Intersectional Feminism

Taj Milton, Opinions Editor

As the Feminist movement has began to step into the spotlight, a disturbing observation has occurred leaving many women questioning who exactly feminism is really is fighting for.

“Intersectionality “ within Feminism was a term coined by American professor Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989. Though the concept previously existed, she put a name to it along with textbook definition that states:

The view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity. Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability, and ethnicity.”

By way of explanation, specific groups of women have multi-layered facets of oppression they have to handle throughout their lives.

For some odd reason this concept has been extremely hard for some within the movement to understand. The mainstream Feminist movement has been dominated and molded into addressing the issues of White women and white women only, leaving WOC (Women of Color) feeling excluded from a movement that is suppose to empower all women.

This unfortunate reoccurrence of blatantly ignoring the obvious obstacles of women of color thus silencing them has resulted in the worldwide Phenomenon, “White Feminism.”

Though no one really knows who coined the term, it was greatly defined by Cate Young, a Trinbagonian writer and author of a feminist pop culture blog focused on film, television, music and critical commentary on media representation,  as:

“White feminism is a set of beliefs that allows for the exclusion of issues that specifically affect women of color. It is ‘one size-fits all’ feminism, where middle class White women are the mold that others must fit. It is a method of practicing feminism, not an indictment of every individual White feminist, everywhere, always.”

Unfortunately this type of racially exclusive feminism has an historic presence throughout women’s history such as the Suffrage movement and “feminist” Susan B. Anthony. Both of which purposely excluded non White women for the sake of only empowering those who resemble them. Yet when I look in any textbook Anthony and the Suffrage movement are looked upon as great revolutionary turning points for all women. They are remember as heroes when that wasn’t the case.

Why should I and other young girls learn to look up to women like Susan B. Anthony when she’s quoted as saying “I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman.”

Aren’t women who aren’t white still women?

A more modern example of White Feminism is pay inequality. I’m sure everyone is pretty familiar with the fact that men unfairly make more than women for the same exact job.

Now, this is where the silencing of women who aren’t white begin.

Practically everyone knows that to every white man’s $1.00, women only make 79 cents. It has been made a fuss about. Every single time pay inequality in America is brought up, you hear about how horrible it is that women are only making 79 cents to a man’s dollar.

But here’s the thing, only White women make 79 cents. Black women make 64 cents, Native America women 59 cents, Latino or Hispanic women, only 54 cents. Yet whenever you hear mainstream feminist address the pay inequality issue, you only hear about that 79 cents. Now that doesn’t go to say that White women making 79 cents isn’t unfair by any means but neglecting to acknowledge the unfairness WOC face due to their gender and race being a factor, that never seems to get brought up because we aren’t important enough to even address and our trails don’t matter.

White feminism is ignoring the fact that the wage gap is greater divided by race than it is gender.

If feminism is really the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men, then why aren’t all women being represented? Why are the voices of so many women being silenced?

There needs to be a huge revelation within the mainstream feminist movement that Feminism isn’t a one-size-fits all glove for all women and all women aren’t white, middle class, cis gender and able-bodied. Different women face layers of sexism intertwined with other factors of oppression based on who that woman is. The voices of all woman matter whether they’re Black, poor, disabled, mentally ill, gay, bi, or transgender. And yes transgender women are women and have a place within the feminist movement.

There is no more room for the erasure of women who don’t fit the mold of what a woman is.

And there needs to be an even bigger revelation that it is not beneficial to all woman if it’s only beneficial to White women.