9 October 2020
Red & Black
Opinions 17
The Women’s March Excludes Women of Color Akansha Das Red & Black Staff
In recent years many feminist movements and media from HBO’s “Girls” to Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” and most notably the Women’s March have gotten critiques for their largely homogenous nature or singular goal of advancing the rights of white cisgender women. And for the most part, they have. So, when the society is asked whether the women’s march is still relevant because it’s not actively fighting racism or ableism or transphobia, many will say yes! The claim is that white women making it into the workforce is allowing all women into the workforce or that the movement will be most effective when it focuses on one
issue at a time. I ardently disagree and I believe Ruth Hopkins, a Native American writer and activist said it best. “We have to decide: Do we want equality and justice for a select group, or do we want it for everyone?” The roots of feminism in America have always been about correcting a history of oppression and getting “it” right as we move forward. Feminism is supposed to give everyone the “tableau rassu” that the founding fathers had in mind. But if this blank slate is only being given to white women or is being prioritized to one marginalized group at a time, the message being sent is that white women matter more than Black women or Indian women or Latinas. Therefore, a movement that is repeating the same mistakes of the 1700s rather than tackling the intersectional issues that plague women of color is just as obsolete as the implicitly racist visions and actions of the founding fathers. Each “and”
that is applied to a woman’s identity in regards to sexual orientation, ethnicity, immigration status and numerous other factors brings “privileges due to their socially valued identity statuses and disadvantages due to their devalued identity statuses,” as the Conceptualizing Structures of Power puts it. The core of feminism is all about validating the entire experiences women face and how these privileges or disadvantages impact them. When we talk about domestic violence and calling the police, we have to talk about the ways Black women are disadvantaged in multiple ways with police officers who have a 40 percent abuse rate of their own wives, are less likely to believe sexual assault stories of women and more likely to harbor bias simply because she is Black. When we talk about rape culture and the media, we cannot leave out the
experiences of Native American women whose native clothing has become overly sexualized in the “aesthetics of Coachella” and Victoria Secret’s “Little Geisha” lingerie campaign and how this dehumanization contributes to one third of rapes of Native American women being committed by white men. And as we discuss issues ranging from food insecurity to gun violence, we have to address the experiences of overlooked women - especially working-class women - in order to create a society that is truly equal. Co-president of the Women’s March Board Tamika Mallory has said “We’re looking at all the communities that we seek to engage and work with, and we’re trying to figure out how to deepen those relationships and ensure all the stakeholders are at the table. As a nation, I hope we continue to search for and address these blind spots within mainstream social movements.
Courtesy NBC News
The Women’s March Organization protests in Washington D.C. for social, economic, healthcare and protection equity.
