The discussion of feminism should be the type of conversation that everyone is welcome to participate in. Regardless of who someone is, everyone should benefit from gender equality. However, from the beginning of the feminist movement, it seems like the conversation has been focused on promoting the interests of white, middle-class women. This focus has been the highlight of the more recent feminist conversation on the differences between “white feminism” and intersectional feminism.
White feminism is the idea that feminism is a simple “one size fits all” model that places white, middle-class, heterosexual women as a mold for others to fit. It does not take into account racial, socioeconomic or other differences that women have with one another.
Intersectional feminism analyzes the complex role that race and gender have in how women experience sexism. For example, women are paid less than men, but how much less they are paid depends on factors concerning race and gender. For every dollar a white man makes, a white woman will make about 77 cents, a black woman will make 64 cents and a Latina woman will make 56 cents, according to the White House. White feminists tend to ignore how race also plays a serious role in how much women get paid, while intersectional feminists acknowledge that complexity.
Intersectionality also encompasses the ways in which women face other types of discrimination. For example, a heterosexual white woman faces sexism differently than a white lesbian woman. Even though both women are white, a lesbian faces homophobia and sexism together. The heterosexual woman will not have to deal with oppression or discrimination based on her sexual orientation.
Essentially, intersectionality accounts for the ways where all the various means of oppression come together and how those impact each individual woman. White feminism believes that all women experience oppression based off of gender alone, and that fails to depict just how complex the life of each woman really is.
Some white women take offense to the term “white feminist.” What they should understand is that the term has nothing to do with actually being white but with refusing to acknowledge the needs of women who do not fit a certain mold.
Regardless of one’s race, socioeconomic status or identity, anyone can be an intersectional feminist. As a white woman, I benefit greatly from the actions of mainstream feminism, which historically is dominated by white women. Yet, I attempt to acknowledge my own privileges and understand that those mainstream movements fail to account for the needs of women who are not white and who suffer from other types of oppression. It is something that can be challenging because intersectional feminists have to understand oppressions that they might not face themselves.
Practicing intersectional feminism involves going beyond one’s own perspective and trying to understand something not personally experienced. The various facets of oppression and discrimination are tied together, and without acknowledging intersectionality, many women will continue to be oppressed, which negates the point of feminism. Although intersectionality is complex, it is necessary in order to be able to lift up all women into equality.
