White Feminism

I was first exposed to and educated about feminism more than I was about racism. It wasn’t just feminism I was educated about, however, it was white feminism. If you don’t know already, white feminism, as defined by Dictonary.com, is, “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.” 

When learning about feminism, the women’s suffrage movement, and so on as I moved throughout high school and college, the subject was taught by women; however, they were all white women. I regretfully and embarrassingly admit that it was not until my study abroad experience in London during Spring 2020 that I had ever even heard the term “white feminism.” I felt a mixture of surprise, regret of the surprise, and confusion of how I was a twenty-one-year-old white female who had never heard this phrase. I also acknowledge that it is through my unconscious white privilege and white gaze that I had not even questioned the very fact that there is such a thing as white feminism as it was my white privilege that made me surprised in the first place. This is something that all people, especially women, should learn more about even if they have already heard of it. 

Rachel Cargle, a Black American author and speaker, holds talks called “Unpacking White Feminism”, where she explains this idea to an audience of mostly white women. One of the many notable points she has said is, “If the goal of your feminism is to get equal power with white men, you’re going to have to oppress a bunch of people.” When I read this, I had not realized that my idea, my view of feminism was, in fact, for women to have equality over men. In her popular article “When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels,” Cargle lists out the various ways in which white feminism is toxic and adds to the seemingly endless problem and idea of white supremacy. She states, “It is the type of behavior that rests under the guise of feminism only as long as it is comfortable, only as long it is personally rewarding, only as long as it keeps ‘on brand.’ But if the history of this movement taught us anything, it is that intersectionality in feminism is vital . . . If there is not the intentional and action-based inclusion of women of color, then feminism is simply white supremacy in heels.” 

As a white female who stands for feminism, for equality not just for women but for all, feminist movements must involve and include equality of all women, whether those women are Asian, Black, Muslim, LatinX, Disabled, Transgender, rich, or poor. We also forget how racist the first feminist movements in the United States really were, with the early leaders advocating for white women’s rights by arguing against the rights of Black men and women. Salamishah Tillet, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and feminist states, “Talking about gender equality without also discussing racism does not achieve successful reform.” The way white women experience misogyny is not the way all women experience misogyny; we cannot ignore the role that whiteness plays.