When I was a senior in high school, I had a short lived argument with a junior in my French class about white feminism. She told me I hated white feminists because they were white and I was not. I can’t begin to describe the stank faces I gave her. I was ready to jump out of my seat and explain to this hella privileged white girl who came from a rich background and attended private school all her life until she was a junior that no, I don’t hate white feminists because they’re white. I hate feminists who practice white feminism, a feminism that is only exclusively for white women. If your feminism isn’t for everyone, then is it even feminism? While there a many different feminists, and all have their own views, we all can agree the core value of feminism is to uplift women. Yes, women. Not just rich women, not just white women, ALL WOMEN. For far too long, black women have been silenced by white women in feminist circles, a space that is supposed to be sacred and welcoming. Hence, black feminism was born as an attempt to reach goals black women wanted to accomplish but could not in many white dominated feminist areas.
I encourage everyone to watch this short one minute clip of Beverly Guy-Sheftall speaking on how women’s issues aren’t just the wage gap. Women of color face different issues then white women, therefore we need a feminism that highlights all of the plights of women, not just the rich, thin, blondes.
