The Issue with Feminism: White Feminism

Throughout the decades, feminism has become increasingly prevalent in society. Historically, feminism was deemed an issue between males and females, and developing equality among both genders. Though recently, through the rebranding of feminism due to celebrity influences, white feminism has become a new issue. White feminism is defined as the “the systemic marginalisation of women of colour’s narratives and experiences and the subsequent universalizing of white women’s experience of sexism and oppression”. From white feminism, it changes the narrative of feminism being solely an issue perpetuated from gender, due to an issue that is more complex, as it deals with other intersectionalities, such as race and class.

History of White Feminism

Since the late 1900s, feminists have been majorly White and hold the needs of White women over minority women. While there have been instances where White feminist groups try to promote anti-racism, they are still inscribing their White privilege and power over the minority. In fact, “white, mainstream feminist theory, be it from the socialist feminist or radical feminist perspective, does not speak to the experiences of Black women and where it attempts to do so it is often from a racist perspective and reasoning”.

Contemporary Examples of White Feminism

Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign

Hillary Clinton

White women, like Hillary Clinton, are strong leaders in the realm of feminism. For instance, during Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, she was pitted against Barack Obama. In a New York Times article, the author made “Obama’s black maleness a key issue in her piece but failed to mention Clinton’s whiteness”. The author, whom was in support of Clinton, tried to persuade that the approval of Obama was due to “white men’s affirming approval of black maleness, [meanwhile] Clinton was represented as a raceless woman icon of sexist victimization”. By this effect, Clinton was seen as having no advantage in the white vs. black racism effects, and the argument was solely geared towards sexism.

Through an intersectional lens, both racism and sexism were depicted in this case. Following, in order to turn a more positive light towards Clinton, a white female, only sexism was incorporated, as her white privilege was not accounted for. By doing so, the author of the article was able to state that Obama had an advantage due to him being an African-American male, in which his intersectionality is deemed favourable by white men, and that this is the reason to Clinton’s female shortfall. However, Clinton has her own advantages to being White, in which the article chooses to omit, in order to enhance the issue of male versus female.

Lena Dunham speaking to a large audience

Lena Dunham

In 2017, the #MeToo movement spread virally on social media. While the movement helped women to share their stories of sexual abuse, it helped “reinforce the problematic history of white feminism through the presumptive side-lining and disregarding of minority and lay women’s voices in favour of wealthy celebrity and high-profile narratives”.

Lena Dunham, a very prominent celebrity feminist, was caught amidst Aurora Perrineau’s #MeToo claim to being sexually assaulted by Murray Miller. Dunham, whom worked closely with Miller, stated that Perrineau’s claim was false, only to retract these statements later on. Dunham, a white female whom is a rape survivor and a strong advocate for women’s justice, decided to protect her white male counterpart, which subsequently pushed Perrineau, an African-American woman to be deemed incredible. This brought to light the trouble of white feminism, as both celebrity power and white privilege was used to change the narrative of the sexual harassment case as a misreport and causing Dunham to turn her support from the female African-American victim to the white male perpetrator.

Due to this, it is evident that the reason Dunham was able to undermine Perrineau’s claim is due to classism and racism. Dunham, a popular White celebrity, was given more credibility and had larger support; on the other hand, Perrineau, a lesser-known African-American celebrity, was quickly put in question after Dunham’s initial statements. This further emphasizes the intersection of race and class amidst gender, and how feminism is not the answer for equality among women of all races.

Solutions to White Feminism

According to Thomlinson, it is crucial for individuals to understand what racism is – as African-Americans have a much more radical definition than their White counterparts. From this discrepancy, it can lead to both parties having a different outlook and agenda. Secondly, not only do White women need to understand when they are racist, but they must acknowledge their wrongdoings, not solely by recognizing their privilege, but that they have been unfair to the fellow women in which they are trying to support. Through understanding feminism from an intersectional lens that takes into account not only gender, but race and class, it will the shortcomings of the past to be prevailed in the future.