This weeks readings were fantastic at tackling the subject of intersectionality in feminism. I’ve identified as a feminist from a young age, however only in the past handful of years I learned about how incomplete my definition was.
“Masses of people think that feminism is always and only about women seeking to be equal to men. And a huge majority of these folks think feminism is anti-male. Their misunderstanding of feminist politics reflects the reality that most folks learn about feminism from patriarchal mass media. The feminism they hear about the most is portrayed by women who are primarily committed to gender equality — equal pay for equal work and sometimes women and men sharing household chores and parenting; they see that these women are usually white and materially privileged.”
Bell hooks points out exactly why I think my initial definition was lacking so much substance, that my primary education about feminism was coming from a patriarchal mass media source and a place of privilege.
In Lorde’s writing, she explains why you can not be a feminist if you are not also committed to anti-racism and the acknowledging the experiences black women and women of color.
“On the other hand, white women face the pitfall of being seduced into joining the oppressor under the pretense of sharing power. This possibility does not exist in the same way for women of Color. The tokenism that is sometimes extended to us is not an invitation to join power; our racial “otherness” is a visible reality that makes that quite clear. For white women there is a wider range of pretended choices and rewards for identifying with patriarchal power and its tools.”
That quote stood out to me, especially as a reminder of my privilege and responsibility to be aware of it.
Finally, I want to add Dr. Guy-Sheftall’s definition of women’s studies; the study of women and issues surrounding women such as: race, class, gender, sexuality. As the other writings point out, it is sometimes forgotten and misunderstood what the study of women is really about or all the facets it includes (particularly with race and class).
