But Is It Feminist? Taking a Closer Look at Systems of Privilege Within The Equality Movement

We know that humans are addicted to sugar. Much like we are addicted to cocaine, if we use it. Or narcotics, if we take them.

We are addicted to carbohydrates.

We are addicted to things that break down as sugar in our bodies.

I believe we are also addicted to qualifying things, to labeling things, and to seeking systems of privilege that provide us with personal power.

Ok, so this introduction may feel like a stretch, but I think when we look at human behaviors, we need to look at where they come from. And I think that subscribing to popular culture, to currents tied up in patriarchal, racist, sexist histories, is an addiction. Because when we use these tools, which we are raised to believe and to dole out without thinking, we are given the power of “better than” someone.

What am I talking about?

I am talking about the battles historical and current: between black feminists and white feminists; between radical feminists and non-radical feminists; between humanists and feminists; between older feminists and younger feminists; between gay rights activists and women’s rights activists; between women’s rights activists and black rights activists; between feminists and trans activists, … … …

comic found here

When you train yourself to examine the systems of privilege you live in, you become hyper aware of how those systems empower and imprison you. After all, feminists are not fighting for the rights of, lets say lima beans. They’re fighting for the rights of women, children, men, trans people — they’re fighting for the rights of people. And since feminists are people too (despite what some men’s rights activists may tell you) they (we) are fighting for their own (our own) rights. So, we know how our agency is wriggled away from us. We recognize how our personal privilege compares to someone elses.

I think this is a piece of why, for example, bisexual people can be ostracized by gay and lesbian people – they have greater presumed privilege some of the time, because they, sometimes, pursue the more socially acceptable opposite sex. Can bi-sexual people truly ‘qualify’ as members of the queer community, since they get to walk with privilege some of the time?

Ugh. I remember when I was first coming out, have a conversation with someone, who at the time, I really respected and looked to as a guiding light. I remember saying, “I mean, I think I still find men attractive.” And she smirked and said, “Yes, well, you will need to prepare yourself. It’s not a very welcoming community for those of us who identify as bisexual. You will face lots of crap from people who don’t want to accept you. There’s just all kinds of like, crap.” Although my experience with the person was less than great, what she said in that moment, in some cases, was true, and was certainly and eye-opener. People speak of “the queer (or LGBTQ+) community” in idealized terms – like it’s some wonderful, arms-open club, where everyone loves everyone for exactly who they are and no one is judged and everyone is just there to support you … But, that’s not really the case. I will get to that a little later.

I also remember when I first got involved with women’s rights/feminist activism as a student in college. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know all the history, or all the facts. I just knew that there were clear and obvious inequities between men and women and that the gender roles I had experienced in my own life felt false and unjust. “This is what a feminist looks like!” We are feminists! This is what feminists believe. This is how feminists behave.

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It turns out – that doesn’t work so well either.

Just because you recognize systems of inequity, doesn’t mean that you aren’t functioning under those same systems. Also, just because you are a ‘member’ of an ‘underprivileged’ group of people, doesn’t mean that you stop seeking greater privilege. Basically what I am trying to say here is that you can study and talk about these issues all you want – you’re still not exempt from these behaviors.

Historical example: We have the civil rights movement going on – slaves are “free”, but they certainly don’t have rights anywhere near the right’s of white Americans. We also have the suffrage movement going on – white women are fighting tooth and nail to get the right to vote. The civil rights movement is also concerned with voting rights. The civil rights movement turns to the suffrage movement and says, well, look, women you will have your time. Let black men get the vote first.

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Current example: There is a large upsurge for gay/lesbian rights, particularly the right to get married. That’s great! But notice in all the language used by politicians, reporters, the media at large – you don’t see too many instances of ‘LGBTQ+’ or trans people, or transgendered, or transsexual, or heck, even bisexual. Gaining recognition for gay and lesbian people’s rights in the media and popular culture is phenomenal! It’s great. But look at the people who are being left behind; excluded from the dialogue. Exclusion is absolutely a tool of privilege.

There are all sorts of tools in the tool shed of privilege-claiming. Exclusion is one. Language is another. And they are so refined that it is often very difficult to recognize when they’re being pulled out of the shed and used in on instance or another, to gain privilege.

comic found here

Getting closer to my whole point here:

BUT IS IT FEMINIST?

1) When we categorize people, we inevitably begin to leave people out. The act of leaving people out is exclusion, and exclusion is a tool of privilege.

Example: My undergraduate university has a women’s studies program, which is run by a council of members, made up of several women and a couple (and I mean two) men. (Or it least it was when I was a student there.) The program rejected ‘gender studies’ as opposed to ‘women’s studies’, citing that women still had so much to gain, that including men’s issues in the discussion was a disservice to feminism. *I am paraphrasing from a dialogue I had with a faculty member a few years ago, so the details are fuzzy. Regardless of this, the point is that the focus of the curriculum and pedagogy of the women’s studies minor is, in it’s basis, on women and not on gender.* The exclusion of men, and transpeople in the language and content of the curriculum and pedagogy is using privilege over others.

Example: Academic feminism versus activist feminism or as I sometimes think of it, the faculty vrs student feminist debate. Activist feminism is informed by academic feminism (we form our opinions with the knowledge we gain, through academics and other sources). Academic feminism is informed by a history of activist feminism (the past 200+ years of women’s rights activists fighting for equality). When academic feminism does not include current activist feminist actions in curriculum & pedagogy, it is using privilege over others. When activist feminists do not include the history of feminism in the basis of their actions, it is using privilege over others.

2) It is difficult (or it should be) to pigeon-hole people by what they should believe and how they should behave. Gay people don’t believe all the same things (that would be why there is no such thing as a wicked awesome all-inclusive queer-community club) and they don’t all act the same way. Not all feminists believe the same things, or behave the same ways.

Example: How do feminists express themselves? I am a feminist artist. I sometimes express myself through writing, such as this post, but most often I express myself through painting and printmaking. What is the most acceptable or shall we say celebrated form of feminist expression? Honestly, I think this varies from social setting to social setting. Feminists at my university were taught that feminism should be expressed through writing analytical papers. During a meeting, a faculty member said, “We want the project to be open, yet we want our students to understand that they can’t do anything, they can’t just, you know, make a painting and bam! there’s your project!”.  Excluding art from acceptable forms of academic expression and inquiry is using privilege over others.

Example: What do feminists believe? I was the president of a young feminist group for two years. During the first year of my ‘presidency’ there was a cacophonous debate during which, a member (also the vice president) decided that all feminists must believe that every woman has the right to a safe, affordable abortion. Now, personally, I am pro-choice. But it seemed strange to me, to try to limit what a ‘true feminist’ was allowed to believe or not to believe. Do all feminists believe in abortion? No.

Example: I was talking with a friend who told me that during her college experience, she was chastised by a self-identified feminist who said she (the friend) was not a feminist because she chose to shave her legs, and the removal of body hair is abiding by patriarchal values of subjugation. Do all feminists believe removing body hair is the right thing to do? No. Do all feminists believe not removing body hair is the right thing to do? No.

3) In order to gain momentum in a social movement, you need numbers, right? You need a lot of people to stand up and say, “Listen, this is what I believe in”. So, in the women’s right’s movement, for instance, you need a bunch of people to stand up and say, “Listen, I am a feminist! I believe in women’s rights!” But, go back to # 1 and #2. When we categorize people we immediately begin to leave people out. Who is a feminist? Is it ok for men to be feminists? Is it ok for transpeople to be feminists? What do feminists believe? Shouldn’t you believe in having careers rather than babies? Shouldn’t you believe in polygamy rather than monogamy? Shouldn’t you believe that marriage is for patriarchal dopes?

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What I think you end up with, is a lot of people who generally want to do good things, but are all very different in their exact beliefs and their expressions of those beliefs. But the need to label things and to figure out where people fit in the system of power and privilege makes everyone at least a little bit at odds with everyone else. Not all LGBTQ+ people are alike and love one another because all LGBTQ+ people are different. Not all feminists are alike and love one another because all feminists are different.

We want to have the power to have our own voices, and we become trained on how to make our voices heard over the anti-woman, pro-patricarchal noise. Sometimes I think we stop closely analyzing when someone or some opinion is not actually anti-equality, but is just a bit different from our own perspective. We need to stop silencing, excluding and enforcing our labels onto others and celebrate the idea that the fight for equality must acknowledge differences hand-in-hand with celebrating solidarity.

BUT IS IT FEMINIST if you identify as a girl and you like to wear pink? Sure! Recognizing that society has gendered colors doesn’t mean that if you identify as a woman you have to hate pink and if you identify as a man you have to love pink. Recognizing that colors are just… colors, means that you give yourself and others permission to love or hate any color they choose for whatever reason they want.

BUT IS IT FEMINIST if you paint your nails and wear makeup and dye your hair? See above.

BUT IS IT FEMINIST if you like sexy lingerie? See above.

PS: I reference feminist and gay issues in this post because they are two areas I am most familiar with, not because I identify them as being more prevalent or important

Some good additional reading:

There Can Only Be One: Gatekeeping in feminism and geek culture

Teaching Privilege Without Perpetuating Privilege

*This post is part one in a series titled, BUT IS IT FEMINIST – a bunch of thoughts about how folks tend to categorize, exclude and silence others. Future topics will include:

• Feminism and countercultures (such as geekdom, fandom, erotica & tattoo subculture)
• Feminist art versus art feminists make
• The valuation of feminist art (“do we only like it because someone tells us it’s ‘feminist’?”)
• Radical Feminism and the war against Transpeople