Okay can I just say something very earnestly, Black women and women of colour (WOC) are tired! I am tired, my mother is tired, my grandma is tired. We are tired of the poverty, the lack of upward social mobility, we are tired of the oppression from our societies and we are tired of always being viewed as less than or the other.
I, like many other WOC, don’t identify with feminism, but how could we?
Who hasn’t heard the phrase ” women are emotional”?
But how many women here have been told they’re coming across as aggressive or are too loud? Yeah I’ll wait, uh huh. Black women!
We all may be ‘sisters’, but our struggles ain’t the same sis.
Black women and other WOC have historically been viewed as being less feminine, evolved, delicate, attractive than white bourgeois women. These Eurocentric ideals and stereotypes were created during colonialism and are still perpetuated till today. (Hoskin, 2022).
Research studies conducted by the American Psychological Association (2020) on over 1000 participants from the US, investigated what the everyday person thought about the “typical woman”, their findings concluded that black women were seen as more similar to black men than white women. Black women in general were seen as less ‘women’; compared to white women and girls, black women and girls are also more frequently associated with threat and risk. (Coles, 2020).
Because we are not always seen as ‘women’, we experience specific injustices as do black men. Black women are expected to be “strong”, and when we do express our vulnerabilities and pains we’re far often taken less seriously. Coles (2020) stated, feminist movements which solely focus on the oppressions of white women, without addressing racialized sexism, further contributes to the marginalisation of black women and other WOC.
Black feminist movement founder Alice Walker, believed because Black women experienced a more multilayered form of oppression, a movement tailored to their needs was necessary to end it. (Christie, 2015). Hoskins (2022) and other critics, contend that White feminism, even on its best day, is very problematic because it empowers White women to reject White male superiority and adopt anti-racist viewpoints, both of which are excellent. However, by putting the blame on White men, they absolve themselves from the authority and privileges they enjoy, thus contributing to the problem. Nonetheless, Intersectional feminism, a term coined by American Law Professor Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, uses an intersectional perspective to demonstrate how people’s social identities, class, race, sexual orientation and immigration status can overlap, which can result in compounded discriminatory encounters. To comprehend the extent of the disparities and their connections, Intersectional feminism focuses on the voices of those suffering multiple forms of oppression at once. (UN Women, 2020)
The day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, on January 21 2017, Angela Peoples, a political activist can be found holding a sign at the Women’s March that read, “Don’t Forget, White Women Voted for Trump.” She writes in the New York Times (2017) that her point wasn’t to antagonise the Women’s March participants, who were mostly white, but to highlight that in a country where 53 percent of white women voted for a racist, elitist, sexual predator as president; that the notion that we all want the same thing is a myth. Findings by the UK parliament (2021) shows that white voters in the UK too are more inclined to vote against candidates who represent marginalised communities. (House Of Commons Library, 2022). People’s argue that at a time where people are still willing to cling onto white nationalist ideals, that black women always understand the importance of voting and political engagement.Therefore Black women in America don’t have the option of sitting out elections, especially when it pertains to affairs that discriminate against them. Moreover, Christie (2015) highlights the pay gap that exists among women in America. While white women earn 77 cents to every dollar a white man earns, black women earn only 64 cents and latina women earn only 55 cents to every white man’s dollar. Christie explains it would make more sense for feminists to try and close these social inequalities which exist among women and, then as a united front, fight against the inequalities that exist between the sexes
Slavery and colonialism has undoubtedly left lasting scars on the lives of its former colonies. Francesca Sobande (2020) says, Black women in Britain today must contend with the force of Euroscepticism, which is frequently rooted in racist and nationalistic ideas about citizenship and Britishness. Today’s media, including ads, movies, television, and social media, still use sexist and racist tropes.
You know who surprisingly wasn’t exempt from all this racist sexist media bullying? Meghan Markle! Her royal highness! Sis is as fair as they come, practically white passing and although she is painstakingly gorgeous and does amazing things for women and her community, the British media still dragged her to filth. Ryan Maxwell on his Tiktok video does a great job highlighting the startling difference in media coverage between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Watch the video below. Meghan in her famous interview with Oprah said the racism she encountered from the British media was so overwhelming she wanted to commit suicide. Therefore saying that all women face similar oppressions just is not true.
@ryan.maxwell22 If you buy into media perception of Meghan Markel, or anyone for that matter, you’re a mug. #fy #media #katemiddleton #meghanmarkle
According to surveys conducted in the US and the UK, less than one in five young women identify as feminists; Dr Christina Scharff’s findings suggest that the term feminist is less likely to appeal to working-class people, although they support the principles behind feminism and gender equality, people just aren’t keen on identifying with the word itself due the negative associations around the term. Schraff notes that race also shapes views on feminism. See figure 1.(Scharff, 2019)
figure 1:
Charlotte Gomez in a Buzzfeed article (2020) mentions the health disparities (especially regarding childbirth) black women face aren’t being addressed in women’s health discussions, stating these conversations are only centered around birth control and abortions, she adds:
So how can we make feminism more inclusive?
Crenshaw proposes, when we view the world through an intersectional feminist lens, we can observe how various groups are simultaneously dealing with a variety of interrelated problems. To create a future where no one is left behind, it is essential that we stand in solidarity with one another, challenge established authority, and voice out against the causes of injustice. Feminism can only become truly inclusive, by incorporating the concept of intersectionality, which gives all women’s opinions a chance to be heard regardless of their ethnicity, economic status, religion, identities, or sexual orientation.
But what’s your take on this?
Bibliography:
1. Albuquerque, F. (2021). Where black women stand in feminism and patriarchy. Euronews online. [last accessed 01 April 2023]. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2021/04/22/
2. Christie, S.I. (2015). Why the Feminist Movement Isn’t Always for Black Women. Atlanta Black Star online. [last accessed: 27 March 2023]. Available at: https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/05/19/feminist-movement-isnt-always-black-women/
3. Coles, S. M.(2020). Black Women Often Ignored by Social Justice Movements. American Psychological Association. 13 July 2020. [last accessed: 30 march 2023]. Available at: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/07/black-women-social-justice
4. Hoskin, M.N. (2022). Is There A Place For Black Women In White Feminism? Forbes online. [last accessed 01 April 2023]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maiahoskin/2022/03/27/is-there-a-place-for-black-women-in-white-feminism/?sh=3ef3b0c87113
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10. Sobande, F. (2020). The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain: Black Women and the Media in Britain. Springer Link. pp 29–64. [last accessed 01 April 2023]. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-46679-4_2
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