Racism And White Feminists: 3 Ways To Be An Ally
[Original publication date: Dec. 19, 2013]
I’ve been a teaching assistant for about a year and a half now, and a mentor through the women’s studies major a year prior to that. I have interacted with several students ranging from different backgrounds, cultures, experiences and opinions. But none have been quite as special as my white female feminist students. (more…)
Racism And White Feminists: 3 Ways To Be An Ally
I’ve been a teaching assistant for about a year and a half now, and a mentor through the women’s…
Book Review: The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari
With the news of England’s women winning the Ashes, it’s a good time for the women’s game. The…
From the article:
Despite her criticism of feminism, hooks identifies as a feminist. One of the reasons that she supports feminism is that she sees no hierarchy of oppression and would like feminism to work together with other movements (and vice versa). hooks find much of the fault in feminism with its definition as seeking equal status with men. Why, hooks wonders, would all women want this when they recognize that some men are also oppressed by the systems that bind us. This is why she defines feminism thusly: "Feminism is the struggle to end sexist oppression. Its aim is not to benefit solely any specific group of women, any particular race or class of women. It does not privilege women over men. It has the power to transform meaningfully all our lives." In other words, we must look at the system more broadly if we are to overcome oppression in all of its nasty forms, including the oppression brought upon men and women by sexist and racist systems.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
Source: persephonemagazine.com
From the article:
My feminism is not equality feminism because patriarchy and kyriarchy, ensure that men have it pretty rough as well. Men are not just some monolithic group of creatures who conspire to keep the ladies down. Men are actively oppressed by patriarchy, because patriarchy has a very slim definition of what makes a man. You know, the tough manly man with the sports obsession and the muscle car in the garage who loves beer and red meat? Yeah, that guy. That stereotype, really. The same ideals that tell women that we can't like sports or beer or muscle cars and that good ladies order salads at restaurants are the same ideals that tell men that they have to like those things, lest they not be a "real man." And it is this concept of a "real man" that routinely excludes the queer identified, no matter their gender.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
Source: persephonemagazine.com
Men will often admit other women are oppressed — but not you.
Sheila Rowbotham