Thread by @claireOT

On yesterday's racism in feminism upset.

First of all, and most important: the experiences of BAME women cannot and should not be denied or dismissed by white women, who are both the majority of the movement, and have significant structural advantages. Believe women.

We think we are the default woman whose oppression is addressed in feminism. This is not so. We fight for ALL women. Including women who are fighting battles that we don't always understand.

We have to get better at demonstrating the solidarity we want to show.

The racist trope that Black women look like men is a very well described trope.

Michelle Obama independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…

Serena Williams businessinsider.com/serena-william…

Icons of Black womanhood who are described as 'manly' because of racist attitudes.

If we respond to an image of hundreds of black women by "looks like they might be men" or similar, we are perpetuating the trope that Black women look manly.

Doesn't matter what our intention is. That's what is 'read' by Black women, our Sisters.

This doesn't make us bad people. We are steeped in racism in the culture, from birth, so of course we all hold unconscious racist attitudes!

I do, too. And it really hurts to be told. Especially when our self-concept is contradicted by the information

That hurt, the hurt of white women being told they hold a racist attitude, or have used a racist trope, is very real.

It is not the responsibility of BAME women to hand-hold us through the process of dealing with our hurt. That's on us, as a community of white women, to process

If we are able to, if we have addressed our hurt (because our first duty is always to self-care), it is sisterly to offer solidarity to the BAME woman that's been hurt by the racism.

Not all of us will be able to do this. That's ok, your first duty is self-care.

What we need to get better at, is not responding, full of hurt, to the BAME women who are dealing with the hurt of living in our racist culture, where even their sisterhood within feminism takes place within the structural racism that pervades it.

Our hurt is ours.

It's not fair to blame BAME women (who are simply asking for a demonstration of sisterhood, when they are in pain) for our hurt.

It is the culture that is racist. We are products of the culture, and so are racist. All of us.

But we can change this!

I am committed to unlearning racism, and I want to organise with other women that want to do this. I stand against antisemitism on the left. I stand against anti-Blackness.

I promise to talk in confidence with any sister that wants to unlearn together.

We owe a debt of gratitude to our BAME sisters, for their insight, for the theory they've developed, for their patience in dealing with us, and for their solidarity.

Thank you.

If you can't organise with us right now, because of the racism in the movement, we understand: your first duty is self-care.

We're working on making feminism a movement where we can work together on women's oppression. Feminism belongs to you, as much as it does to us.

Our racism doesn't hurt as much as our response to the identification of our racism. This is called 'white fragility', and we can read about it, learn to recognise it in ourselves
newyorker.com/books/page-tur…

I love all my sisters, and I hope we can address the issues that prevent unity. Racism. Lesbophobia. Classism. Disablism. In every instance, it's so critical to believe women when they describe their own experiences.

I'm not going to do any public conversation about this thread, but I'll be able to talk by DM about it, anytime. Please, let's talk.