Slowly, there have been progressive moments within social media in terms of female equality. Yet how can i relate to them when all I see are white faces?

In all superhero films, the female heros are white. In most TV shows, the main females depicted as strong and confident are white. Most articles written about feminism have white authors.So how am I supposed to side with a movement that merely paints women in white?

What the media has falsified as feminism is equality for the white, able, straight, privileged woman. Industries have been founded on the idea of white feminism. People such as Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham, and Miley Cyrus all exemplify this ideal. White feminism is an issue that has been brought up, but not nearly as discussed as it should be.

White feminism ignores the importance of intersectionality, or the “overlapping and intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination.” Not all white people are supporting white feminism, but many are subconsciously. Often times people forget that they are privileged, and do not understand the struggles of other races’ trying to get their voices heard. White feminism overlooks the struggles of anyone who is not straight. White feminists do not have to constantly worry about their race, and overlook the racial barriers women of color face.

In fact, the feminist movement was founded on racist ideals. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the leader of the American suffrage movement, wanted equality for white women, but called black men “degraded.” During the suffrage protests and parades, white women would ask for women of color to stand in the back. Although white women were able to finally vote in 1920, women of other nationalities got their right to vote way later.

Beauty standards also revolve around white feminism. The standard beauty ideal in the media is white, thin, blond, and blue eyed. Even with the “feminist” movement of not shaving body hair, white women with hairy legs are still considered beautiful and pure whereas when other people of color do not shave, they are called beastly.

So before anyone begins yelling or barraging me for standing by my title of this article, I want to say that I am for equality among genders. What I am against however, is the media’s version of feminism.