Feminism And Colorblindness

Feminism is defined as ‘the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men’ to promote and support the equality of all women. Yes, feminism does attempt to unite entire women and encourage them all to be seen as equals, but there is an underlying divide between white feminists and women of color. This empowering movement has been taken over by white middle class women trying to push their own cause and completely ignoring the circumstances of women of color. White feminism chooses to ignore other women’s race and ethnicity by generalizing and assuming their struggles based on their own experiences as white women. It 's not enough to just focus on only one specific type of experience from a woman

Psychology Today describes colorblindness as the, “racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.” Most often people use this as a way to feel more comfortable when dealing with the conversation of race, completely discrediting someone 's background to feel better about their own discomfort about the topic. This idea is often used by feminists, in the sense that they attempt reduce and devalue other women 's race and rejecting their issues as a women of color and to instead to push their own goals as white women. Although this idea of everyone being seen as an equal and being treated the same no matter their race seems ideal, the fact of the matter is that by discounting their heritage they are making themselves feel better about their own white privilege while ignoring the issue of racism and white supremacy. Bell Hooks pointed out in her novel, “Feminism is for Everybody” that, “For years I have witnessed the reluctance of white feminist thinkers to acknowledge the importance of race. I witnessed their refusal to divest white supremacy, their unwillingness to acknowledge that an anti-racist feminist movement was the only political foundation that could make a sisterhood a reality” (Bell Hooks). If white women continue to practice colorblindness it would only push the movement farther apart, if they were to address racism incorporated with gender it could make the movement as a whole much