A few weeks ago, I got a press release about the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote in Canada. The e-mail goes on about womens suffrage and the commemoration of that fight for a few hundred words and then begins to catalogue when women got the right to vote throughout the country women in Manitoba in 1916, those in Newfoundland in 1925 and so on and so on and then, in brackets, near the end, Unfortunately, the right to vote was withheld from indigenous women, as well as those of Asian and African descent, for years longer.
Nowhere in the press release was there any mention of how anti-black many suffragettes were; how much of these womens activism was about gaining the vote for white women only; and how championing eugenics for racialized women was also part of their politics. Heck, there wasnt even a mention of when indigenous, Asian and African women got the vote in Canada.
And this is the problem with feminism as it exists today. Black women and other women of colour are continuously rendered invisible beneath the women banner. The default definition for women is white women those with the most systemic power and the issues of the most privileged of us take precedence over the trials and tribulations of the least privileged of us.
We saw this with the celebration of Justin Trudeaus recent cabinet that boasted gender parity because its 2015 but not racial parity. We see this with continuing discussions about the gender pay gap but theres a greater disparity between race than gender.
While white women experience the repercussions of sexism, racism isnt one of the barriers that they have to come up against. Its actually one that benefits them. The unique issues that black women have to deal with are far too often overshadowed by the issues that white women deal with, leaving those of us with less institutional power to wait and hope for a trickle-down equity that history has shown us will never come.
Black women exist at the intersection of blackness and womanhood and, therefore, our feminism isnt a single issue struggle. Our battle for equity and inclusion is with both misogyny and systemic anti-blackness, from within and without feminist circles. Feminism, as it is popularly practised, whitewashes the experience of racialized women and does not acknowledge the intersectionalities within womanhood. It does not acknowledge the distinctive ways different women experience sexism.
Through this myopic definition of womanhood, mainstream feminism is embroiled in elevating the women closest to the top rather than those struggling and suffering on the margins.
In Canada, black women and other women of colour find themselves missing not only from movements for gender diversity, but also from seats of power. Bank boards, newsrooms, hospital boards and executive positions are all spaces where white women see themselves better represented
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...ck-women-are-still-invisible/article29082375/And this is our next big frontier. Blasting the concrete ceiling that keeps us out of positions of power in various industries, as well as addressing the way misogynoir a word coined by queer, black feminist scholar Moya Bailey, and meaning the combination of anti-blackness and misogyny manifests in various systems. Income inequality, overrepresentation of black youth in foster care and group homes, high dropout and push-out rates in secondary schools, low enrolment in postsecondary institutions and inadequate access to health care are just some of the issues black women in Canada are facing.
But this is a battle that black women cannot fight alone. We did not create the problem and so we need those in positions of power to do their part to eradicate systemic misogynoir, and to step back so others can step up. We need white people to listen, learn, create and enact action plans to smash systemic misogynoir. Black women have done their part by stubbornly, bravely sharing their stories. Its time for everyone else to step up.
White feminists have a long history of being white supremacists. It's why I'm always confused when black women identify with feminism.
Ohoho.
Really?
Give me exact quotes.
You sound skeptical. Do you think he's wrong about the history?
Just about the framing.
There's plenty of Black author's exposing the white bias in feminism. Not so much about it being supremacist.
Early feminism was extremely racist towards poc
In context, or are why judging the same way the sciences are judged?
Most science history is racist, abusive, as heck.
I am reacting to the poster, not the OP.
Take for instance:
Planned Parenthood mostly services those people, yet opponents while grasp to the idea of it a eugenics program. That's what I am getting at.
At what point does history catch up with at least some reality?
That is a really poor, example. science isn't a movement with a specific goal it's simply knowledge accuration. Which has used for both great and disgusting ways while accrued by some great and disgusting ways.
That is a really poor, example. science isn't a movement with a specific goal it's simply knowledge accuration. Which has used for both great and disgusting ways while accrued by some great and disgusting ways.
Thats science in theory. Practice looks a little different.
That is a really poor, example. science isn't a movement with a specific goal it's simply knowledge accuration. Which has been used for both great and disgusting ways while accrued by some great and disgusting ways. It's as neutral as knowledge is, people use it as they will.
No he's right. Many fields, and organizations have a long and early history of being racist. Hell the early scientific community was also misogynistic as FUCK! But would you be "surprised" female physicist called herself a scientist?
Why should it be "surprising " that black women associate themselves with modern day feminism and feminist ideals just be the early champions of the cause weren't as inclusive as they should have been.
No he's right. Many fields, and organizations have a long and early history of being racist. Hell the early scientific community was also misogynistic as FUCK! But would you be "surprised" female physicist called herself a scientist?
Why should it be "suorising" that black women associate themselves with modern day feminism and feminist ideals just be the early champions of the cause weren't as inclusive as they should have been.
That does matter because anyone can practice science. You learn the tools and theory and do your thing. Your not held accountable to shit previous scientists have d8one, hell your free to hate previous scientists because there's no real knowledge being passes on. Your free to dislike scientisic nstution that's just that instiution and whatever institution it has influence over.
That's not to say the history of feminism is wholly different there are similarities, but not ignore it's orgin is to do exactly what the article is talking about, because feminism is inherently steeped in ideology and equality for women and eqality for white women are different things.
The opening point was the early feminism and how much racist it was. There is a connection to the scientific community. Are you, just as an example, aware of Clémence Royer?
Black women exist at the intersection of blackness and womanhood and, therefore, our feminism isn’t a single issue struggle. Our battle for equity and inclusion is with both misogyny and systemic anti-blackness, from within and without feminist circles. Feminism, as it is popularly practised, whitewashes the experience of racialized women and does not acknowledge the intersectionalities within womanhood. It does not acknowledge the distinctive ways different women experience sexism.
I totally agree.It’s time for everyone else to step up.
That was a fast derail-_-
I thought it was a conversation.
Different levels of support. Paternal and societal.This will sound uneducated of me but i would like to know why its institutional racism when lots of black students drop out of school? I was under the impression that when any student drops out it is their responsibility and choice?
Just about the framing.
There's plenty of Black author's exposing the white bias in feminism. Not so much about it being supremacist.
Hell, the video lecture on post traumatic slavery would be enough.
This will sound uneducated of me but i would like to know why its institutional racism when lots of black students drop out of school? I was under the impression that when any student drops out it is their responsibility and choice?