Article note: The term “womxn” is used to center all people and womxn, including Trans and Gender non-conforming people.
According to Oxford Languages, feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” While this definition is a broad umbrella of what feminism could be, many who identify themselves as feminists define the purpose of the movement in their own fashion. When contextualizing some of the crucial time periods of feminism in the United States (the Suffrage Movement to the #MeToo Movement), there have been strides made but for whom? The questions avoided are often ones that push feminists to be uncomfortable, to question how inclusive their actions really are and if those goals are being put into practice. There is no denying that the history of feminism is racist, transphobic and exclusionary towards marginalized groups. But, if you identify as a feminist, what are some truths you have to keep in mind? How can you be aware of the ways your “feminism” is harmful and performative?
Static Representation
When we think of feminism, we think of white women with fist pumps up wanting to dismantle the patriarchy while calling for pay equity. While this is the most basic assumption about feminism, this is marketed persistently in the media, particularly by white comedians, actors, journalists, “activists” and other public personas. The problem is, the same people (white middle-class women) are represented without regard from womxn of color, Trans womxn and other marginalized groups. While there have been pushes for representing diversity and inclusivity, there is a lack of dialogue about amplifying those voices instead of speaking over them. There is a general attitude that marginalized womxn must have crusaders on their behalf. The purpose of representation is for those womxn and people (gender non-conforming) to be able to voice their own truths unapologetically in safe environments while challenging the status quo. Magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and more white-dominated publications have promoted the idea of feminism being the showcase of white women who have “paved the way” with simplistic agendas and exclusive goals. Let’s consider the fact that those applauded for doing the bare minimum never started talking about Black Lives Matter until the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor coincided with their lack of elevation towards Black and Brown womxn and lives. These aspects are relevant to how acts of modern feminism fail to act until oppression emerges as a “trendy” topic.
White Feminism
White feminism is the practice and ideology of centering white women in all spaces, without the regard of racism and other facets of oppression. This exclusionary ideology has been adopted to protect white women and white fragility, even though they possess privileged identities. This form has been perpetuated in mass media, politics, film and societal aspects. White feminism encourages white women to be elevated while failing to be aware of how they support systems and institutions of oppression. Many can be able to tell you who Gloria Steinem and Betty Freidan are yet can not do the same for Dolores Huerta, Angela Davis or Patrica Hill Collins. In this framework, white women encourage themselves internally and to others to be uplifted, disregarding the fact that the lack of equal representation has pushed them (white women) to the forefront.
White women will never have to worry about racism because such is a system from which they benefit. The idea of “girl power” exists in a similar idea that the American Dream encompasses: you can be anything you desire as long as you work hard. The luxury of being able to achieve status, high primes of socialization and security are bases that womxn of color are not allowed to sustain. The hierarchy and designated ladder of power only extends itself to those predetermined to be the best fit for society. This system is built to also condone the ideas of delicacy and support towards white women. Such is centered on white women being less responsible for racism than white men and more deserving of equality and justice. Examples of white feminists include Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Jennifer Lawrence, Chelsea Handler, Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and more. There should be an acknowledgment that the romantic comedies you love to watch, the white cisgender and heterosexual narratives you embrace and the toxic culture built on white femininity with the lack of accountability are aspects to reflect on your privilege and your lack of education towards differing experiences. Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t feminism be about the overall support for all womxn; not equating their experiences yet supporting their truth, acknowledging privilege and engaging in action? If your feminism is built on the same adolescent and adult stories of white women facing the most catastrophic forms of oppression, your feminism supports and uplifts singular and privileged perspectives.
No one is shaming you for being white (that should go without saying). However, you benefit from systems of oppression. The very slogans you claim to use in order to support womxn are only applicable to women of your race, whether you intend to or not. There must be an honest conversation about the white women you support or look up to and what they’ve done. Do you really appreciate their efforts or do you appreciate that their “advocacy” was only based on women who look like you?
Related: Let’s Talk: White Feminism
Lack of Intersectionality
If your feminism is not intersectional, it does not count. If your feminism does not support Trans womxn, it does not count. If your feminism excludes Black womxn or is based on solely one issue, it does not count. Intersectionality considers all of the ways race, gender and class are related, while also considering sexual orientation, environmental racism, ableism, international representation and other societal factors. As someone who supports a system that has been built on exclusionary practices, you must center BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and all marginalized groups in your frameworks and activism. If you only praise white women who have created and aided in the damage towards marginalized groups, you are not elevating womxn and/or people, you are instead fantasized by the idea of women within your identity still maintaining white supremacist ideologies and the entitlement complexes off of the lives, bodies and aspects of marginalized communities. As a feminist, you have a responsibility to eliminate the perception of performativity being your form of denouncement. Where is your support for non-problematic activists, non-profits, communities, companies and organizations? What intentions do you have to fully recognize how your absence and neglect towards womxn and womxn of color have been harmful? These are the times where you have to recognize it is best to take the back seat amidst learning strategies to deconstruct harmful and racist bias.
Silence and Complicity
The same energy kept for the #MeToo movement, gender pay inequity conversations and other feminist endeavors were not translated during this summer. Being in the midst of a pandemic and the continuation of racial injustice, there has been a notable silence (in all sectors) about the persistence of murders against Black lives. When we speak of feminism or any movement that is supposed to be based on “equality,” Black womxn should not be exempt from these conversations. The usage of Breonna Taylor’s murder for memes and social media tags are indicative of how speaking or typing paragraphs are not examples of activism. Our current climate calls for many to check their privilege and fully understand that this is not their moment. However, there is a difference between knowing when to take up space versus believing that the conversations of oppression and racism somehow do not apply to you. If your feminism is rooted in support and “power” then where is the energy you have for Black liberation? For Trans liberation? For using your privilege to hold fellow feminists accountable? With silence, there is violence. With complicity, there is shared accountability for the clear position of choosing what not to do for the sake of comfortability. Each social justice issue brings a level of uncomfortableness by itself. You need to hold others and yourself accountable for the ways you place stigmas on Black and Brown bodies through colorism, racism and tone policing. You need to realize that while it is easy for you to turn your activist and feminist switch “off” when you’d like, other marginalized communities do not have that luxury.
Related: White Feminism: Why Is It Dangerous?
False Progress and Empowerment
One of the main tactics used to avoid accountability is hiding behind false progress and bland calls for empowerment. If you are a feminist, how are you evaluating what progress is? Surely, there have been strides made in the past for white women and their suffrage but the same can not be said for womxn of color, Trans womxn and Black womxn. These stigmas are still in place, systematic/institutional oppression continues to thrive and there are a variety of issues that modern feminism, like its predecessors, do not address. For instance, when speaking of environmental racism, such is not an issue that solely affects white people. It is one that has been perpetuated in communities of color where there is a lack of resources and facilities to support them. Yet, the same dry and half-assessed applications of awareness are used without fully understanding that not everyone’s oppression is the same. In regards to empowerment, we must dispel the idea of giving seats at the table. Why is there a complacency that marginalized communities and womxn have to sit at a table with predetermined rules, rather than having their own spaces in their own regards? We must deconstruct these power dynamics and understand that marginalized communities are strong and do not need spokespeople. In your “empowerment,” it must be an act of support for everyone and all womxn, not just the same people who provide lip service and no concrete solutions. Being complacent in progress does not encourage growth or honesty, hence the reason it is false. And yes, even the strides made in the name of feminism have not solved the problems, either. You have to consider who and what you are empowering.
Tone Policing
Tone policing is the practice of dictating to womxn of color and Black womxn how to handle circumstances of racism and bigotry. This idea is rooted in controlling narratives which are in direct contradiction of what liberation and equity look like. Womxn of color and Black womxn do not need white feminists or feminists dictating how they should handle a form of oppression. Not only is tone policing arrogant, it is also indicative of privilege as you give an unwarranted opinion, which is similar to past and current laws with dictations to police Black and Brown bodies. If you are not a part of their experiences or perspectives, you have no right to examine their reactions. Their responses are in direct correlation against the very microaggressions, systems and institutions which oppress and suppress their voices. Counteracting rightful backlash, action and criticism goes into the white supremacist and white feminist complexes you enable. For example, with the persistence of injustice being committed against Black people, you as a white person do not have a right to tell them how to protest, what terms they should use or how they should go about their liberation. Your job is to be of service and to know your place.
Instead of dictating, you should be validating the experiences of different womxn. Are you taking the time to educate yourself about what they have to experience? Are you using your privilege as a crutch to avoid accountability or deeper analyses? Do you go into self-victimization mode when you are called out for problematic behavior?
Conclusion
While this article may have been daunting in regards to fully being aware, these are beginning steps for examining ways to be a better “ally” and a “feminist” during this time. It is very easy to hide behind the gaze of words and paragraphs but you have an obligation to change the tide. Marginalized communities should not be the only ones fighting for their liberation as the systems and institutions in place were not of their doing. You have to step up and own it. Hiding behind your white fragility mask will not help you anymore. Your silence and excuses speak volumes and we are more than aware of your complicity. When striving for intersectionality, it is essential to also explore different perspectives and experiences. If you are active on Instagram or interested in anti-racism education, I have compiled a list of womxn and people of color across the spectrum for you to follow, read from and center in your journey. For an abundance of resources, documentaries, articles, videos, interviews and other educational resources, here is my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nsmalls
Accounts
Books
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Mikki Kendall: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women a Movement Forgot.
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Angela Davis: Women, Race and Class.
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Robin DiAngelo: White Fragility.
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Layla Saad: Me and White Supremacy.
The times call for responsibility. It calls for the privileged to understand how they are beneficiaries of oppression. This should be a chance for you to take time to evaluate how you can be active while disregarding the notion that feminism should be general or broad. Process your actions. Configure some ways you can address problematic histories with its continuation in our current climate.