Feminism and racism are highly intertwined concepts in intersectional theory, focusing on the ways in which women of color in the Western World experience both sexism and racism.
According to the Western feminist movement, which seeks to end gender oppression, women of color have experienced racism both within and outside of feminist movements and have also experienced sexism within various anti-racism and civil rights movements. For instance in the United States racism and sexism have affected female activists of Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian descent in different ways, highlighting the need for a political movement that is aware of the intersection of race and gender oppression.
These experiences of racism and sexism have prevented women of color from fully partaking in such movements, but they have also led to the creation of unique forms of feminism, such as Black feminist theory and multiracial feminism, that actively work against both gender and race oppression. Similarly, transnational feminism seeks to address women's rights outside of the Western world and looks to address issues like racism, oppressive gender roles, and femicide that impact women globally.
Intersectionality Intersectionality posits that identities are combined in a way that prevents any instance of oppression from being pinned on any individual identity one holds. It is argued that the combined societal effect of one's identity is greater than the sum of the individual effects.Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989, 139-168. For example, because Black women and other women of color are marginalized by both race and gender, they are "two steps removed from [the] white male norm". Therefore, this marginalization is greater than racism and sexism individually. Importantly, women of color are well aware of experiencing multiple forms of marginalization, while white women and men of color may be less aware, depending on their own identities.
Another perspective is that of multiple jeopardy, which states that women of color, specifically Black women, are at risk for multiple forms of oppression, including race, gender, and class. Originally viewed as a "double jeopardy" focused on race and gender oppression, the concept of multiple jeopardies suggests that oppression is multiplicative rather than additive, stating that different forms of oppression can vary in significance depending on the context. For example, within the feminist movement, women of color may simultaneously prioritize race, as it distinguishes them and exposes them to greater risk of racial discrimination, as well as gender.
Racism in the Feminist Movement in the United States
Because women of color are often marginalized by both their race and gender, they may be excluded from or treated differently within feminist and anti-racist movements. Mainstream feminist theory (in the United States and other developed nations) was conceived from the perspectives of white women who often failed to consider the needs of women of color and tended to overgeneralize their platforms to speak for "all" women.
While the entire feminist movement is based on an idea of "sisterhood," this notion was often restricted to white, middle-class women, many of whom did not expand their focus outside of their own socio-political needs. Therefore, race was rarely considered to be a pressing topic in the mainstream movement. This exclusionary tendency is sometimes referred to as "white feminism"; which may be defined as advocacy for equal rights on behalf of white women without consideration for the wants and needs of women of color.
According to Kimberle Crenshaw of the Stanford Law Review, feminism and anti-racist ideals rarely interact within their respective movements. Thus, these movements often create an "either/or" standard when it comes to one's identity (either, for example, a person of color or a woman) they may neglect to account for the unique issues and experiences faced by women of color.
For example, Women's suffrage movement leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked with Frederick Douglass and other activists in the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) in 1866 in an effort to win rights for both women and African Americans, but this organization was still viewed as exclusionary to Black women due to its separate treatment of race and gender. The organization dissolved within three years of being founded due to "heated arguments" over the 15th Amendment, which gave Black men the right to vote. Many white suffragettes, particularly in the Southern U.S., harboured resentment against Black Americans, specifically men, after the 15th Amendment was passed. Despite the fact that leading suffragettes initially fought for equal rights alongside Black male activists in AERA, the resentment among white suffragettes led to renewed racism in the women's suffrage movement.
By dismissing the needs and experiences of women of color, the mainstream feminist movement also denies specific forms of resistance that operate within the specific constraints present in the social location of being a woman of color. Therefore, the marginalization of women of color cannot be assumed to be covered by the feminist and anti-racist movements, even when the two are combined.Yancy, G. (2000). Feminism and the subtext of whiteness: Black women's experiences as a site of identity formation and contestation of whiteness. The Western Journal of Black Studies, 24(3), 156-166.
Black women When feminist theory was still in its formative stages, white theorists frequently compared gender oppression to the enslavement of Black individuals in order to mobilize (primarily white) women.: 44 At this time, abolitionist movements were already formed and active, and early white feminists used this existing work as a blueprint for their own movement.: 44 Specifically, slavery was used as a comparison to highlight the ways in which white men felt entitled to women's work. For example, Simone de Beauvoir's influential work The Second Sex (1948), insinuates that the autonomy and power of women was more systematically oppressed than that of slaves. While this comparison helped to start the feminist movement, it ultimately diminishes the complexities of racial oppression (such as the fact that slaves were considered to be non-human) and implies that white women were exempt from their own perpetration of racism despite their role in perpetuating slavery. However, not all white feminists disregarded race from their own perceptions of feminism, and many became involved with the abolitionist movements of the time.: 44
Given that race-based movements required solidarity across gender lines, it was difficult for many white feminists who saw all men as their oppressors to support mixed-gender abolitionist movements which led to the belief that Black women were not "true" feminists. Similarly, Latina women have historically participated in various mixed-gender political organizations that focus on issues specific to them (such as immigration and worker's rights) and were also faced with backlash for working alongside men. By acting as though Black and Latina women's work in mixed-gender movements were separate from feminism because they were associated with men as well as women, the white feminists who shared these beliefs suggested that experiences of sexism were more important than experiences of racism, a mindset that has persisted throughout time.
During the first wave of demands for suffrage, white women worked together with Black men and women with the goal of securing a universal right to vote. However, when it became clear that the right to vote would only be given on the basis of either race or gender (i.e., only to white women or only to Black men), white women began to use racist tactics to argue against Black men's suffrage.: 59 This highlights the idea that, while white women have historically based their movement on gaining equality for "all" women, they have continually forgotten Black women, who sit at the intersection of both race and gender oppression. The assumption that white women speak for all women and therefore experience all forms of gender oppression ignores the diversity of experiences from those who are less privileged, specifically by neglecting to consider how gender oppression occurs among women of color.
For example, see some of the reactionary movements regarding birth control and abortion, often championed by white women. These movements ignore the fact that women of color have been denied the right to have children at will, thanks to factors such as forced sterilizations and welfare policies. In a similar fashion, calls for perpetrators of gendered violence to be held accountable have historically focused on white women's experiences of violence, with less attention paid to women of color's perpetrators, especially when such violence comes from white men. Therefore, because the goals of the mainstream feminist movement often refuse to acknowledge the history of racism, including its own participation in race-based oppression, women of color are less likely to feel wholly accepted by the movement.
Additional avenues through which mainstream feminism has perpetuated racism include class-based movements and ethnocentrism. Class-based movements, such as for socialism or communism, are theoretically designed to reach across both race and gender divisions. Still, such movements have primarily been run by white, middle-class men and women. However, these movements have historically rejected participation from Black women by, for instance, denying them membership to various unions.[page needed] For example, when white women campaigned to take a greater part in the paid labor force, their advocacy was facilitated by the underpaid labor of women of color who were able to take care of household duties while white women began working. Furthermore, the Western feminist viewpoint has often argued in support of the imperialism of developing nations to expand the reach of "modern" feminism. However, this mindset ignores differences between cultures and how feminist movements vary within specific settings. By considering Western feminism to be the universal ideal, the work of women of color, which seeks a form of gender equality that is culturally competent, is erased.
Asian American women