Book #23 for 2024: Against White Feminism by Rafia Zakaria
Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption by Rafia Zakaria
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In 1979, Audre Lorde - a feminist and activist - told the New York University Humanities Conference:
'If white American feminist theory need not deal with the difference between us, and the resulting difference in our oppressions, then how do you deal with the fact that the women who clean your houses and tend your children while you attend conferences on feminist theory are, for the most part, poor women and women of Color?'
This quote gives a good feel for what author Rafia Zakaria's critique of 'whiteness within feminism', stating that 'to be a white feminist you simply have to be a person who accepts the benefits conferred by white supremacy at the expense of people of colour, while claiming to support gender equality and solidarity with 'all' women.
So, this book served as an expose on what feels like hypocrisy in feminism, usually perpetrated by women themselves. Reading this, at first I felt almost like I was reading a potted history of the feminist movement, and historic oppression of women. However, this was interspersed with explanations of all feminism's shortcomings, and Zakaria's own opinions. She is particularly scathing about so-called 'white saviours', who think they can sort out gender inequality within countries where the majority population is non-white.
There were some interesting facts that I learned, which I didn't know before. When the British Empire colonised India, the people there were very sexually liberal (you just have to know about the Kama Sutra to understand that really). However, they imposed their own prudish morals regarding sex on the people there, in an attempt to westernise the nation.
In summing up, Zakaria makes reference to many women of colour quitting feminism altogether, and sets out how far the movement has to go to achieve true equality.
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