Eugenics Divided Black & White Feminists
Margaret Sanger is to Blame
To break that glass ceiling, white women have to work with women from marginalized communities. Unfortunately, American feminism hasn’t always been as inclusive as it purports itself to be.
Too often, traditional feminists have fought primarily for the rights of wealthy white women. While black feminists have fought alongside white feminists, issues directly tied to racial injustice have been ignored in the fight for equal rights and justice. All women do not experience misogyny the same way, the wealth gap is even wider for women of color, and police brutality is a big problem, especially for black women. An inclusive movement should support the issues of women in marginalized groups.
Sandra Bland was described as loud and angry. This characterization of her was used as justification for abuse and inevitably, her death. Throughout history, women have been described as emotional to justify abusing them.
“The hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets for the Women’s March in support of women’s rights or who joined the strike on March 8 for the #DayWithoutAWoman were (and will be) described as “rabid feminists” and “crazies” who flew into “hysterics and tantrums” (when they weren’t being called “paid protesters”(Espach, 2017).
These women were described as hysterical and crazy. These terms were used in a blatant attempt to disregard their voices and experiences. Dehumanization is often a tactic used before the abuse. Just as they tried to characterize Sandra Bland as uncooperative, they are setting the scene. In that scene, the individual deserved the treatment because of alleged wrongdoing that cannot be confirmed due to the victim’s death. White feminists who were described as hysterical and tantrum-throwing rabid feminists should sympathize with this sexist characterization.
Breonna Taylor was sleeping in her home when officers shot and killed her. I witnessed national outrage. However, some people tried to tarnish her reputation by insinuating the use of drugs. They did this even though no drugs were found on the scene and Taylor had no prior drug convictions. Can we honestly say the same would be true if she was a white woman?
The feminist agenda should be inclusive. Issues like have started to make it to the surface, which is necessary for us to break the glass ceiling.
Margaret Sanger was a divisive figure for the unification of the feminist movement. She was a Eugenicist who made very troublesome comments about black and disabled people.
Margaret Sanger said,
“The first step would be to control the intake and output on morons, mental defectives, epileptics” (Conley, 2019)
“The second step would be to take an inventory of the second group, such as illiterates, paupers, unemployables, criminals, prostitutes, dope-fiends; classify them in special departments under government medical protection and segregate them on farms and open spaces” (Conley, 2019).
These statements reflect a commitment to isolate marginalized groups, oppressing them. Her world view has aged terribly. Yet, prominent women, like Hilary Clinton have praised her. They have done so in a misguided attempt to rally women around Planned Parenthood. White feminists should denounce and condemn her.
I support Planned Parenthood because I understand that women need access to healthcare. Women currently have the right to choose whether or not they will carry a baby to term. Many pro-lifers have made the connection between Margaret Sanger’s Eugenics and abortions. They have argued that this was part of a larger plan to control the population of poor people, especially black women. This is such a difficult argument to defend because of her statements. However, her desire for there to be fewer black babies in the world should not undermine the fact that women should be able to exercise their right to choose.
This argument is difficult for me to make to other black women and particularly black men who see feminism as a movement run by white women who are often blamed for upholding anti-family positions. Still, I disagree with those who make this argument. Feminists are not anti-family. They are pro-women which makes them pro-family. Attempts to demonize feminism has always been about controlling women but some have made the argument that it’s about the perseverance of life. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but the current law supports a woman’s right to choose. Margaret Sanger complicates attempts to unify the feminist movement and I want white women to let her go as a hero.
American women share many of the same struggles. By nature, women are caregivers. They take care of everyone else in the family unit. While it is true that women have made progress, some serious problems need to be addressed by modern feminism.
Five Problems Feminists Should Address:
- The Wealth Gap
- Under-representation in Public Office
- Under-representation in executive positions
- Violence against Women
- American Maternal Mortality
Women have the power to fight. They should focus on using that power to incorporate women from all walks of life into the fight.
“It’s hard to muster up energy to fight issues like the infamous wage gap when so many of my amazing sisters of color can’t get decent medical care, our babies are dying at rates typical of developing countries, our partners are sitting jail for no good reason at all, and we are all traumatized from living in a racist society. These are my priorities, and if you care about all women, these should be your priorities too”(Monnica T. Williams, 2019).
Despite the obstacles placed in our way and the conflicting characters of the past, the modern feminist movement must embrace the beauty and diversity of women from all walks of life. That doesn’t mean just accepting black women at the table. It means listening to them and incorporating their issues in the fight for equality and justice. We have to bridge the gap. Our sisterhood depends on it.
References:
Conley, J. J. (2019, May 29). Margaret Sanger was a eugenicist. Why are we still celebrating her? Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/11/27/margaret-sanger-was-eugenicist-why-are-we-still-celebrating-her
Espach, A. (2017). What It Really Means When You Call a Woman “Hysterical”. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.vogue.com/article/trump-women-hysteria-and-history
Monnica T. Williams, P. (2019, March 29). How White Feminists Oppress Black Women: When Feminism Functions as White Supremacy. Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://chacruna.net/how-white-feminists-oppress-black-women-when-feminism-functions-as-white-supremacy/
Ortega, M. (2006). Being lovingly, knowingly ignorant: White feminism and women of color. Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, 21(3), 56–74.
