“If they are victorious now, what will they not attempt?“
The above are the words of Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato, who resisted the repeal of laws limiting women’s use of expensive goods in the 3rd century BC.
For the longest time, women have been under subjugation, deprived of basic activities such as education, owning property, moving freely without any surveillance, and excluded from political participation. Sparked by this, women have resisted for as long as we can remember in history. More recently, solidarity took the form of feminist waves, which originated primarily in the western nations before its advent. Feminism, regardless of its emphasis on females, is not necessarily just for them; rather, it is a belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes and genders.
In this eternal patriarchal society, feminism has centred primarily around women and their oppression. Yet this subjugation cannot be overthrown by taking just sex and gender into consideration; these identities attach themselves naturally to race. The intersectionality of feminism, though, does not look to be very progressive with the combination of gender and sex with other identities such as race, leaving us all with white feminism.
Girl boss feminism
According to Mashable, “White or liberal feminism refers to a type of feminism that focuses exclusively on white middle-class women and prioritises issues that primarily affect them.” It is often also known as “girl boss feminism.” White feminism does not seek to end the oppressingly patriarchal system but rather justifies flourishing and succeeding within it. The focus tends to be more on equality and empowerment through economic or career streams. For example, white feminism would advocate for an increase in the number of female CEOs and the growing “hustle culture” trend while simultaneously being dismissive towards problems faced by black women or Muslim women.
White feminism places a high priority on achieving equality for white women, with the belief that this equality will create opportunities for all other women. In essence, it does not address or acknowledge the intersectionality of feminism by being exclusionary towards racial and ethnic identities. It fosters the misconception that all women experience misogyny in the same way white women experience misogyny.
Journey from white supremacy to white feminism
White supremacy plays a pivotal role in the construct of white feminism. The basic premise of white supremacy rests on the idea of the “white man’s burden,” which believes that it is the white man’s “responsibility” or “duty” to develop and uplift the non-whites, primarily people of colour. It sees itself as superior to all other races and identities and imposes itself on the entire world by asserting it as inferior based on their identities. The concept suggests all people of different identities other than white are uncivilised and in dire need of help. This concept is deeply rooted in colonialism, which was imposed on the premise that the “world needs to be saved by Whites.”
White feminism homogenises feminist thought, establishes the white woman’s experience of misogyny as the dominant one, and is dismissive towards all other intersectionalities.
The white mindset perceived the world, or rather the global south, to be barbaric, uncivilised, inferior, and backward, enabling subjugation and homogenising south cultures. This is structurally similar to white feminism. White feminism homogenises feminist thought and establishes the white woman’s experience of misogyny as the dominant one and is dismissive towards all other intersectionalities.
Homogenising the misogyny
White women also experience misogyny, just as every woman does, but the experience differs by combining their race. The structure of white supremacy actively contributes to the overall difference in misogynistic experiences. It is overall very dismissive, ignorant, and exclusive. It considers the experiences of white women to be the standard, whereas white feminism is not even liberating in essence but rather justifies the system by making performative activities the ladder to equality and upliftment.
For example, white feminism encourages independent careerist women and would acknowledge problems such as the lack of females in higher positions at work but may not address the marriage dynamics of a woman of colour as a problem, or would justify balancing career and motherhood as a win over access to healthcare for women in less advanced nations. This is also the result of the social standing of white women. The social ladder places white women in a privileged position, even over men of colour at times.
White feminism doesn’t meet women of colour where they are but expects them to “aspire to be seen” instead and blames women of colour, queer women, incarcerated women, and poor women for not achieving certain ‘feminist wins,’ and doesn’t reconsider the structure that disenfranchises those who do not have lofty resources or capabilities.
Origins of white feminism and othering of women of colour
The first instance of white feminism can be observed as the first feminist wave of 1848–1920, which focused primarily on the opening up of opportunities for women with a focus on suffrage. The wave is believed to have formally started when men and women came together in 1848 to protest for the equality of women at the Seneca Falls Convention. Even though it was an abolitionist movement, it was not very inclusive of women of colour and may have been motivated by racism.
An article by the College of DuPage illustrates a famous statement by Susan B. Anthony, “I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro.”This is unmistakable racism and bigotry on her part. Modern-day scholars and feminists very conveniently ignore her fuelling motivation towards the entire movement. As the wave spread, the rights of black women were not given any attention or importance and started the beginning of a new movement for black women for the feminist movements ceded with the 19th Amendment of 1920.
The second wave of feminism further brought more criticism for the white feminists. The second wave was sparked to end the gendered roles of wives. Looking to reevaluate traditional roles and end gender discrimination, the wave started around 1963 and lasted till the 1980s. Amendments for equal pay came along the way, but so did backlash from the feminists for centring around privileged white women. The difference between privileged white feminists and all identities of women only increased with the progress of the movement. Till the third wave, which addressed intersectionality and oppression of women as a race together.
Throughout the history of feminism, the movements and waves have represented different issues and streams of thoughts against which women have protested, but it constantly failed to recognise the experience of women of colour, different races, religions, ableists, and so on to be more inclusive. The movements have espoused the belief that empowering white women would create opportunities for others. Prime examples in the history of white feminists are Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and more contemporary feminists include Taylor Swift, who has been criticised for being selectively an activist, and Sheryl Sandberg for focusing primarily on privileged, wealthy women. White women protest for rights from a position of privilege, which includes their ability to speak up and be seen, whereas all other races are still struggling just to be heard, let alone be seen.
References:
- Feminism | Definition, History, Types, Waves, Examples, & Facts | Britannica
- Feminism Not for All? The Discourse Around White Feminism Across Five Social Media Platforms – Porismita Borah, Shreenita Ghosh, Jiyoun Suk, Darshana Sreedhar Mini, Luhang Sun, 2023
- What is white feminism and how does it harm women of colour? | Mashable
- (white) feminism, white supremacy, and discursive violence
- Koa Beck on dismantling the persistence of white feminism
- White Feminism Falls Short
