Why is it that when so called feminist talk about women’s issues it seems as though they only mean white women

Question

For example, ask a feminist about how major leaders of 1st and 2nd wave feminism were racist and really only cared about the rights of white women. A Typical response will say that they were also concerned about blacks but had to focus on women’s rights first (clearly the assumption is that all women are white, this is clear because black women didn’t get to vote when white women did and most of those white women didn’t seem to care much about that because their blacks and apparently not the women feminist stand up for). This is relevant now because if you look at the election white feminist seem to think that Hillary is the women’s candidate when really she’s just the majority of old white women’s candidate.

Answer 1

you're making this too semantical.

knowledge of the history your referencing explains  the whys of your concern

but it's too big of an essay to ask me to write! (id like to! )

but I cant explain that much in 2 par's

so

you're making it toosemantical

(forget about all that LOGIC-of-it thinking

just go look at what was going on at the time(s) in history, and youll understand WHY there were people wanting to LINK black and women together, and then later wanting to seperate them

I do see your frustration though ("black women ARE women") I understand what you're saying

I just dont think it was REALLY a matter of people LOOKING at it that way, when they made the alliances , and then seperations, that they made at points along the way in the womens movement

Answer 2

Valid point.

Majority women were overlooked for a long time, but they fought back hard and have come to be inspirational feminist leaders.

Women everywhere owe them a lot.

Cheers :-)

Answer 3

No matter what, I would far rather have Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama than John McCain. Do we really want another four years of basically the same as what we have been having for the past seven years?  I know I don't.

Answer 4

how does one logically separate white equality from black equality - how does one separate equal pay for whites versus equal pay for blacks and how does one separate laws regarding domestic violence by skin color and more importantly, for what purpose.  "...having to focus on WOMEN'S rights.." is all inclusive.  

As for Hillary - rather vote for the "old white woman's candidate" than the same old/same old crapola from yet another untrustworthy, unimaginative, and stuck-on-rhetoric male -regardless of his skin color.  (seriously doubt he came from a poverty yet folks want to ASSUME he speaks for the underprivileged - the underdog, purely and strictly because he's black...way to go brainless young twits - herd mentality personified.)

Answer 5

These days, we talk about ALL women. In the early days, even you have to admit that black women had bigger problems.

Answer 6

Ask a feminist on here what she wishes to achieve, and 90% of the answers will probably involve rights for women in the developing world.  If you find so-called mainstream feminism unpalatable, there is always black feminism :-)

Answer 7

Well, I'm a white woman, and Barack is my man, but the past is in the past, nothing can be done, and there are still ignorant people today, and there still will be tommarrow, but the best thing I find, is not to generalize and stereo type people, for example, old white women, people are people, and if everyone would have this attitude, the world would be a better place.

Answer 8

what?? did I miss out on something in American history....so what year did black women get the right to vote?

yes there are Black, Hispanic, and Asian feminist..even whole "chapters" of Muslim's...though the majority of feminist in the US seem to be white educated middle class females.

Edit: Black men got the right to vote...80 years before women any women.  this is the 19th amendment...when does it exclude black women?  

Amendment XIX

(The proposed amendment was sent to the states June 4, 1919, by the Sixty-sixth Congress. It was ratified Aug. 18, 1920.)

[The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied because of s*x.]

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of s*x.

[Congress given power to enforce this article.]

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Answer 9

Well, the feminist and abolitionist movement were inexorably linked. In fact, many early feminists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were abolitionists and founded many anti-slavery societies. They even worked with many major abolitionists (Frederick Douglass). However, the relationship may have been severed after blacks got the right to vote and women didn't. Many women felt this wasn't real progress since at that time women and blacks were second-class citizens. I don't think there is any racism in today's feminism but I'm sure there are some feminists out there who racist. You find them in every circle.

Answer 10

It would appear to me that many people only support Hillary Clinton because she is a woman.

Alot of people don't tend to pay attention to politics for many reasons...some do not have the time.

So yes, I would believe she would receive a large vote from femists, and I would also believe she would get this vote regardless of what she says.

What I see is a woman who is deliberately using tactics which damage the party, while pushing a very one sided view point.

When she pushes her feminist views, it is very racially and class oriented.

You compare this to Obama, who is open to reasoning, and willing to do what is best for the whole community and not just a portion he that he represents.  Not only this but he manages to shrug off Clintons attacks, and holds back on making his own.

The only downfall I see, is racist white people not voting because he is too black, racist black people not voting because his views are too white, and white woman not voting because he is not a white woman.

I pose an alternative question: would Hillary still be in the running if she were a black woman?

The traditional "Womans Rights" movement was back in a time when Americans were convicting and killing Americans, for no reason other than the colour of their skin.

Despite this; accepting woman as being equal is a step towards accepting another race as being equal.  Unfortunately, America still has many steps to go....

Answer 11

Um, a good question is: Are there non-white feminist?

Answer 12

Sojourner Truth.

Study your history.  Black women got the vote when white women did.