If your news feed looks anything like mine you have probably been reading a lot about white feminism in the past few months. The Women’s March initiated much of the discussion among female writers of color; but in my circles the people that use this term the most are ‘woke’ white women, in an effort to differentiate themselves from less-woke white women. “White feminism” is a term to describe how the feminist movement has traditionally centered itself around the needs and concerns of white women, leaving out the needs of many, many other women. This is an important concept to know and to recognize because we need to see how even well intentioned activism can perpetuate white supremacy. I want to clear something up though; as the concept of white feminism has gained notoriety, I have seen it being used as a catch-all for any display of ignorant whiteness in the activist world. That needs to stop.
Here’s my problem: when we use the term “white feminism” to describe any form of white-centered activism (the opposite of intersectional activism) we are not only diluting the power and meaning of that term, we are also inadvertently playing into sexist patterns that hold women accountable while giving white men a free pass. Since #45 was elected I have been reading at least one article a week about how white women are self-focused, false allies. Without disagreeing with that --because I don’t-- I want to ask: where are the white men in all of this? Why are we so willing to bash the Beckys over and over again without mentioning Chad? ( “Becky” and “Chad” symbolize all that is white, privileged, and ignorant. If you haven’t heard those names used before, that’s a pretty good sign it’s time to start following writers that are people of color.) It’s hard not to sound defensive saying this because I am a white woman; so I will clarify that I am not saying white women don’t deserve the criticism, we do, 53% of us voted for 45, we have privilege that directly results in the oppression of people of color, we have significant issues with fragility and aggression, I know we are a huge problem. Huge. AND I also am utterly amazed about how little focus there is on white men, the ultimate beneficiaries of our country’s various forms of structural bigotry.
I have a couple of theories about why we are so willing to bash Becky while Chad sits comfortably on the sidelines.
1) Misogyny. Plain and simple.
2) The fear of retaliation is less with white women. The staggering history of violence at the hands of white men is ingrained in our psyches. White women may be aggressive and horrible to other human beings, but they don’t kill, rape, stalk, or beat people like so many white men do.
3) It feels slightly more possible to change white women versus white men.
4) We expect more from women in general. White women know what it means to be oppressed so they should be able to understand better, they should be able to be empathetic to the struggles of women of color.
Whatever the reason, I agree, white women are still focused on their own needs and putting those needs above the needs of others. This is where white men come in though, this is not just white feminism, this is the problem with white liberals and activists in general. White liberals identify the ‘real issues’ that need attention and deserve resources allocated to them. They will set the rules, they will be the public face of the group, they will dictate what conversations are “appropriate” and when they “get out of hand.” I’ve seen this so many times in online groups that it is now a predictable pattern:
White liberal says something offensive/blatantly racist
One or two people try to call-in the white liberal
White liberal immediately gets defensive and angry and says something even more offensive
A few people again call-in/call-out the white liberal, while the majority stay silent
White liberal now assumes victim role, claims to be hurt by such hateful “attacks” (despite being the person that first attacked people of color)
White group moderator or admin then shuts down entire conversation.
Some of you might be questioning the validity of this problem in general. Where are these white liberals? Everywhere, they are everywhere. They hide in plain sight and are masters at disguising their oppressive ideas as ‘practical issues for social movements.’ Here’s an exchange that took place in my local Indivisible group when the importance of intersectional activism was brought up:
White Liberal: Trying to accommodate EVERY point of view, regardless of the rationality or irrationality of the POV is impossible. Indivisible needs to decide where it truly stands and stand there. Making room for the eternally aggrieved, the relentlessly negative, those who complain but never contribute, will lead to paralysis.
Me: What POV’s are you referring to? Those from the LGBTQ community, people of color, those who are undocumented? Because it sounds like those are the ones you are unwilling to listen to. Also, it comes off as extremely tone deaf when you are talking about people who have long histories of oppression as “relentlessly negative.”
White Liberal: “Being attacked every time I post here is definitely NOT encouraging me to continue with Indivisible.” (There’s that victim role, it takes over so quickly!)
Me: I really wasn’t attacking you but giving you a chance to clarify. When a white person says we need to limit our POV it typically translates to, “we need to limit it to the concerns of the white majority;” which is not at all ok.
Instead of clarifying, White Liberal doubled down: “If you think an organization can do anything substantive when it is trying to accommodate the POV of every individual, no matter how irrational that individual may be, you are misguided. Now leave me alone. I don’t want to be involved with a bunch of whiny people who are more concerned with their personal agendas and grievances than they are with making positive change. I get shit done and I always deliver. I am taking that ability to a group where action is valued over mental masturbation. Oh, and you can take intersectional feminism and shove it up your ass. I was a feminist before you were born.”
This exchange exemplifies both white liberalism and white feminism. If she hadn’t said the last two sentences, I would argue it was purely white liberalism because she wasn’t speaking specifically about the feminist movement, she was speaking about activism in general. White liberalism and white feminism can overlap, it is not necessarily an either/or situation. I am suggesting that we be more careful about our use of the term white feminism though, because of how that plays into misogyny and takes attention off white men, who need to share in the blame just as much as women in regards to the movement towards equality and social justice for all.
What was said by White Liberal was bad, but it was the deafening silence from the rest of the group that was the clearest example of white liberalism. In a group of over 1,500 people only two people, myself being one, stood up to this person. If you are white and another white person says this kind of bullshit in your vicinity, you need to say something. If you sit there quietly you are actively going along with the oppression of minorities. Your silence is an action, it is not passive or innocuous; it is an act of white supremacy and an example of your privilege. I know you are afraid of saying the wrong thing, but say something anyways. Put some thought into it, and say something. No excuses. You don’t have to engage for hours on end, but you need to say something.
Sometimes it can be really easy to see the oppressive quality of white liberalism. Sometimes it can be harder, especially if you are white and new to ideas of intersectionality or how white privilege affects literally everything white folks are involved with (yes, it really does, because it is the lens through which white folks see everything). So I made you a handy bingo card to help illustrate some of the more common acts of aggression and oppression committed by white liberals. Print it out and play along the next time discussions of race or activism or intersectionality comes up:
White Liberal Bingo
If you are white and find yourself saying any of the above, stop speaking, take a breath, and check your whiteness. Talk it over with a trusted *white* friend. Do some Googling. If you see someone else saying this kind of thing, say something! And let’s remember that white liberalism is just as bad coming from Chad’s mouth as Becky’s.
Addendum (optional reading with real-life examples):
If you are still questioning how significant an issue this is or are wondering how you might recognize and respond to these situations, I have included the following screen shots from my local Indivisible group. All of these conversations were inspired by two contentious events, 1) protesting Granite Construction, a company that is bidding to build #45’s wall (I wrote about this earlier here), which involved a bunch of white activists organizing a protest without pausing to check in with the local Latinx community first; and 2) the International Women’s Day march and strike, which involved clashes between a group of mostly white women above college-age --one of whom carried an All Lives Matter sign-- and a student strike group that was calling for an intersectional approach. Grab some popcorn because this shit is DRAMA (and by drama I mean oppressive bullshit):
White Feminism:
Pretty much every white feminist cliche was represented in the following thread that came up in response to the Women’s Day events and the need for an intersectional approach…
Seeing that I was getting nowhere, I tried an empathetic approach…
I then received an irate note via Messenger from Sandy saying what a rude and horrible person I was and that I was ‘no sister of hers.’ While Denise made a whole new post in the group:
The fragility! Good grief!
White Liberalism:
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
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