White feminism. This term makes many white women, myself once included, uncomfortable. What does that mean? Yes, I'm white and a feminist, so what does that have to do with anything? White feminism is feminism that only caters to the needs of white women and often excludes the needs of our sisters of color. In short, it is the absolute bare minimum of feminism. It is the participation ribbon. Examples? "Women make 78 cents to every dollar a man makes." This statement is incorrect. Whitewomen make 78 cents to every dollar a white man makes. Men of color make less than white women, and women of color make less than men of color. To generalize all women in statistics that only account for white women is white feminism.
What are some other examples?
Many have seen this viral picture. For those who have not, this was taken at the Rio Olympics during a volleyball match between Egypt and Germany. Many see this photo and assume the Egyptian athlete, Doaa Elghobashy, is oppressed by her country and is made to wear a hijab and a uniform that covers her whole body. However, this is not the case. She chose to wear the hijab while her partner chose not to. They were also given the option to wear bikinis, but opted not to. The German athletes were not given the option and were made to wear the bikinis. To assume the oppression of the Egyptian women based solely on difference of cultural norm is another example of white feminism.
Many celebrities are guilty of white feminism including Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham and Tina Fey. They speak on oppression issues that only white women face, but not the ones that women of color face. While of course the oppression of white women is important, so is the oppression of women of color face which is often times worse than the oppression of white women. For example, many people know that women gained the right to vote in 1920. In actuality, the fact is really that white women were given the right to vote, as well as black women, technically, but many pollers refused them to register / entry. Black women still faced other racial challenges involved with voting, especially in the south. In 1926 a group of black women were beaten by election officials when attempting to register to vote in Alabama. Native Americans, male and female, were given the right in 1947. Asian immigrants weren't allowed to even become naturalized citizens until 1952. Finally, up until 1975, voting was a privilege only to those who spoke English. So yes, white women were given the right to vote in 1920, but not all women.
Women who are also marginalized are disabled women. Disabled women, whether physically or mentally, are often times not believed by their doctors because women are seen as "weak" and are assumed to have a lower pain tolerance. Their depression is often written off as "that time of the month." Chronic pain is seen as a disabled woman just being dramatic. Just because many of us are lucky to be able-bodied and able-minded, doesn't mean we can forget our sisters in physical and mental pain.
Of course we must also include our LGBT sisters. Note that 73 percent of victims of violent hate crimes in 2013 were trans women. Trans women are 1.8 times more likely to experience sexual violence compared to other survivors. And 35.4 percent of women living with same-sex partners experience intimate-partner physical violence in their lifetimes as compared to 20.4 percent of women living with opposite-sex partners.
Who else are we forgetting? Our fat sisters! Our skinny sisters! Our sisters with all bodies! We see pro body positive messages everywhere now, which is fantastic, but often times we only focus on our fat sisters. Megan Trainor's "All About That Bass." Slams naturally skinny women in order to promote curvier types, but that's not what feminism is about. It's about all women. Sure, we have a problem that the average size of a woman in the US is a size 12-14 but our average model is 2-4 and we need more curvier representation in the media other than comic relief, but we can't tear down our thin sisters for simply being thin. The same thing applies to our sisters who choose not to wear makeup and go natural, and our sisters who choose to undergo cosmetic surgeries and use every makeup product imaginable for a daily look. Both are beautiful. This also applies to our Muslim sisters who choose to cover up, and our sisters who choose to show skin, totally up to them! Whatever makes us feel beautiful is important.
Classism is also something important to consider. Poor women do not have the same opportunities as women who are middle class / wealthy. College may be too expensive and for that they are not less intelligent than a woman who has the opportunity to study her way to a better future. We need to stop shaming women who work in service industries simply because they were not afforded the same privilege as some earlier in life.
So while yes, we still need to fight like hell to change the sexist dress codes in our high school that slut shame 15-year-old girls for exposing their shoulders and stand up for our sisters when we are catcalled on the streets, we need to stand up for all of our sisters, especially our sisters of color, our sisters with disabilities, our sisters of all body types, our sisters of all socioeconomic classes and our LGBT sisters. Statistically, they are more at risk than our white sisters.
How can you change your feminism to be more inclusive? Educate yourself on the oppression that women of other races, countries, cultures and religion face. Make sure that your statistics reflect not only white women but also include women of color and women with disabilities. After all, our fight for equality is stronger with the more women and inclusivity we have.
