Sound Familiar?
You know it does.
The advantages of single-sex talk have been summed up by one woman who claimed that ‘there was no need to argue about whether or not the problems we felt were real’ . . . when men were not present.
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. . . the problem of what to do with male speakers who dominated the talk even while they assured women of their opposition to sexism.
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Perhaps instead of being concerned with making women talk more like men, it would be more productive to modify our male-as-norm line of reasoning and work towards helping men to listen more like women.
Dale Spender, Man Made Language
Here Ya Go
Another great/interesting/makes ya think post by Littoral Mermaid.
When prominent white feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Geraldine Ferraro pit racism against sexism in order to trivialize racism, it alienates many women of color, even women of color feminists, who struggle with both. I don’t really care if racism or sexism “is worse”. I don’t think that there’s any way to find out. And I don’t think that debating this matter does anything for the people under these hierarchies. Nor do I think that people who have not experienced racism *and* sexism can have an objective view on their relative magnitude.
This is why it’s so good for white women like me to read blogs of WOC. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the media’s treatment of Obama and Clinton and the recent problems in the feminist blogosphere. I do believe I have been too simple in my thinking about both of these subjects. Plus, I really am having trouble understanding how some white feminists can treat WOC like men treat women—you know I’ve complained about that before. But I, in my little bubble of privilege, have only seen part of that.
Nonwhite women are not in a position of racial comfort or privilege, ever, not in our everyday lives or in the middle of white feminists. If white feminists regard us with suspicion, blame those discomforts on us, deny our experiences and the social experiences of our lives or consider us divisive or traitorous to feminism because of our race(s), then they are exercising racial privilege. Feminism with unquestioned and protected racial privilege is, as I have said before, not feminism.
I mean, to me, that’s a big WTF?! Regard WOC with suspicion or considering them traitorous? I’m in no way saying LM is wrong. What I am saying is “Who does this?” and “Why in the hell haven’t I been paying closer attention?” Oh, yeah. My white privilege.
I don’t know what in the hell I’m trying to say. It’s late and the cats are chasing each other around me feet. Also, I’m thinking about french toast. So . . . sorry for the post full of my stupid!
Good Morning
