By Julia Kemp
The general goal of feminism throughout history has been largely to satisfy the needs of white women and girls; the right to vote, the right to equality in the workforce, the right to equal healthcare—all of these feminist issues specifically address the rights of one specific group of women: white women. While feminism has achieved great progress in our country and worldwide, it fails to address the very specific and dire issues within different groups of women such as women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women in poverty. Speaking on the issues of women as a whole disregards the specific issues of different groups of women to heighten the problems of white women.
One example of how generalized feminism focuses on white women lies in the well-known sexual assault statistic. You might have heard that 1 in 5 women are sexually harassed or assaulted in their lifetime. While this statistic effectively describes the inexcusably high risk of sexual assault that women face, it fails to address the disproportionate number of women of color included in that ratio. Women of color, largely living in poverty due to systemic and generational racism, face high numbers of sexual crimes because they live in high-crime areas and often do not have the resources to leave a sexually abusive relationship or situation. Because the statistic only speaks on women as a whole, many passionate feminists are unaware that the statistic is so staggeringly high because of high housing costs, systemic racism, and the difficulty for low-income women to find legal representation.
Now, with the overturning of Roe v Wade sweeping the thoughts and opinions of feminists across the nation, a similar feminist generalization has developed. Though the absence of protected abortion rights undoubtedly strips the rights of all people with uteruses, Black women are especially susceptible to suffer the consequences of this legal standing. Black women are more likely to reside in states with restrictive reproductive laws and are less likely to be provided with birth control or health insurance. Women of color are more likely to live in poverty due to systemic racism, so many women of color do not have the wealth or resources to travel and receive an abortion or to support and raise a child. Even before the overturning of Roe v Wade, Black women were disproportionally likely to die in childbirth or due to pregnancy-related complications. According to a University of Maryland study, non-Hispanic Black women were 2.5 times more likely to die from preeclampsia or eclampsia during their pregnancy and delivery than non-Hispanic White women. The root of the inequalities in the reproductive healthcare system lies in systemic racism, and the feminist movement should address the real and prevalent disparities that Black women face, along with other women of color in healthcare, in order to address reproductive rights in a universal way. For example, rather than simply fighting for legal access to abortion, activists should fight to ensure equal representation in healthcare, and ensure that all people harmed by reproductive health restrictions have access to health care, birth control, and abortion: specifically people of discriminated races, genders, sexualities, and socioeconomic standings.
I support modern feminism completely, but the all-too-often generalization of feminist issues often leads to the ostracism of women in other minority groups, and fails to address the discrimination that they specifically face. While all women, including white women, face sexism, white feminism excludes groups of women that specifically and unquestionably require specific social reforms outside of general feminism. Feminist activists should address issues like poverty, racism, and homophobia in order to address sexism toward women of different groups; women exist in every shape, color, and societal position, and true feminism must address the variety of issues that these different women face.