In the last issue, I covered the idea of intersectional feminism. However, as a white woman, I know that I cannot accurately speak to what other people may experience in their daily lives. I don’t know what a black lesbian woman experiences daily or how their identity has built their ideas on feminism. To include the different ideas and identities that go into feminism, I asked some of the strongest feminists I know about what feminism means to them.
"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish." - Michelle Obama
Parmjit Kahlon
Growing up in an Indian household shaped me into the feminist I am today. I remember when my brother and I were growing up, and how differently we were treated despite being only 16 months apart in age. I was the only girl out of four kids and I was the youngest. My brother would play video games and have fun with friends while my father would ask me to make dinner and clean up the house. I always questioned it, and my father gave me the same answer every time: “In India, my sisters were doing much more than cleaning the table. You’re lucky you don’t have to do everything they did.” This was extremely confusing to me at just ten years old. I didn’t understand why he was telling me that I was lucky to be treated differently from my brothers just because I was a girl. I used to go to my mother and ask her why it was always different for me. She would tell me not to worry about it and that I could be whatever I wanted to be. She said that my dad had a lot to learn. My mother truly made me the feminist I am today by being the strongest and most independent woman I’ve known. Feminism for me is about taking that power and using it to not only realize your worth but to empower others to know they can do it too. The concept of empowerment has always been important to me.
Deja Williams
I’ve found I live my life through a series of intersections. How I interact with and view the world occurs through different lenses: being black, being female, being first-gen, being gay. Through all of these, I sometimes felt trapped within my own body, like a marionette, as if my limbs were stretched and pulled by invisible strings and the words on my tongue were chosen for me. I hoped and prayed for a time to come when the pressure of being who I was and feeling what I felt to come easily. To not worry about how I was viewed or what others would think. I tamed my temper and kept words of hot iron off of my lips, as if my anger would stalk me and label me harshly. Not until I reflected did I realize that this anger came justly; the intersections of my own identity were attacked at each turn and by ignoring my own experiences I was helping no one. Not myself, not my friends, not my ancestors, and not for anyone else who shared the same tribulations. My life is privileged in ways and tainted by others, but finding my own strength in my identity quells any fear that beats in my chest or rises through my throat. Effective feminism does not coat an issue, rather it amplifies the voices of the meek and emboldens the heart of the afraid. My favorite quote
comes from Audre Lorde; black, lesbian, feminist icon: “But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.� To be afraid and yet to join hands in solidarity with your sisters, and to project your voices in the face of your fear.
Kayla Spurlock
Feminism is a sense of unity and equality for everyone. I want to believe that I exist among others and not below them. It’s hard to believe that I could be equal when so many aspects of life tell me different. As a young black woman, I am constantly berated indirectly in the media. I am told that we are uneducated and promiscuous. I am told that we grow up too fast and that’s why there are so many of us who are sexually assaulted. I am told that we are not as beautiful as other races. I am told that I am not allowed to be angry or else I’m embodying a stereotype. They tell us that we are loud but they tell white girls that they’re just educated and passionate. I want to be educated and passionate, I want to be looked at as more than another voiceless black girl. I want my fellow black women to know that society won’t always paint us in the best light, but that does not mean that we can’t paint a new portrait for ourselves. I want to believe that I am on an equal playing field with everyone else. I want to walk amongst the beautiful men and women that embody feminism and know that I am just as accepted. When I am being pushed down by every demographic to stay in a little negative box, I always find a way to make it out. When everyone has a set opinion of you, you learn to alter your own opinion about yourself. I am more than a loud black girl screaming for change and going unheard. I am a
young woman moving towards change and respect. I am a young woman looking for answers and wanting to find a solution. I am angry, but it’s for good reason. I am excited for change and I am proud to be apart of that change alongside so many beautiful men and women. I am enough. I am equal to you. I want you to see me and acknowledge our differences as a step towards diffusion. I am different but I am equal to you. We are all different but we all want the same thing. We all just want to be heard and respected and together we will create an environment where we can be heard. I am enough, and you are too. We are all enough and we all deserve equality and respect and I won’t rest until we achieve it. We will achieve a sense of unity because we are strong and powerful enough. We are enough and with that in mind, let’s try to make some changes.
Anastasia Rivera
Feminism has become a dirty word to those who do not identify as a straight femme in America. Unfortunately, celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres and Taylor Swift have further made the term more tarnished. Using privilege and wealth to use their queerness as an excuse for lack of care, or even exercising the queer community as props to sell their product. The privilege of white feminism in America has taken to the streets and is loud, however, the uprising of queer people of color is significantly louder. It used to upset me to associate with the term feminism, as I continued to watch the stereotype of classically Armenian white women parading around with the mere ideology of just promoting body hair acceptance in some instances and pro-choice ideology. While the importance of being pro-choice in a melting climate grows and with a foster care system catered to punish poor folks, the fight, by no means, is over, however, there is a long list of items which need to be addressed, in regards to the minority communities role. Specifically, the crisis of trans Women of color acceptance is so evident among the feminist community. White women erase the trans Women of color from being included in the feminist narrative all too often, which completely goes against the core of what feminism is supposed to represent. The excitement of the digital age has
allowed for more widespread storytelling, and in addition, has made it possible for members of minority femmes to finally have their voices heard. To neglect to respect those individuals who have paved the way for white femmes to have things like more of a voice in the wage gap, the freedom of outward expression for style, and especially in regards to white femmes to be outwardly queer, is frankly, blatant ignorance. It is imperative that we work towards a culture that centers around feminism which allows femmes, trans folx of color, and women of color to be respected and listened to the most in a culture that negates their existence.