How to Spot White Feminism in the Wild

I was going to write about antiracism frameworks this week, but based on the reactions to me calling out white feminism, apparently this is topic of conversation we arent quite finished with yet.

When I posted an excerpt from “Intersectional Bears” I knew it would generate a lot of dialogue, but I honestly didnt expect so many people to not know what white feminism is. As an anti-racism educator, I try to keep my pulse on the conversation happening in dominant culture, but of course my viewpoint is a little skewed because I am intentional about following other antiracism advocates. So what appears to be entering popular lexicon, isnt always as ubiquitous as I imagine. And I just added white feminism to that list. I imagined that in all of our 2020 conversations about “Karen’s” and performative allyship and defunding the police- and the many, many concepts that became national conversations- that white feminism was among them.

[photo by That’s Her Business on Unsplash]

So let’s first begin by making clear that white feminism is not the same thing as a feminist who is white. White feminism is a framework. Just as womanism is a framework. Intersectional feminism is a framework. Third wave feminism is a framework. And so on. There is no need to be defensive about the existence of white feminism as long as you become conscious of its limits and do the work required to move beyond it (assuming you want to).

It is no different from my own realization that there is a thing called anti-blackness. I am Black but I am not defensive about the existence of anti-blackness because I am actively trying not to be that.

White feminism is a posture, but it doesnt have to be who you are.

Most of you understood this (and God bless you if you looked it up yourself to find out more about the concept). I am not interested in demonizing anyone for not being aware of white feminism. Im not here to grade you; Im here to invite you into deeper learning.

For those curious about white feminism as a framework, I could tell many of you wanted to know how to spot it in the wild. How do you know when white feminism has reared its head? How do you know when it’s present in a conversation? How do you know when it has become the decision-maker and left all other women behind?

I want to offer you a cheat sheet. Now, please be clear that this is nowhere near exhaustive. This is just to get you started. My hope is that these points will tickle your brain, be easy to remember, and begin to guide you into the deeper work of seeing and naming white feminism.

Okay. The way you spot white feminism at work is by:

-Data Point

-Point of View

-View of the World

Data Point

A sure fire way to notice that white feminism is at work is based on the statistics or data points being used to describe the problem. Im certain you have heard white women decrying the wage gap, because women make 16% less than men. And while that average is true, it hides that Black women, Latinas and Indigenous women make even less than white women, let alone men. Which means, it is possible for white women to improve the wage gap for themselves and leave behind women of color.

Whenever you are talking about the plight of women- but all the data points used focus only on white women or the data for women of color get lost in the averages- that is a possible sign of white feminism at work. Intersectional feminism likes nuance- it wants to lift up the specifics, it wants to explore the uniqueness of increasingly marginalized bodies (like what would the wage gap be for a black trans woman… and why!?) In the social hierarchy that we have in America, white feminism focuses on itself at the top, but intersectional feminism (see also womanism and other kinds of frameworks) believes that meeting the needs of the most oppressed, is a win for us all.

Point of View

Because white women often believe their experience to be the universal experience of womanhood (a denial of the privileges of whiteness), it is not unusual for white women to ask for solidarity for themselves, not realizing they are missing the point of view of women of color.

Let me give you an example. Actors Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer are talking about the film The Help which they are both going to act in. They begin talking about money and Jessica says that she is determined to close the wage gap between women and men. Octavia then tells Jessica that not only is she not making what men make, she isnt making what white women make- including Jessica herself! Jessica assumed that there was no difference between what she made and what Octavia, a Black woman made. Her point of view was off. (please note I am paraphrasing significantly and you can find Octavia telling this story in her own words)

When she was made aware of this, Jessica decided immediately that Octavia would make the same as her and she worked to make that happen. She realized that before she could go after what men make, she needed to make sure she didnt leave behind another woman who was not yet making equal wages to her.

Point of view matters. And it can be really frustrating as a woman of color to be told that I should make sacrifices or raise my voice or link arms or advocate for women- when the particular inequalities I face are being swept under the rug or ignored.

View of the World

The most dangerous form of white feminism is not just that it leaves other women behind, but that it doesnt mind trampling on other women and/or taking away privileges it used for its own benefit from others.

Two quick examples. Let’s go back to the 19th Amendment. It was clear in the comments on IG that a great many people dont realize how many white suffragists actively, consciously, purposefully did not want to give the vote to Black people, to Black men. They were adamant about leaving Black folks out in order to accrue power for themselves. It wasnt an accident. It wasnt just a product of the time period. It was discussed, debated and decided to leave out Black people. We see the same thing now when white women want to leave out Black women, undocumented women, trans women, women who dont speak English, women who are disabled, women who are homeless, or women with a felony. White feminism believes only itself to be worthy of rights and is comfortable leaving other women disqualified from the same.

One more example. Did you know that affirmative action had its birth in giving white women access to opportunities that had been reserved for men? But how many white women are now comfortable with taking affirmative action away from people of color because “it’s no longer needed”. See how that works? It’s a right when white feminists need it; but it can be disappeared when white women have achieved the success they desired.

White feminism has a very particular worldview in which it seeks to rise to the equality of [white] men to be in power with them and over others. It doesnt actually want equity and equality for all. It is completely self-interested.

And that’s why it’s dangerous.

Okay- your turn. Tell me how, when or where you see white feminism functioning? What resources have you turned to in order to learn about white feminism? What other frameworks are learning from instead?

*****

IN OTHER NEWS!

1. This summer this newsletter will release less often- more like every other week. I turned in the first draft of my next book (yaaay) but now begins the work of editing it (insert wide eyes here). Fingers crossed to have it completed and turned in during September.

2. I am working on expanding ACB academy! This fall you will find a new class on allyship, that you can take on demand. Cant wait to bring it to you!

3. Did you hear I have a podcast in the works?! Here is the announcement!