Should feminism actually be called "White Woman's Liberation"?

Question

lol..I'm swatting flies now...But I've often heard from minority groups that feminism, at its core, is really a white woman's group. Do you believe this? What would you say to these other racial identities who support this criticism of feminism? And if you are a feminist who wants to respond by saying, "I don't know anything about racialidentityculturehere", I would like to ask you if you really are acting as a feminist?

Answer 1

No, I don't believe so. I have seen some women say that feminism often ignores issues of race and class (which it doesn't). The way I see it, feminism's claims are usually race- and class-neutral.

Answer 2

Well many career women have poorly paid female nannies and cleaners i.e. domestic wage slaves who are - ironically - stuck in the traditional female role.  

And of course many of these cleaners and nannies are of color

http://flickr.com/photos/msondo/12680734...

Answer 3

dunno...

but from what ive seen...the majority of feminists are white women.

There are women of other races that are feminists...

Margeret Cho

Whoopi Goldberg

( uhm those are the only 2 that come to mind)

But mostly ive only seen white women.

Ah but then again..I really dont follow feminism.

Im just saying from what ive seen.

Answer 4

I have no idea why anyone would think that feminism was geared toward white women.  Even though there are cultural and political differences between black women and white women, the feminist ideology does not specifically exclude black women or any other non-white women.

Answer 5

Farai Chideya, a black feminist, answered this question best on a CNN panel that included a bunch of high income white women a few years back. The other women on the panel, all white and upperclass, were speaking of how shattering the glass ceiling and opening up professional and managerial positions to women was the key to equality: that equality for women meant work! Chideya replied "Excuse me, but this notion that equality for women means entering the workforce was only an issue for white women. Why? Because black and Hispanic women have always worked. Some of them worked in the very homes of these same white feminists: washing their clothes, cleaning their floors, cooking their meals, and raising their kids while these feminists were writing books on how women need to enter the workforce to gain equality. Well these women had already been in the workforce and still hadn't gained equality. So for a lot of black and Hispanic women, equality and advancement does not mean the workforce that they are already in. For them, equality and advancement means economic empowerment so they can stop having to do all this work and get some rest!"

The white feminists on the panel were stunned silent - speechless even - for a few seconds, then they mumbled something about "the feminist movement has to start being more inclusive of low income women and women of color" and then it was CONVENIENTLY time for a commercial break! But yep, that was evidence of the wide gulf between the older white feminists that overwhelmingly backed Hillary Clinton (suburban daughter of a Republican father and wife of an Georgetown/Oxford grad who went on to be governor and president) and the minority women (whose lives were nowhere near as privileged as was Clinton's because they didn't have the advantage of a suburban upbringing or of affluent fathers and husbands) that the Democratic Primary exposed.

Despite their lip service otherwise, feminism still reflects - and will continue to reflect - the needs and values of its leaders, which is wealthy white women. Oh, they will allow a minority - or even a male - be a mouthpiece from time to time, but it will not be anyone who has a differing perspective from the leadership. In that respect, a nonwhite feminist is honestly no different from a black conservative or Republican ... a parrot who owes her advancement to being willing to promote the agenda and views of the people in the movement who actually have the power. In other words, when you see a minority speaking for one of the major feminist groups, someone like a Faye Wattleton or a Maggie Williams, you are looking at a feminist Clarence Thomas.

Answer 6

Feminism is an ideology and its consequences have benefitted both men and women in different areas in the world.  It is not "white woman's liberation" because these benefits and rights from these advances are indiscriminate, regardless of religion, ethnicity or colour, wealth, sexual orientation, etc, and typically guaranteed by the constitutions.

The mistake you are making is not seeing that most of the benefits have occured in what are*developed* countries, many of which are filled with British and European immigrants, which is why the face of feminism you see is white.

There are still plenty of white women in the world that do not have the advances of their white counterparts in the more developed nations of the world.

Answer 7

Well, I'd say feminism does seem to be geared primarily towards white middle class women, but there is still much for working class women and women of color to get from feminism, too.

Answer 8

What about white, middle class, heterosexual, liberal women?  

To some extent, yes.  Many who fought for women's right to vote did not fight for black women's right to vote, however there have been many benefits of the women's movement that have benefited all women...not just white women.

Answer 9

To a degree, yes it is. But there are many aspects of the movement and groups within feminism that focus on the empowerment of black women.

I think this has a lot to do with the black and white cultural issues at play in the west, and specifically in America. Because black people have their own culture that is separate from "white" America, a (largely) cultural movement such as feminism would not be as likely to directly affect black women, or it would take longer to do so. However, more and more black women are attending college, and I think feminism has had something to do with that.

Answer 10

It's a valid criticism, but it speaks more to historical feminism than current organisations and practices.

Influential feminists of colour such as the internationally renowned educator bell hooks and the Egyptian pilitocal leader Nawaal El Saadawi have addressed these issues powerfully and with great effect in an ongoing way, and continue to do so, and their voices are heard and respected by most thinking people.

Like any political movement or philosophical position, feminism has changed over time, and there is not reason why a process of growth and change should stop.

I doubt women such as Emmeline Pankhurst would recognisemodern feminism, but there are also very few of today's feminists who would be much interested in winding the clock back to those earlier times.

It's good to honour our foremothers, as we do our real life mothers, but we are not them, and don't need to be. With modern knowledge, technology and awareness, we can share our interests, concerns and goals with people from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures and heritages.

That's something the first feminists would never have envisaged as possible, and so their aspirations were naturally more limited.

Times have changed, and we can do the same.

Cheers :-)

Answer 11

Yes. Part of the third wave is backing up the feminist train to pick up minority and lower class white women they left without. Middle and upper class (mostly white) women are complaining about the inequality of the female to male CEO's ratio while a majority of minority women and lower class white women are trying to survive (from the low wages and non-existing health care and pension packages that the evil transnational companies provide their employees, which ironically enough third wave feminism supports transnationalism). This is why I think that feminism is going to kill itself. Modern society is more about the inequality between classes and not sexes.

Answer 12

It's funny you should mention this, I'm Ethiopian & when me & some of my black girlfriends talk about this, they've said that "white women have wanted what black women have had for a long time" & when they say this they mean that white women have wanted independence when all along black women in the West have had to work because of slavery & forced servitude while white women. Black women have always had to work especially ones that have descended from slavery, my family is different since I'm African.

...Yeah, black women have benefitted from feminism but not to the same extent as white women have so yeah I see it as  definitely is more of a "white girl" thing, none of my black girlfriends are into it & they are a mixture of Habesha (Ethio/Eritrean) & black women. Good question.

Answer 13

If you want to understand any social movement, simply ask "Who benefits the most?"

White, judaeo-Christiam, attractive, educated women.

See the Blog --- http://clearblogs.com/feministfraud

Answer 14

i am a latina and am a feminist (no, I'm not a man hater, and I'm not gonna burn my bra) and i do agree that my culture doesnt value and respect women the way they should. that doesnt mean i go along with it. so feminism isnt just "white womans liberation" but simpley "womens liberation," any woman who chooses to act on her rights, and thats what we want anyway.

Answer 15

No.

Most feminists are just as strong advocates of racial equality.

Many members of minority groups are feminist.

I don't get that last part.

Among feminists I've known, feminism is just one aspect of the general principle of universal human rights.

Rights aren't like land (only so much to go around), where if this group of people get more rights, other groups lose their rights.

Every human has basic human rights (in theory, the idea is to make it so in practice).

Denying half the human race human rights doesn't make things better for other groups of people.

Answer 16

Considering Planned Parenthood's main objective at the beginning was to abort the babies of the poor and minorities.

It stands to reason that their abortion clinics are well represented in minority areas.

"78% of their clinics are in minority communities. Blacks make up 12% of the population, but 35% of the abortions in America"

" The founder of Planned Parenthood said, "Colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated." Is her vision being fulfilled today?"

1 day ago

Source(s):

http://blackgenocide.org/planned.html

Answer 17

Well, my dear, it started off as very much a "White Woman's Liberation". There is no denying that when feminism began, it sought to meet the needs of white women. White women voting, white women in Universities, white women in politics, etc.

However, you would be surprised at the work being done now to support and encourage the rights of minority women. Did you know that there have been a LOT of women in Mexico (I'm just using Mexico as an example here, but this happens worldwide), that just go missing. I mean they vanish without a trace. They are found months, sometimes years later and it's dicovered that they were raped and killed, sometimes ripped apart in humilating and inhumane ways. Did you know that there are feminist groups out there doing something about it?

There is an amazing professor at my university (feminist, and an awesome one at that), who not only organized a trip to Mexico to speak with women who have been beaten at work, who knew women who were kidnapped, etc. but they went to make an awareness that this is happening, and demanded that something be done about it. She also organized a HUGE event in my city with tons of sponsors and are bringing women from Mexico to our city to speak about how they are treated in their country. There are women all over the world who are denied rights simply because they are women.

While I agree that feminism started off as a "White Woman's Liberation", that's not what it is today. Have you ever heard of a woman named "bell hooks"? She is an African American feminist who supports something called "black feminism". Look her up if you're interested, she's very focussed and driven towards the advancement of African American women, and their equality.

Have you seen posts from feminists here who are enraged at how some Middle Eastern women are treated? Do you think they only care about white women? Yes, feminism started off as what you describe. Luckily, it has started suiting the urgent needs of women of all colours, shapes, and cultures.

Answer 18

Feminism definitely was started by middle class white women and those were the ones who tended to write all the books about it. But I know many black women who are very strong and independent and would definitely be considered feminists. And while I am a white women, where I volunteer tends to serve immigrant of all ethnicities. They may not think themselves as feminists but the ones helping them sure are!

Answer 19

Hi.  I'm mixed with black and white.  I'm a Feminist, and am not a white woman.  Half white, yes.  So the people that say things like this are most likely also not for any kind of positive anything for the upliftment of themselves and/or others.  These people are usually very ghetto, or very pro black and of the mentality of "s***w everybody else, it's all about me".  These kinds of people will NEVER make it anywhere in life because they're self centered and cannot see beyond the color of their skin.  

This c**p makes me sick.

Answer 20

All women oughta be involved in thr feminist movement.