The Modern Feminist Movement Needs to be Intersectional to Truly be Feminist

#FeministsTooWhite

The Modern Feminist Movement has had its fair share of critiques over the course of its history. One of the most glaringly obvious being the overwhelming numbers of white women that make up its ranks. The reason white feminism is so inherently problematic is because it fails to take an intersectional viewpoint into the issues affecting minority women and third world women. Which is all good and well, if you’re a white woman, however if you are any other type of woman, you’re pretty much left with the shit end of the stick.

In Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, Kimberle Crenshaw discusses how contemporary feminism has failed non-white women. A problem with feminism today is that it overgeneralizes and conflates women into one generic category that is held to the standard of, you guessed it, wealthy white women. She identifies this as being inherently problematic, as many women’s experience with violence are shaped by multiple factors of their identity, such as race, class, sexuality, and location.

I see this failure to account for intra-group differences happen constantly in my everyday life. For example, the church I get free weekly meals from offers free food packages to students in need, all on needs to do is apply. However, the applications for the food packages are only written in English. This excludes entire groups students who may speak Spanish or any language other than English.

The consequence of ignoring the distinct differences within a community, according to Crenshaw, leads to greater conflict between communities. She argues that in order to truly address the oppressive structures of society, we must view them holistically, not piece by piece.

A prime example Crenshaw sites in her work involves shelters for battered women in the minority communities of Los Angeles. Similar to my own account, the shelter did not provide assistance to non-English speaker and thus refused to accept the Spanish-speaking woman into their care. As a result, she may have lost her life, however no one knows since she was begging for help via telephone, not in person. Not that it would have made a difference.

The intense call for intersectionality Crenshaw so diligently advocates for is in direct opposition to the forces of white supremacy — the same white supremacy that dominates the current feminist movement at the expense of women of color.

Crenshaw describes the need for intersectionality in modern feminism:

The failure of feminism to interrogate race means that the resistance strategies of feminism will often replicate and reinforce the subordination of people of color, and the failure of antiracism to interrogate patriarchy means that antiracism will often reproduce the subordination of women.

Essentially, in order for feminism to truly be feminism, it must take into account the needs of all women, not just those with white skin.

The way in which western society values white women’s bodies over all others is not only grotesque, it has devastating impacts on women of color. A figure that was particularly striking to me from Crenshaw’s work was the section where she discusses the averages prison sentences given to men convicted of rape. The study showed that the average prison term for a man convicted of raping a white woman is ten years. This was opposed to the average prison term for a man convicted a Latina woman, which is five years, and even more so to the average conviction for the rape of a Black woman, which is two years.

In a society where Black and brown women are considered less important, and white women are considered more important, it is clear that the Modern Feminist Movement has not been effective in addressing women’s rights. As expressed by Crenshaw, the Modern Feminist Movement severely lacks an intersectional structure by leaving out women of color, and until it addresses its serious race, class, gender, and sexuality issues it cannot claim to advocate on behalf of all women. A much more appropriate title would be “The White Women’s Movement.”