7 Comments to “Feminist Fridays Starts This Week on People Of Color Organize!”

1. 

   Emily 22 December 2011 at 6:02 pm #

   So exciting that y’all are starting this series! Can’t wait to read it.
2. 

   Lib 23 December 2011 at 12:17 pm #

   When I saw that Megan Murphy was being featured, I, like blyuti, was also put off, but because of her whiteness, not her radical feminist perspective. That is the reason why I quickly suggested individuals who center their feminism around women of color. I believe that all feminist groups unless expressly stated are white western hetero upper/middle class focused. I’ve experienced this with radicals, lesbian feminists, liberal feminists, and profeminist. However I think that the radical perspective if written with woc as the focus (and if not monopolyzed by whites) is a much needed voice.
3. 

   kare 24 December 2011 at 1:55 am #

   I agree with biyuti. Starting the feminist series like that just confirms why feminism is not for womden like me.

   And I have been thinking this way for a while but I didn’t know if I should comment I think this website caters to white people too much. At the top of the page 3/4 popular topics are about white people. There is a lot of good interesting things on this website but I usually don’t comment on any topic because I feel like white people come here to find out what ‘poc’ are saying. I know other people feel this way too. I’m sorry and I guess there is nothing you can do about it.

   I don’t really want to start another conversation about white peoples’ feeling and ‘reverse racism’ etc so I understand if you moderate my comment.
4. 

   riv 31 December 2011 at 10:54 am #

   If you include Jessica Yee, then I suggest you do include radical feminists, many of whom are mixed race and First Nations, American Indian, women “of colour” who are not American Black.
5. 

   riv 31 December 2011 at 1:51 pm #

   Men have as much right to speak on women’s liberation issues as White persons do on POC issues.
6. 

   Megha 31 December 2011 at 4:31 pm #

   Hi biyuti,

   I appreciate and agree with your criticisms around this site featuring, first in this series, a white women. This is certainly a valid criticism considering the ways in which white women’s voices have often been privileged in this movement.

   I have to question, though, your demand the POCorganize not allow myself (or any other woman) to contribute on account of your claim that I am a radical feminist. I do not and I never have identified as a radical feminist. My work and ideology is, in large part, rooted in radical feminism and I write a lot about radical feminism, but it is also rooted in leftist ideology. I identify as a feminist and, actually, a socialist.

   While you are right that there is a history of racism in radical feminism, it is not limited to radical feminism. This is an issue that has come up and continues to come up in feminism as a whole. Singling out radical feminism as though, somehow liberal feminism has managed to escape these criticisms, is disingenuous.

   All that said, we cannot have a conversation about feminism that doesn’t include radical feminist theory / ideology. We can’t talk about feminism without looking at the root of women’s oppression, which is what radical feminism aims to do. That isn’t to say that debate around radical feminist ideology shouldn’t happen, or that it is “right” or any more valid than any other ideology that addresses oppression, it is to say that if we limit the contributors or conversation to liberal feminism (or if we simply remove radical feminist analysis from the debate), then we’ll end up with a very limited and superficial conversation, as far as feminist discourse goes.

   There are many woc who identify with radical feminism and I do hope that POCorganize will be able to continue this series while featuring the voices of those women, as well as other woc who write about gendered oppression and the intersections of race, class, and gender in terms of looking at oppression as a whole.

   Thanks to everyone, especially POCorganize, for having the courage to have these conversations.

   Best,
   Meghan
7. 

   Meghan Murphy 31 December 2011 at 5:04 pm #

   @biyuti –
   I suppose I might also point out that Slutwalk, the epitome of a liberal feminist / anti-radical feminist movement, was criticized and rejected by radical feminists and people of colour alike (from the get go), on account on white privilege / racism, classism, a lack of a radical analysis, on account of branding, etc. So I am a little confused that anyone who demand that radical feminism be removed from a series about feminism. But, as I said below, I agree with criticisms around featuring a white writer first in the series.