White Feminists & Race

White Feminists: It's Time to Put Up or Shut Up On Race

"We need to accept that when a person of color tells us we’ve fucked up, the answer is not to get defensive. When we get that instinct to say “geez, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way at all,” it’s time to stop right now. It doesn’t matter how you meant it. It really doesn’t. Someone doesn’t have to have racism in their heart to do something racist."

Yes. This. Exactly.

SO many times I regret reading topics about race, racism or islamophobia (or threads where that may come up) on Jezebel and elsewhere because the comments make me ill. Come on, feminists. Not least of all.. saying Trinidadians can be called "African Americans", translating "person of color" as black, not understanding why it's racist to wear culturally appropriated garb (or excusing it with something about "intent" or "respect"), not understanding why it's wrong to dress up as another race/culture (or excusing it with something about "intent" or "respect"), not understanding why a Mexican maid wouldn't want to give the unplanned child of her teenage daughter to her employer to adopt (even when she said it's about her culture), assuming all people all places have the same core values (and are white, western values usually along the lines of: free speech and capitalism > all).

Seriously, I am -this- close to starting a Feminist Race Fail tumblr.

"We need to acknowledge that a WOC balances the identities of “woman” and “of color,” along with many other identities. It is never okay to tell someone to set aside race while we focus on gender or feminism for a while. Gender is informed by race. Feminism had better fucking include anti-racism or this ship is sunk, let’s all go home."

SO many times people have said very problematic things in classes at university that boggle my mind. My favorite being in a Woman's Lit course in 2008: "Can we stop talking about race and talk about women?"

Because women of color, DUH, your race and cultural/racialized experiences have NOTHING to do with your experiences as a woman. OBVIOUSLY the only "Woman" experiences are the ones that white women have because white is not a race and whiteness does not "infect" experiences as women, like being of color does (which is why you should divide your race/sex experiences and oppressions in ways we can handle). OR maybe "woman" experiences are those that are universal to all or the majority of women so all women of color of all nationalities, all races, all ethnicities and combinations thereof - please figure out what you have in common with white women so there is a universal "experience". /sarcasm.

It is amazing that people think intersectionalities don't exist, or that identities are easily compartmentalized.

Regarding feminism. There are women of color; we exist. Our experiences are different within the large "WOC" group (some of us don't identify that way), and our problems can be different due to compound identities that deviate from the norm that result in specific oppressions or markers (i.e. brown-skinned Muslim women who wear hijab having to face discrimination for it when riding public transit). If you are interested in freedom for women, you should be interested in freedom for ALL WOMEN not just the women who look, think and act in ways you agree with. That is, for non-Christian women, women of color, women with physical disabilities or mental health issues, women who are LGBT or Q. And any combination above. And if you are interested in their freedoms, you should LISTEN TO THEM, and not try to impose your views on their movements or issues or how to address them.

It's really not that hard to shut up and listen. Really, it's Communication 101.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. But this is a good blog post, and you should definitely give it a read if you have ever thought about these issues.