The Promise of Sisterhood #EmbraceEquity #IWD2023

By Kiran Satti  @KSunray3

'Intersectional feminism centres the voices of those experiencing overlapping, concurrent forms of oppression in order to understand the depths of the inequalities and the relationships among them in any given context.'

UN Women, 2020

Intersectional Feminism at its core invites connectedness. However, there is an historical context that frames why Intersectional Feminism is not only important now, more than ever, but intrinsically is linked to the core purpose of true feminism - true equity for all women.

Many writers on Intersectional Feminism state that systems of capitalism, colonialism, racism, and patriarchy (heteropatriarchy) interlock and are constructive of each other. This demonstrates the idea that just as power and privilege intersect, so do inequalities, such as race, class, and gender; these points of convergence determine how deep systemic inequities will have an impact on an individual, as well as the collective.

The impact of intersecting inequalities has extended across generations and so it indicates that the dominant hierarchical powers, such as white supremacy, capitalism, racism are still dominant and have evolved to maintain their place – subtly yet systematically.

Enter the term White Feminism.

From Bell Hooks to Koa Beck, there is a growing body of literature which ascertains that feminism hasn't been as enabling and equitable as we had hoped:

Sister Outsider - Audre Lorde

'By and large within the women's movement today, white women focus upon their oppression as women and ignore differences of race, sexual preference, class, and age. There is a pretence to a homogeneity of experience covered by the word sisterhood that does not in fact exist'

Hood Feminism – Mikki Kendal

'The reality is that white, mainstream feminism has to confront the idea that power to do harm rests in women too'

'Challenging the patriarchy too often stops at challenging the ways it is used against other women and their communities. Racism has permeated feminism …'

'Feminism that comes from a place of fear, that prioritizes not being afraid or not being uncomfortable over being effective, is dangerous'

'White supremacy isn't just about normalizing racism, but when white women help to maintain the status quo in a society that is dripping with white supremacy, they give themselves more power'

Why do you think the first wave of feminism started? It was because of race, not gender.

The roots of the first wave reinforced the damsel in distress archetype.

Ruby Hamad - White Tears, Brown Scars

'The damsel in distress reveals that from the beginnings of settler-colonial societies, race was gendered, and gender was raced. Only white men were Man and only white women were Woman'

'When white women invoke the damsel, they resurrect this bloody history. This is what makes white women's tears so damaging and… violent when they are turned against people of colour…increasingly against women of colour'

Koa Beck – White Feminism

'White feminism is an ideology that can be traced throughout the history of the feminist movement … starting with the suffragettes and leading up to "girl bosses"

This ideology (girl bosses) preaches the importance of individual success and conceives of equality as something women can achieve primarily through careerist endeavours…the goal of white feminism is not to alter the systems that oppress women… - but to succeed within them.'

Enter the fourth wave of feminism, embodied by Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, 'a manifesto for white feminism… offering strategies to succeed within the patriarchal work culture rather than eradicating it.'

Bell Hooks – Feminism is for Everybody

'Feminist reform aimed to gain social equality for women within the existing structure. Privileged women wanted equality with men of their class.'

The themes and cycles of power, fear and privilege all reinforce the assertion that many of the authors above make, the sisterhood that feminism promised was a myth, it never existed; but there is hope it could.

The Concrete Ceiling

'As intersectional feminists, it's not just about breaking glass ceilings, but also breaking the concrete ones for marginalised women' (Aisha Gani – Can We All Be Feminists?)

In 10% Braver, Sameena Choudry describes the Concrete Ceiling as an 'an apt metaphor to describe the experience female BME leaders can face in education… a lump of composite material that hardens over time as it sets.'

Anyone who calls themselves a feminist or, more specifically, any privileged white woman who claims to be a feminist, I ask you this.

Are you fighting for equity for all women or are you fighting to protect your privilege, a privilege that is symbiotic with systems which undermine the power of social justice and equity?

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