Feminism: Black Feminism?

I’m Feminist and I’m black.

It recently was revealed to me in reading a race and feminist related article that black feminism is an actual sub-genre in the world of feminism and in the blogosphere in general. Prior to me starting this blog I had never really come across the title and/or belief system, and in all my posts I never really felt the injection of race was ever necessary; I wrote/write about experiences and opinions I felt/feel equally played out for women in general, not particular sects or races. And with some research and reading of some proclaimed black feminist I can understand  the distinction of black feminism, I realize the differences that they’re arguing, but I guess I never really faced those issues hence why I never did or really could discuss them. I see their premise being the struggles faced by black women in some way or another overshadow and are more intense than that of their white counterparts but that in general is a very perspective and person specific baseline. And yes in certain cases you do have disparaging differences between races as far as economic, social and familial structure go, thus creating new struggles, which is an inevitable truth. Furthermore the wealth gap between blacks and whites has nearly tripled in the last quarter century, in favor of whites and wealth usually being the determining factor for all other factions of lifestyle like education for example does create an issue. That being said I do understand that maybe in more than just a few cases; in a lot of cases black women face different or perhaps a bit more strenuous situations. Now this is not to say you can’t find poverty stricken families of other races and that other families aren't struggling to make ends meet; and that’s what I want to make clear, the censuses only go so far; those stats aren't all inclusive of every families struggle, those charts don’t incorporate everyone’s situation,  whether they’re black or white.

As it goes for myself I don’t see my life struggle any harder than I would of a white, 18 year female with the same socioeconomic upbringing and family structure as I have. I live in an upper middle class town, an hour from NYC, and more than half of my town’s demographic is white. And I think that inherently  puts me at odds of truly understanding and empathizing not sympathizing with black feminist. Frankly when I first heard the terminology I thought, “Well here’s another example of race further dividing a people rather than unifying over the simple desire of gender equality.”

And then it occurred that being black do I know fall under the label of: black feminist? Am I supposed to pick up arms and take on this new sub-culture’s battle cry? And I mean I genuinely think I can’t, I simply have no understanding or ties to this particular genre of women. Yes, my complexion is dark but I don’t know what it’s like to struggle in the black community because I never lived there, I wasn't raised or reared there. Class oppression, economic and educational disenfranchisement, finding yourself unattractive or less than because of your dark pigment…those issues aren't my issues and I’m not saying that I don’t care and that I don’t want to help alter these situations for the better, but it’s very difficult for me to completely understand them not going through the experience. I do want the option of decent education offered to every person: black, white, Hispanics, Asian, or otherwise and I do want to change impoverished and crime ridden communities and neighborhoods, these are all things I desire but I’d be lying if I said they were on the forefront of my mind. And it’s not even that I can’t relate to the community and the issues as much as I don’t think I should try and act like I've lived there and that I know that lifestyle. Because in large sense doing that, acting like I've been there and I know the pain and the difficulties, almost trivialize the point(s) and the situation(s) that black feminist  deem as major issues for black women.  They’re certain things taken away from experiences, that are only gotten via the actually experience, some stories can be told but others have to be lived and I realized that just because I’m black doesn't automatically enter me into the black feminist organization.

I want female equality for all females whether black or white.

Straight or gay.

Rich or poor.

Literate or illiterate.

Whether you have a degree or not you know as a person the treatment you deserve and the respect you desire. For me I’m not going to bring race into this blog if I don’t have too, it’s simply a paradox box of political and racial debates that are too hot for my kitchen(lol). And I am of course willing to bring publicity and notoriety to causes that need it, and if they so happen to be geared towards a certain race or ethnicity then so be it, if we’re going to come together as a gender and achieve equality it would be remiss to leave women behind.

In writing this post and taking time to grasp the ideologies of black feminism I understand and acknowledge its existence but I think it’ll take me a bit longer to truly respect its value and appreciate what it’s doing for feminism as a whole, if anything. And I question how much it actually offers to the average black woman, who probably has no knowledge of black feminism, and what it claims to provide, so it’s a very slippery slope.

As always these are personal opinions of my own and are in no way written to defame, disrespect, or trivialize any persons or institutes that might have been acknowledge within the post.