“White Feminism” is a misrepresentation of feminism. It is a very narrow lens of feminism because it disregards issues that affect women of color in developing countries while considering only pressing issues affecting developed nations. In the past, other terms such as “intersectional feminists” were coined to include the experiences of African American women who were facing an array of issues besides sexism, such as systemic racism. To learn more about what white feminism entails check out this resource.
One of the ways that white feminism can be toxic involves marginalized communities. Women of color don’t have that much of an upper hand when it comes to social issues that might be affecting this sensitive population. As a result of this, there may be times when they may be afraid to speak up or to voice their concerns. When they speak out about pain involving their loved ones or other people in their community that is being murdered, children who may be discriminated against in middle school, or discrimination in the workplace, they may be dismissed or told to be more polite about it. This teaches them to adopt the attitude that it is acceptable for them to continue not to voice their concerns since they might burden someone if they do speak up.
Another issue with this white feminism ordeal is that when these marginalized women do speak up, they are often met with “centering.” Centering means that white women get caught up about how they feel and focus the conversation solely on themselves. White women will redirect the conversation to their needs, how they have been dealt with unfairly by co-workers (so you’re “not the only one”), or other burdens that they may have encountered. This is completely missing the point and can further prevent marginalized women from speaking out about the generations and decades of abuse that they have experienced. We’ve all been there: having a bad day and confiding in a co-worker who also had a bad day – just a worse day than we did. Everything becomes a competition for who has it worse.
It is important to bring each other up and not to tear one another down as women. If you notice another queen’s tiara slipping or if you notice her not doing too well – fix it. Don’t ignore the problem or gloat. Don’t make the situation about you. As women, we have to stick together and stand up for one another to build empires together. If we continue to tear each other down or to disregard pressing issues just because we might not be able to empathize with the individual or have different views, then we hinder progress towards equality. We are hindering progress for being made to fight for equal pay, along with other issues affecting us besides just sexism in the workplace. We need to have our voices heard and assert our position in society as powerful women; however, how can we do that if we are constantly trying to suppress the voices of our fellow sisters? We’ve got to continue to build one another up, be inclusive, and open-minded to continue gaining the upper-hand.
We can do it.