White Women, We are a Problem

Dear Fellow White Women,

We are a problem.

Since the beginning of our country we've benefited, profited, and perpetuated this racist and sexist society. In our self-righteous Puritanism, we succumbed to the patriarchy that told us to stay home and make babies because that’s what we were expected to do. We still maintained our status as better than Natives Americans so we weren't bothered too much. We still had special status.

We enjoyed our role as Mistress of the house, surveyor of all things domestic on the plantation. We knew that--despite the corsets-- power and privilege were ours to wield.

We stood tall and confident on the firm ground of racism, declaring that we deserved the right to vote because we were better than black men! We knew that we'd never win if we included Black and Brown women in the fight even though there was a twinge of guilt because we started to realize that they too were second class citizens. A few of us saw some promise in joining sides but white supremacy and self-preservation won out.  

Even when we had the opportunity to come alongside one another to fight for equal pay, we forgot about our Black and Brown sisters. I suppose it's not that surprising considering since the beginning we clearly struggled to see these sisters as part of the family.

Some might think that this pattern disappeared in the more recent past. But a quick look at who counts when they go missing, or whose pay is closest to white men, it's obvious white women are still valued above other women.

White women, our betrayal of our sisters is even more painful because we should know better (Robin DiAngelo lays this out in her book White Fragility but also this interview).

We are a HUGE problem.

It was a white woman who falsely accused a little Black Boy of looking at her wrong, resulting in his brutal murder. It was a white woman who declared herself the “first plus size woman” in a movie, erasing the Black women who paved the way. It was a white woman who called police on Black men in Starbucks...and at Menchies.

It was white women who elected Trump to office. It was white women who have excused Kavanaugh's behavior.

It is white women who continue to use their race, class and privilege to serve only themselves.

My fellow white women, y'all we've got to get it together. We need to recognize that time and time again, we are the rebar reinforcing systemic racism.

We certainly aren't the saviors of anything but can we resolve to be disruptors rather than ambassadors of racism??

Two Interchangeable White Ladies Start a Podcast

Generally, when white people get together we talk about everything else but race. We don't talk about it because we think we don't have to--and it feels weird. So we ignore it.

Specifically, when white women get together, we spend hours talking about leggings, scarves, wine, mole skin notebooks, and a bazillion other things. If we bring up race it’s either in relation to makeup (Ivory? Beige 1?), undergarments (nude, white or black?), or attraction (tall, dark, and handsome).

There’s nothing wrong with talking about those things, but, white folks need to start having conversations that communities of color are having (have had for a long, long time) about race, class, and power. We need to realize that, while a social construct, race has real implications for daily life and is a crucial part of identify formation for many people. We need to stop ignoring it because it's hard to talk about or makes us feel uncomfortable. We need to acknowledge that we have a place in the conversation and we need to figure out what the heck that is. 

In effort to deconstruct this thing called race and the privileges, burdens, and baggage that accompany it, I’m co-hosting a podcast. Our hope is that our show will be a place to discuss education, culture, and local activism. We’ve committed to eight episodes that will attempt to answer our essential question:

How can white women use their privilege to deconstruct white culture, confront their own biases, be better allies, and be less basic?  

This year, I am working with one of my favorite interchangeable ladies, Annie Jansen, to launch our first podcast! We are lucky to join Channel 253, a podcast network sponsored by Move to Tacoma with other gems such as Nerd Farmer Podcast, Citizen Tacoma, and FloundersBTeam.

The podcast mode should allow us to grapple with some tough issues while making fun of ourselves and the culture of white women in this country in a way that traditional writing can’t quite capture. No, it's not just for white women. 

We hope you will join us on this new adventure, listen to our show and feel free to DM us on Twitter @IWL_Podcast with ideas and topics you’d like us to explore.