Feminism is Not What Black Women Need

A part of putting the cape down as a Black woman is realizing that it is not your job to mule for nonBlack women. The cult referred to many as the Black community have been teaching Black girls since birth that they are the mules of a dying planet, and they must save it. This is why joining feminist movements is so tempting for Black women. NonBlack women try to manipulate these teachings by reminding us of how abusive Black men are towards Black women, but they seem to forget that they play a role in our dehumanization as well. While feminism may appeal to the savior complex ingrained into Black women by our abusive community, I am here to tell you that radical feminism will not solve our problems, in fact, making ourselves the face of such a movement would put an even bigger target on our backs. You can show sympathy to women suffering, acknowledge the dangers of misogyny, and engage in feminist behaviors without putting on your boots to go to a protest.

NonBlack women claim to be feminists, but they sure do not show up when it is time to speak on Black women’s issues. How many marches have white women set up for Black women’s maternal mortality rates? Ironically, they wasted no time inappropriately making us the face of abortion in America in order to increase awareness on Roe v. Wade being overturned. Asian women demanded we speak up about the increase of attacks on Asian women by Black men, but where were Asian women when Black men were beating the daylights out of Black women? Latinas routinely engage in racist hate speech alongside Black men online that specifically targets Black women. Yet again, I have yet to see Latina feminists, or any feminist for that matter, call this atrocious behavior out. Instead, when Black women call out nonBlack women for engaging in misogynoir, we are labeled jealous, accused of having internalized misogyny, and are deemed a hinderance to women’s liberation. Funny how Black women are the scapegoat for why misogyny continues to persist, but these same women have no problem using our image or demanding our labor for their causes.  

Black women need to realize that we are the only allies we have. This newfound fantasy of female empowerment being pushed by nonBlack women en masse online seeks to use us as mules and utilize our image as a prop all while nonBlack women reap the economic and social benefits. Centuries of feminism haven’t changed Black women’s status as the most poorest, disrespected, and abused demographic globally, and that does not seem to be changing any time soon. It is time for us to divest from feminism in the same way we need to divest from the Black community. We must create a movement that focuses solely on us and our problems only. 

This innovative movement must be centered around fixing the image of Black women all demographics, including Black women ourselves, have aided in destroying. It is imperative that Black women unlearn the manipulative propaganda that indoctrinates us into believing it is our job to perform free labor for others and focus on strategic ways we can move up both financially and socially. The solution to Black women’s problems cannot be solved via radical feminism and that is okay. We are too unprotected to make ourselves the face of a radical feminist movement that has yet to address the unique set of issues thrown at Black women daily. We are special and require special solutions. Black women who refuse to accept this truth should not be trusted, but more importantly, they need to be left behind.