#TimesUp on White-Only Feminists: It’s Time to Talk about Rose McGowan
It seems as though Rose McGowan has been at the absolute forefront of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements for months now. Have we ever stopped to question why it is McGowan has become the ‘poster child’ of these movements? I’ll give you a hint - she is white and cisgendered. Although Rose’s activism may seem to be coming from a good place, she has failed to fight for anything other than feminism that addresses white women who were born with vaginas.
Rose is very active on Twitter with her activism and her following called the #RoseArmy. While some of her actions are commendable, such as calling out Ben and Casey Affleck on their actions. But, as many people of colour predicted, this white woman took the microphone on social media and forgot that intersectionality is at the very CORE of feminism these days. If not for intersectionality, feminist movements would make no sense, as the focus would be on white-only born-females.
A very recent example of Rose using her white cis-gendered privilege to make herself feel good is at her book launch in New York earlier this month.
A trans-woman stated that Rose has done little to nothing for trans-women and especially trans-women of colour, which really set Rose off. She began yelling at the woman about her own individual trauma and it gave off the impression that her own problems were superior to those of other women. This is where the cis-gendered white feminism comes in. Look at this mess for yourself:
Trans-activist and YouTuber Stef Sanjati stated on Twitter in response to Rose McGowan’s trans rant that “it isn’t feminism if it’s for one type of woman”.
And it’s absolutely true. We have been through multiple different waves of feminism in the past, all centring around and putting white women who were born with a vagina on pedestals. This fourth wave of feminism has to break free from that. We MUST become intersectional or else this fight was for almost nothing.
We must use our voices on social media in a proactive way, to bring together all women of every religion, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. We have to outline that some have had it incredibly harder than others. We cannot shift the norm if we do not make people uncomfortable; if we do not make the world face facts that make them shift in their seats.
Let’s all learn from McGowan’s actions and focus on using social media as a microphone for intersectional feminism, addressing ALL women, not just the ones born with vaginas.
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Twitter: @emmamacklin_
