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Hey, everyone! This week I won't have time to write a whole post about life in France as I'm super busy between theater, sports and homework, however I do have this essay I recently wrote for my Social Studies class on the effects of white feminism on society, and it is actually a topic I think deserves more attention. I hope you find this informative and/or interesting!
The Effects of White Feminism
“Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality.” British actress and women’s rights advocate Emma Watson beautifully sums up the idea of feminism in an interview with Reuters, a new agency company. (Bate) Unfortunately, the feminist movement is not perfect and one particular problem that serves only to undermine the core values of feminism is the concept of white feminism. This idea brings about important discussions about white versus black women in feminism and the different roles they play, as well as their personal thoughts and feelings about belonging to one group or the other within feminism. (Cargle) As well as racial issues between women normally, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted both types of feminists, and not necessarily in positive ways. (Beck) Finally, white feminism has regrettably managed to affect lots of young girls and even dictate some of society’s views on feminism. White feminism, a toxic branch of feminism developed at the beginning of the feminist movement, has overall had a negative impact on the world, putting black women at a disadvantage against white women, creating false narratives amid a pandemic and giving girls the wrong ideas about themselves as young women in society and whether or not feminism is still needed.
White feminism is an entirely different idea within the feminist movement that subtly undermines the ideas of equality in actual feminism. Feminism globally is defined as “the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” (Google) One key word to retain here is “equality”. White feminism, however is defined as “the label given to feminist efforts and actions that uplift white women but that exclude or otherwise fail to address issues faced by minority groups, especially women of color and LGBTQ women.” (Gender & Sexuality Dictionary) The key word to retain here would be “exclude”, demonstrating the stark contrast between both definitions, despite white feminism supposedly working under the same umbrella as feminism. In history, there are generally four main waves of feminism that took place starting from the late 1840s with the goal of the new movement being to open up opportunities for women and later on evolving into sexuality and reproductive rights, solidarity with women of color and “universal womanhood” through the next few waves. (Rampton) These goals seem very different from the white feminist ideas of “promoting the comfort and safety of middle-class and affluent white women”. (Williams) Ultimately, white feminism can be summed up as “white supremacy in heels” and is an entirely different concept from feminism as a whole. (Cargle)
The idea of white feminism stems back to racial issues that have always been a problem in today’s world, specifically in the United States. Nowadays, the fight for equality is stronger than ever, but when it comes to feminism, white and colored women have some different ideas about what it entails, or what it means to them. Typically, white women and white feminists tend to have more concern for their feelings and ego as opposed to the fight forward for women as a whole. Feminism to them is an idea they embrace so long as it’s comfortable for them, personally rewarding and “on-brand”. Finally, often when white women are confronted with ways they have offended a marginalized group, perhaps on accident, they immediately begin demanding unity and peace, painting the victims as against women’s agendas. Black women in the feminist movement, however, understand how vital intersectionality is in feminism, often because they have faced more adversity in their history and even their own lifetimes. Women of color often feel not heard by white women and feel they tend to steer the conversation back to their personal thoughts and feelings. Finally, black women believe that the key to effective feminism is allyship and subsequently the acceptance of the reality of the United States’s dynamics. (Cargle)
Feminism is a worldwide concept, and after a pandemic named COVID-19 appeared in late 2019 and forever changed the world as we know it, feminism was also sure to suffer an impact. (Beck) As time went on, this deadly virus did have an impact on feminism and more specifically, women in the workplace. When it comes to women in the workplace, 33% of white women work in more professional environments while 67% of brown, black, Latinx and Indigenous women take up more domestic work and childcare of these aforementioned white women. (Burns) Around the world, COVID’s effect on the feminist movement has been described as a “disaster for feminism”, however this description clearly only refers to the pandemic’s effect on these “professional [white] women”. The issue here is in not including other mixed race women and white women’s structural power of ingratiation rather than systemic change. As for colored women, they have suffered massive job losses that hit them harder, especially since most of them have young children. This effect of COVID has not, however, been described as a “disaster for women” despite the consequences for the most part being much worse. If one good aspect is to come from the pandemic and its effect on feminism, it’s that we now have the opportunity to rebuild beyond white feminism and to begin again, this time with systemic, more permanent change. (Beck)
Even before a pandemic globally changed society forever, white feminism has still managed to have a lasting impact on the movement and on young girls specifically. British actress and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson shares how these now-powerful white women are changing the narrative and convincing the world that feminism is over. “We’re told we don’t need feminism anymore, that we have the vote, that like, we’re all good," she explains in an interview. (Bate) In fact, fewer than one in five women would even call themself a feminist. (Scharff) This idea is also negatively impacting young women and girls growing up in this modern era. “And I think, actually, that’s [this idea of not needing feminism is] incredibly disconcerting because then, when young women move into the world and they realise, 'Oh, why am I not being paid the same, why am I being treated differently?' And they start to blame themselves because they don’t understand that they’re part of a historic pattern, they’re part of a much larger system which is kind of working a little bit against them.” she continues, beautifully summing up the impact and the reason why feminism will always be needed, unless we come back to the idea of systemic change. Finally, white feminism has not only created this false narrative about the direction of the movement but has also created negative opinions and feelings towards the idea of feminism. “[But] my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men, and unattractive.” she finishes, showing us the severity and reality of the situation. (Bate)
In the end, white feminism is a toxic idea created by ignorant white women designed to benefit their, and only their agendas. It is such a different concept from feminism itself and promotes entirely different toxic and exclusive ideas. It also deepens the segregation between women and leaves women of color at a disadvantage in their own movement. (Cargle) Even during a pandemic, white women were able to play the victims and get the sympathy vote while colored women struggled in the lower class, completing domestic work and simultaneously caring for young children. (Beck) Over time, white feminists have even been able to create a world where feminism is no longer needed, impacting the lives of young women in today’s world. (Bate) All these ideas point to one common theme: white feminism is not feminism.
Bibliography:
Bate, Ellie. 13 Times Emma Watson Totally Nailed the Whole Feminism Thing. Buzzfeed, 21
March 2017. Web. 31 May 2021, https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbate/emma-watson-feminism-quotes
Beck, Koa. Don’t Call the Pandemic a Setback for Feminism. Time Magazine, 23 December
2020. Web. 31 May 2021, https://time.com/5923763/white-feminism-pandemic/
Burns, Crosby et al. The State of Diversity in Today’s Workforce. Center for American Progress,
12 July 2012. Web. 31 May 2021,
Cargle, Rachel Elizabeth. When Feminism is White Supremacy in Heels. Harper’s Bazaar, 16
August, 2018. Web. 31 May 2021,
Gender & Sexuality Dictionary. Dictionary.com, 14 May 1995. Web. 1 June 2021,
Rampton, Martha. Four Waves of Feminism. Pacific University Oregon, 2008. Web. 31 May
Scharff, Dr. Christina. Why so many young women don’t call themselves feminist. BBC News, 6
February 2019. Web. 31 May 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47006912
Williams, Dr. Monica T. How White Feminists Oppress Black Women: When Feminism
Functions as White Supremacy. Chacruna.net, 16 January 2019. Web. 1 June 2021,
s-as-white-supremacy/
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Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed and learned something new! Hopefully I'll be able to find some time next week to write a little more about France! Again, let me know if you have suggestions or want to guest-blog! See you next week.
Loreleixx
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