(I'm aware that anything I think is based on the experiences I've had, things I've seen, and my own interpretations of the world. I don't think I'm the voice of truth or the expert on anything. Probably not even myself. I'm willing to be wrong on just about anything).
It has recently occurred to me that there is a wide divide between white women and women of color based on how we prioritize our identities. It seems to me that white women see gender over race, and seek a bond of sisterhood with all women - that our issues as women are ubiquitous, our sufferings similar, and our desires often align.
However I am often told that women of color see race before gender. A white woman, no matter what she has suffered, is still white and experiences privileges which will necessarily blind her to the realities of the lives of minority women. This precludes and excludes that sense of solidarity.
From my own experience, I do not feel that white men are inviting me into their world of white privilege, nor including me in their personal demographic. Since women of color also find me too "other" to be part of their identity, this leaves white women standing alone, with little voice and zero audience. If I stand up for myself, I might hear "you're too sensitive" or "white woman fragility," but either way it's the same "shut up, your words are worthless to me." I don't mean to compare my suffering to any other human suffering, or to rank my struggles anywhere along some line, or to participate in some Oppression Olympics. No matter what we've been through, somebody has it worse and somebody has it better. I'm not special. I'm not unique. But nobody can judge what I've seen or endured because of what I look like. Mostly I just don't want to be alone. I want to be seen, and to be heard. I want to see and hear someone else. Not from a shouting match but from a perspective of coming together to share the burdens, even if one burden may seem larger than another to the one carrying it.
Please educate me as to why women, who make up the larger percentage of the population, aren't standing together. Our collective voices and votes would do more to improve the world than anything else. We have the largest chance of making a difference in the world together, because we have the raw numbers. Why are we infighting and alienating each other based on race? Why do white women and women of color see that so differently? Or do we? Am I seeing it wrong? EDUCATE ME. What do I not see? Show it to me so I can understand.
Even on the verge of a woman being elected President of the US, I fear Hillary will be seen as an anomaly rather than a validation of the minds, drive, and strength of women. If anything, bitterness over women could surge (see the last 8 years).
Am I blind? If so, open my eyes. Explain to me why I'm actually too sensitive, or why i'm the personification of white fragility. Make me understand why my voice is annoying and not really relevant. Help me understand why being white invalidates my desire for unity and makes it seem silly or frivolous or unenlightened.
It has recently occurred to me that there is a wide divide between white women and women of color based on how we prioritize our identities. It seems to me that white women see gender over race, and seek a bond of sisterhood with all women - that our issues as women are ubiquitous, our sufferings similar, and our desires often align.
However I am often told that women of color see race before gender. A white woman, no matter what she has suffered, is still white and experiences privileges which will necessarily blind her to the realities of the lives of minority women. This precludes and excludes that sense of solidarity.
From my own experience, I do not feel that white men are inviting me into their world of white privilege, nor including me in their personal demographic. Since women of color also find me too "other" to be part of their identity, this leaves white women standing alone, with little voice and zero audience. If I stand up for myself, I might hear "you're too sensitive" or "white woman fragility," but either way it's the same "shut up, your words are worthless to me." I don't mean to compare my suffering to any other human suffering, or to rank my struggles anywhere along some line, or to participate in some Oppression Olympics. No matter what we've been through, somebody has it worse and somebody has it better. I'm not special. I'm not unique. But nobody can judge what I've seen or endured because of what I look like. Mostly I just don't want to be alone. I want to be seen, and to be heard. I want to see and hear someone else. Not from a shouting match but from a perspective of coming together to share the burdens, even if one burden may seem larger than another to the one carrying it.
Please educate me as to why women, who make up the larger percentage of the population, aren't standing together. Our collective voices and votes would do more to improve the world than anything else. We have the largest chance of making a difference in the world together, because we have the raw numbers. Why are we infighting and alienating each other based on race? Why do white women and women of color see that so differently? Or do we? Am I seeing it wrong? EDUCATE ME. What do I not see? Show it to me so I can understand.
Even on the verge of a woman being elected President of the US, I fear Hillary will be seen as an anomaly rather than a validation of the minds, drive, and strength of women. If anything, bitterness over women could surge (see the last 8 years).
Am I blind? If so, open my eyes. Explain to me why I'm actually too sensitive, or why i'm the personification of white fragility. Make me understand why my voice is annoying and not really relevant. Help me understand why being white invalidates my desire for unity and makes it seem silly or frivolous or unenlightened.