Hengameh Yaghoobifarah’s recent talk on "White Feminism is Racism" at my University was a grave reminder of the underlying tone of the conspicuous dismissiveness of the existing white fragility in feminism.Yaghoobifarah’s allusion that white feminism has toxic tendencies in ignoring the plight of the non-white marginalized women it purports to support while benefiting from the position of power and pseudo solidarity was as expected not warmly received based on the audience’s faces, which was predominantly white and female. It reminded me of the film Green Book.

© Kennedy Carroll Photography

The film depicts the story of a racist Italian-American bouncer from the Bronx named Tony Vallelonga, alias Tony Lip played by Danish actor Viggo Mortensen, who is hired by African American classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley, played by Mahershala Ali, as a personal driver on a two-month concert tour through the Jim Crow deep segregated south in 1962.  As an avid film fanatic, the film has a touching plot of the harsh reality black people endured during the time in the confederate states.

The film unfolds the struggles of being black: that regardless of how good you are, at the end of the day, you are still a nigger. The film however attempts to reiterate that not all hope is gone as Vallelonga a racist, apparently stops being one after befriending Dr. Shirley, a life-long friendship that lasted until their deaths just months between each other in 2013. What a beautiful ending, to have one less racist, was my initial thought.

The film was praised for the performance. It even got Mahershala Ali an Oscar for best supporting actor.

Yet, as a black person watching this film, I was deeply disturbed, almost similar to how uncomfortable I felt during Yaghoobifarah's talk. Feminism and racism are only good and worth it if it makes white people feel comfortable. When marginalized people do not leave a place feeling good or heard, the objectives we are gearing towards have not been comprehensively accomplished. Green Book and white feminism are a slap to marginalized people’s faces and self-congratulatory to white people for feeling involved, while scrambling for a seat at an all-white table. A tale of Altruistic Egoism.

This movie and contemporary white feminism are produced, driven by and for white people. Yaghoobifarah made this point about white feminism and you knew it hit home by how uncomfortable the room was. Yaghoobifarah mentioned at how black feminists that raise the same voice as their white counterparts towards injustices are usually categorised as being too stubborn, too loud or too obnoxious. A grave similarity is illustrated in the film with Dr. Shirley’s confrontation with the racist policemen, or with the restaurant owner towards the end, while Tony Lip is represented as brave.

Feminism is about fighting against injustices and patriarchy, albeit white feminism, mostly in universities has predominantly focused on intent while disregarding impact consequently giving the subtle implication that its main cause is fighting for a seat and getting an equal piece of cake on the patriarchal table of oppression.

If you enjoy the Taylor Swift, Emma Watson types of feminists, I would be surprised if you do not fall into this category.

Angela Davis puts it profoundly well in her speech, “Frameworks for Radical Feminism.” She says “Feminism that do not also address racism and capitalism will always misapprehend the meaning of gender equality…equality cannot be conceptualized without foregrounding racial and economic equality. Racial, economic, and gender justice are inextricably connected; one is not possible without the others.”

The problem with white feminism is that it constantly feels attacked whenever Intersectional Feminism is mentioned. An epitome of White Fragility as sociologist Robin Di Angelo calls it, where “even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves … includ[ing] the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviours such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation.”

I have personally met white feminists who assume they cannot be sexist or racist. It is not fundamentally mutually exclusive. An anti-racism can still be racist, you can be a feminist and still be sexist. These are the feminists that will protest with you on the streets against all forms of injustices and systematic segregation but still go to Kabinett der Kuriositäten and the Fusion Festival.

The effects of identity politics, critical whiteness and intersectional feminism is adamantly required: which lacks a great deal at most German Universities.

Twitter user Pierrot on May 13, 2018 commented that “the failure of academic feminists to recognize difference as a crucial strength is a failure to reach beyond the first patriarchal lesson. In our world, divide and conquer must become define and empower.”

The long history of side-lining the perspective of black people in favour of whites and their stories in movies and activism should be rigorously scrutinised.

Therefore, contemporary marginalized intellectuals should not shy away from “condemnation of “academic feminism” or what today we would call white feminism: feminism reliant on and benefiting from capitalist patriarchy at the expense of marginalized women” (Incognito, 2018).

When was the last time a black female speaker gave a talk at your university or environment? The few black feminists who stand up to white feminism become the nemesis. It comes as no surprise that working together becomes a huddle as the former feel excluded. And I do not feel that it is black women’s business to bridge the divide either. To the contrary, “It is white people’s responsibility to be less fragile; (black people and) people of colour don’t need to twist themselves into knots trying to navigate us as painlessly as possible” (Di Angelo).

So dear black women, the next time you see a placard or screams of “My Body, my Choice,” you should probably question whether you are included, because the people  holding those placards do not have you in mind, unless they share the same skin colour. 

There is nevertheless a glimpse of hope when such brave souls like Yaghoobifarah stand up to be counted in the face of bullying and intimidation.  The first step towards solving a problem is recognizing there is one. White feminism is toxic, very hetero-patriarchal and a tool that continually oppresses BI “POC” and LGBTQIA. The sooner we embrace intersectionality, the stronger we sail against this patriarchal ocean.

Oh, if you felt triggered, this post was exactly meant for you.