Why Donald Trump’s tweet represents the twisted thinking of fake feminism
Recently, women across America took apart of the Women’s March, which was not so coincidently set on the anniversary of Trump’s inauguration. In ‘support’ of the cause, the president tweeted that female employment is currently its lowest in 18 years. To many this may seem a turning point (Wow!!! Women get jobs now. Aren’t we lucky?!), however, this example perfectly summarizes the skewed thinking of fake feminists and white feminists alike.
Trump’s pat on the back for low unemployment can be received in a couple different ways. Firstly, we must ask ourselves if this drop in female unemployment is simply just the cause of an exponentially growing female workforce. I am not here to identify whether it is to the effect of Trump or not, but it is something to keep in mind.
Despite this seeming like a respectful Trump response in comparison to less sensitive remarks, this statement actually represents a much larger and common margin of those who identify as feminists or claim to be in support of women. By stating that women are celebrating milestones by marching for equality one is assuming that this march is a parade rather than a battle. Most of us are quite familiar with parades in celebration, and of course are in all support of them, but let’s make sure we are accurately depicting the scene that played out and the velocity behind it. The women’s march was a retaliation against the misogynistic attitudes of the patriarchal society, and government of America that is so cleanly represented in this presidential term. So, no, Mr. Trump, this was not an event to celebrate our ‘economic success and wealth creation over the last 12 months.’ It was an event nationally in which those who are disenfranchised due to gender came together in order to create a spark of a flame to bring awareness to the fact that sexism touches lives, sexism ruins lives, and that women are not going to go quietly, despite our society’s tendency to push us towards the latter.
This is a common mindset many have, women and men alike, that equality is about throwing away aprons and burning bras. It isn’t about working jobs, it’s about the right to work. Just as it wasn’t the lunch counter, it was the right to sit there and the deeper meaning behind the marginalization. Statements assuming that feminism is an ‘old’ issue or one about ‘girl power’ are archaic. Let’s not forget that for women of color and women of lower economic status this is a different issue. The march was not about working jobs and leaving the kitchen, that is purely the tip of the iceberg, and assuming that its depth and power can be distinguished by the female unemployment rate is humiliating. The march was not only there for women who have left domesticity and empowered themselves through a career (which is a wonderful thing to do), it was also for the women who experience sexual assault in the workplace, for the women who still do not get the right to an education, for the women who have no control over their own bodies, for the women of other socioeconomic statuses, for women of the LGBTQ community and for women of color whose challenges aren’t just starting a career but receiving equal pay for it (shall we bring up those statistics, Donald?).
So, yes, fake feminism and white feminism alike are poisonous to a movement of such magnitude that has been brewing since before the word was even commonplace. Let’s celebrate the milestones, but more importantly remember the work to be done, and not hide those challenges in the shadows of certain female successes.