middle class boys in my class (which is about 90% of the students), huffed in apathy. To be quite honest, I huffed with them. My reasons I can assume were much more different to theirs though, haha. My teacher then proceeded into asking us to write down what we think feminism defines as. I wrote, “Feminism doesn’t exist. White feminism does.” My teacher came straight for me and asked me to explain what I meant by this “bold” statement. I heard whispers in the class and saw confused faces. Many of these confused stares were coming from the boys. Not that they would understand. As one of the two only black girls in a class of thirty students, I spoke. I ranted. I let my inner “angry black girl” emerge.

Feminism defines as, ‘the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.’ If this is what defines as feminism, then why is it so often that we see the advocacy of white women’s rights, but the rights of black and ethnic minority women ignored? White feminism is a term used to describe feminist theories that focus on the struggles of white women and failing to address the oppression faced by black and ethnic minority women. Despite the growth of feminists of colour that address the marginalisation faced by women of our community, there are still many divides that exist within feminism; white feminism being one of many. Feminism, ever since the movement began, has remained centred on issues that only affect the white, often middle class and wealthy women.

The term has been highly romanticised and has turned into a fashion statement. It’s almost deemed as ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’ in our society to be a feminist. One example of this is the so called ‘Free the Nipple’ movement. This movement destigmatizes females being topless and acts as an attempt to ‘advance’ gender equality. Some feminists often say, “If he can walk down the road topless, then why can’t I?”. Often people forget that within the gender rights movement, there are biological and innate differences between the male and female and although in worth, our genders are equal, in all other aspects, they are parallel rather than equal. Another movement I was recently introduced to was the ‘Free Bleeding’ campaign. It is a movement in which women go without tampons, pads, or other fluid-barriers and let their period blood flow. There are no real health benefits to free bleeding, so why do it? Your body, your choice, however associating the feminist movement with campaigns like this which I personally do not deem to be crucially important, is just stripping the term ‘feminism’ of its authentic meaning and principles. Feminism has lost its true meaning. The sexes are able to be equal without having to be entirely the same. Equal human rights are something that must be addressed, however there are much more important things to be discussed than whether a woman can be topless or should wear a pad/ tampon. Both sexes are unique to one another and this is the beauty that differentiates them both. What are the purposes of these movements? How exactly can it advance the position of females, rather than reverting us to a more primitive time?

photo 1 credit: playwright 'Katherine Soper' in photo photo 2: breitbart.com photo 3: The Lumberjack photo 4: model 'Kendall Jenner'

Now, in no way am I saying that I disagree with feminism. I wholly agree with the concept of feminism which is the advocacy of women’s rights (and this should be inclusive of ALL women’s rights). However, I disagree with modern day feminism and what it has become (as shown and stated above). True feminism has the power to transform society but too often, white feminism and white supremacy comes into perspective.

Feminism is important when it comes to issues that affect your living and well-being, but the problem is, it chooses to ignore these crucial factors that unfortunately affect the life of a woman of colour significantly. For example maternal mortality for black women is four times the rate of white women, and these rates remain high for middle and upper class black women. It appropriated the ‘Me Too’ movement, whilst failing to acknowledge how white women have historically used their sexuality to oppress men of colour. Many black men sit in prison on false rape charges due to falsified accusations made. When white women cry rape, our society rallies to punish the targets, whether they are guilty or not in order to protect the white women’s virtue. The tragic case of Emmett Till and the Tulsa Oklahoma Race Massacre are shattering examples of this. Emmett Till, who was a 14-year-old African American boy, was lynched for supposedly flirting with a white woman. His accuser, Carolyn Bryant, took back what she said decades later, but it was unfortunately too late for Emmett. Furthermore, white feminism ignores oppression inflicted by the criminal justice system. Around 80% of women in jail are single mothers, and two-thirds are women of colour whilst a third are suffering from major mental illness (in the U.S.). Incarceration rates are increasing rapidly as Hispanic women are incarcerated at nearly twice the rate of white women, and black women are incarcerated at four times the rate of white women. These statistics are the shocking reality but if we do not speak up, who will? These are the aspects we must focus feminism on, rather than ignoring!

White feminism is so distasteful that many women of colour want little to nothing at all, to do with feminism. This is because of the racial complexion hierarchy that exists within feminism. White Feminism is a form of our oppression as feminism does not provide inclusivity for women of colour. Racism, unfortunately, is not something we can escape from and is something that is embedded in both liberal and conservative ideologies and is unsurprisingly, at the core of our movements for women.

photo 1 credit: Shaojie photo 2: Lindsey LaMont photo 3: Chloe Simpson

all women matter.

First wave feminism began in the early modern period and continued well on into the 20th century. It focused particularly on women’s suffrage. It was movement that was organised by middle class, educated white women and focused on issues affecting them. Second wave feminism was similar in that it was also shaped by white, middle class women and it excluded issues involving ethnic minority women. However, a shift is seen as during second and third wave feminist periods, scholars that originated from marginalised communities began to write about the female experience.

The notable feminist scholar, Bell Hooks brought this issue into perspective and placed an emphasis on the struggles of the black female experience and spoke about the way that the feminist movement was exclusionary towards black and ethnic minority women. Modern day feminism is sometimes seen to place an emphasis on intersectionality. Intersectionality is a term that was invented by American professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. It defines as: ‘The view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity. Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability, and ethnicity.’ However, feminism exists to promote the comfort and safety of affluent, middle class, white women.

Black women are prisoners within the feminism movement. White feminism is extremely introverted, and it is unfortunate that the fundamental principles of feminism refuses to acknowledge the struggle of women of colour and Muslim women. Our voice must be heard because white feminism deprives us and usurps our voice. There is a difference between white feminism and feminists that happen to be white. Some white feminists use their whiteness when beneficial to their circumstance and will then use their gender to excuse their unfair behaviour. Feminism that undermines the impact of racism and other forms of oppression that exist is NOT feminism sis.

White feminists, particularly those who are in positions of power and influence, must use their position to aid ethnic minority women who are objectified in society. They must reach out to women of colour to conceal this gap that exists within feminism.

“We urgently need an anti-racist, anti-fascist feminism that strikes back at both sexual abuse and racism” in order to defeat this toxic and nationalistic form of feminism. By building a feminist movement that resists these toxic notions, we are building a feminist movement suitable for all.

Together, we are powerful.

Yours,

Yohanna x