On acknowledging the limitations of ‘white girl feminism'

I've been fairly positive when it comes to feminism and the campaigns and strides towards gender equality but after attending a talk for International Women's Day a few months ago, the discussions brought up some serious and concerning points about the idea of 'white middle class feminism' which I found incredibly thought-provoking.

During the talk one woman in the audience raised a concern she felt uncomfortable fighting for feminism 'as a white woman who has had experienced the privileges of higher education'.

She went on to speak about the guilt she felt having this platform where she has the chance to change the world when so few women from underprivileged backgrounds, suffering from racism and other unjust circumstances across the world have no vocal platform to do so. 

How on earth can she speak for those women as someone who has never personally experienced that level of prejudice and injustice. She wants to help but does she have the right to do this in her position? 

This point really rang true with me on many levels. Despite that fact that I am a woman of colour born of immigrant parents here in the UK, I do consider myself to be extremely lucky to have grown up in an environment where I:

a) received a decent University education 

b) am able to earn enough in a graduate job to live comfortably 

c) grew up in an environment where I was loved, respected and cared for by my family and peers, 

and d) have never personally felt I have ever had my voice stifled or my abilities questioned on the basis of my race. 

By all intents and purposes I have reaped the benefits usually only granted to middle class white women living in a Western country without even batting an eyelid to it.

As feminists in the Western world, we're often told our plight is to gain wage equality, lean in, strive to work for freedom of choice in every aspect of a woman's life no matter your career track, family life or personal ambitions. This single minded view of feminist - however admirable - isn't the be all and end all of feminist issues.

There is still much disparity in much of the feminist rhetoric which ignores many of the gaps between the experiences of women of colour and white women in the western world and beyond. 

We as western feminist are very good at activism but we pick the topics we find are easier to tackle and change. They're the ones that make sense to us because we experience it on a day to day basis - the wage gap, cat-calling, rape, slut shaming, sexualisation of women etc. We very rarely take on what we don't know. And I will be the first to admit that I'm definitely guilty of this particularly when I tend to focus on the representation of women in Western media.

This is where I feel 'white girl feminism' lets the cause down. Just because a women's issue is difficult or seems alien to us doesn't mean it doesn't deserve as much air time as possible. I think these topics scare us when we're living comfortable lives. But keeping silent only makes it worse and plays into the hands of inequality.

The fight for feminism does not end with the issues raised by white middle class cis-gendered women. 

We need to be wary of imposing western values on women of colour. We should consider the cultural diversity of the world and how feminism fits within it - not the other way around. As always it helps to not consider 'one size fits all' solutions to feminist problems.

Finally I bring us back to the girl at the IWD talk. The advice she got from the panel? Don't feel too guilty. For all of us the first step towards working towards a more Intersectional view of feminism is to actually recognise the immensely privileged position we are in. But instead of feeling like you can't speak out on behalf of women of colour, don't try to. 

Elevate their voices. 

Let them share their stories. 

Promote their struggles and give them an opportunity to be seen AND be heard.