1. You're Racists.
It always baffles me how women on my facebook and in my life can understand so clearly the subtle and overt forms of sexism and oppression of females, and yet don't understand the same (or similar) processes at play in our society over race. The same women outraged over Trump's comments about groping women refuse to be outraged over his same comments about race, (for instance implying that Mexicans are rapists), or religion, (proposing a ban on all Muslims in America).
You consistently and overtly refuse to acknowledge the long history of racist feminist movements, and white oppression.
Sit down and listen to women of color.
2. You're transphobic as fuck.
You'll believe in gender equality, but have no qualms in dissing your trans sisters. (This one's for the so-called "trans-exclusionary feminists").
Through trans-exclusive agendas, you marginalize an already marginalized community. Trans attempted suicide rates average around 41% in the U.S. compared to a general public suicide rate of 4.6%. Trans sisters face misogyny of men, rejection/misunderstanding from females, and the condemnation of a whole community. Re-victimizing these trans women is only feeding into the system which oppresses all marginalized peoples.
In my view, there is nothing radical about conforming to narratives that dismiss/reject trans women.
Rethink what you're promoting.
3. You're imperialist.
This bit ties back into the racism piece.
You use, or effectively allow the use, of feminist propaganda to justify hawkish and imperialist international agenda's of war which oppress women from all over the world. In order to justify our wars in nations like Iraq or Afghanistan, you cite the repressive "Islamic" laws and attitudes of the country. You accept the image that politicians have painted of the Muslim and foreign woman, particularly those from Asian and African countries, as suppressed, in need of rescue and American-style liberation.
"Look at the way they treat their women, let's bomb them." Ha, Can't get more liberated than that.
Dead women are not free women.
Feminist rhetoric is one of the most widely used tools of propaganda in order to incite violence against international countries, most notably Muslim Countries. Don't let the politicians use the stance of feminism to justify imperialism. It is insulting, it is disgusting, and most importantly, it is dangerous.
4. You're classist.
Too often rich women don't understand the privileges they are afforded because of their class.
You want to have the right to contraception, but you don't understand why it should be free. That's most likely because you have the ability to pay for these drugs on your own budget. A great many don't have the resources to plan for/pay for family planning programs on their own, whether that be contraceptives or abortion (safe procedures are extremely inaccessible for low income women in the U.S.). Such situations often condemn women to greater poverty, as more children reduce their available income.
Also, services to take care of children after birth, such as day care and nannying, are impossible for low income women as well. (*coughcough*Sheryl Sandberg*cough*Lean In*cough*)
Yet, low income women are shamed and humiliated for having many children. They are stigmatized and labelled as burdens on the system.
If you can't understand how your class functions in your feminism, you need to reevaluate your opinion.
5. You're ableist.
Women can and are born with a variety of mental and physical handicaps, from ADD, OCD, autism, blindness, deafness, paralysis, just like men. However, too many times, the experiences/narratives of feminism exclude these voices. These women have unique challenges that have consistently been ignored by feminists. Moreover, more needs to be done to make spaces of feminist conversation more welcoming to those with mental and physical disabilities, from language, to accessibility of location, to a great variety of other topics.
This article is obviously not about all feminists, nor does it say that feminism itself cannot be useful and liberating, however feminism is not the golden chalice of liberation it is sometimes made out to be.
Women and feminists are human beings, and therefore we are susceptible towards perpetuating oppression unto others. This article is a call for feminists to stay accountable to their own biases and privileges.
As a self-proclaimed feminist, this includes myself.
I can recall direct instances in the past and present in which I have perpetuated oppression, whether it be in a ignorance about the imperialist nature of modern day feminist narratives, or in my previous refusal to recognize "they" as a legitimate pronoun, I am not immune to the points I have laid out above.
Additionally, this list is not exhaustive, and does not include the full range/examples of all of the ways in which feminists themselves can perpetuate oppression unto others. (homophobia and fat phobia among others)
I encourage you to give your own stories of these double-standards, and how feminists have invalidated the experiences of activists of other minorities.
