This past Wednesday was International Women’s Day, and just like every other thing, white men had no problem reclaiming it for their own. The concept of International Women's Day is to celebrate the achievements women have made that have been overlooked, and the things we still suffer from today. To protest, those who were able were to take a day off from work -- to simply not show up -- and those who were not able, were asked to wear red. It was incredible how many people were personally offended that I didn’t wear red, or that I was wearing a bra, or that I was still going to class. These were all choices that I made, either consciously or otherwise, for my own wellbeing. However, it was never the women who were indignant over my choices(listen, I get dressed at 6:00 in the morning, I don't even know what colors are that early); it was the men.
I’d like to send a quick message out to all the white male feminists out there that are trying Their Best™: please just chill. Your consistent harassment of people who put a single toe out of line is ridiculous. We don’t need your hyper vigilance policing people’s actions all the time. If all you do is attack and harass people who genuinely don’t understand something, or are oblivious to the harms of their actions, you prevent further education for the truly ignorant. In other words, chill. You're scaring away potential allies.
Also, I know your intentions are good, but by attempting to “educate” you are more often than not speaking over the women who can actually offer an incredible explanation of something you may not understand. Your enthusiasm is more antagonistic than I believe even you realize. Your aggressive support overshadows and upstages women who are trying to use their voices to inspire other women. In other words, chill. You're creating an unsafe space.
Don't get me wrong, white male feminists have an important job. As the generally most privileged of the group, they have the ability to enunciate our points, to highlight our plights. And it is greatly appreciated. But on International Women's Day especially, your job is to sit back and see a world through the eyes of prosecuted people. My theater teacher did it best, I believe. Instead of holding class, we talked about female contributions to the world -- personally and famously. He encouraged the women to talk, and asked the men to politely shut their mouth. When the men "spoke out of turn", he reminded them that today was not a day for them, but rather a day for the women in the room to speak out about their experiences and people they admire.
And lastly, yes I actually do wear a bra even if I don’t have to. Sometimes wearing it makes me comfortable. That’s no one’s place to judge, but especially not yours.