Women’s Rights Advocates Ignore Black and Latina Women

Will white women fight with us?

Most women understand the gravity of our current circumstances. As many Americans mourn the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, women’s rights are under new attacks by conservative representatives and justices who do not believe women should determine their destiny. It is an assault not just on reproductive rights but on our personhood.

Too often, women’s cries fall on deaf ears, not because of a lack of righteousness in our cause but of the color-blind ideology that has guided the feminist movement thus far. By creating an agenda that disregards each group of women’s particular struggles, Black women and women of color are suffering and falling through the cracks. Now, more than ever, women need unity. Only through solidarity will our ideals of equality see the light of day.

Modern feminists are making the same mistakes as previous generations in failing to unify the women’s movement. In the past, The Daughters of the Confederacy fought to maintain a Jim Crow system. They never raised a voice to speak up about the mistreatment of Indigenous and Latina women at colonizers’ hands. Nor did they advocate for the freedom of Japanese women in internment camps. Now, many turn a blind eye to Brown women and their families held in detention centers on the border. The apathy towards women who do not look the same is hindering progress. They disregarded non-white women even though many never explicitly said it. The proof is in the pudding.

The mindset is because you don’t look like us, your voice doesn’t matter,” and how dare you question it (Foster, 2020).

The #Metoo Movement Failed

Even though an African-American Civil Rights Advocate woman named Tarana Burke started the #MeToo movement, Black women found themselves grasping for an empty hand. Wealthy white women hijacked the campaign, and those stories became the voice of the women’s movement.

While their pain is valid and the movement is responsible for addressing it, white women centered the campaign around themselves, essentially ignoring the most marginalized women.

White women’s failure to advocate in that crucial moment for women’s rights casts doubt on the entire intersectional or transnational feminist movement. While it is admirable to say they care about all women, Black and Brown screams mean nothing next to white tears.

Women of color, especially Black women, have been reporting harassment, rape and more since the beginning of time, and have always been silenced. (Foster, 2020)

The #MeToo movement failed the very women it Tarana Burke created for — a slap in the face. We need white women to fight for the most oppressed among us. Otherwise, why would matriarchy be any less oppressive than patriarchy for Black women and women of color? The women’s movement needs a foundation of unity, or it will fall like a house of cards.

This #MeToo movement is no different from most historical feminist movements, which contain active racism, and have typically ignored the needs of non-white women even though women of color are more likely to be targets of sexual harassment. (Foster, 2020)

We need to create a united front that never existed. We are not making feminism great again; women need to build it from the ground up.

The policies that help Black and Brown women will help white women as well. So, why is there so much apathy in regard to the unique struggles we experience?

Black and Latina women experience some of the same race-based sexism that limits growth and development on a good day and leads to an increased mortality on a bad one. Let’s consider how unity comes.

Pizza Party Conundrum

Imagine a school pizza party where most students get one slice of pizza, not because there isn’t enough to go around but because they refuse to give the minority their fair share.

The minority group feels hungry and slighted; they implore the teachers to treat them fairly.

While some students would now dig right in and see it as their right to enjoy their slice, a smaller group would speak up for the minority of students who did not get a slice.

However, how far would their advocacy go? When the teachers ignore the cries of injustice, the pizza will get cold. Some students will start to eat their pizza. Will the same number of advocates continue to hold out or give in and eat what is rightfully theirs while the minority is looking pensively?

Very few people will stand up for others when they have what they need and want, and there lies the problem. It isn’t easy to advocate for others, but if the advocates show determination and stand unified, they are unbreakable.

They are not going to give us pizza just because our allies ask meekly. We must insist on equal rights and justice and persist despite the strength of the opposition.

Latina Women Suffer Forced Sterilization

These human rights violations are painful to write about, but the cause is more important than my discomfort. The word “pain,” cannot accurately describe the anguish I feel knowing that American doctors abused Black women and my Latina sisters. This incident demonstrated, in a modern pretense, why white feminists are falling into the same trap. We don’t need to eradicate identity politics. Instead, see people for who they are and what they experience, and be a true sister in the struggle.

Brown women suffer and have suffered from experimentation that ultimately dehumanizes women. The mainstream media grew bored with the story after a few days, but these women’s suffering continued.

Doctors working for ICE performed surgeries on Latina women without their consent. When obtaining my Masters, I learned about the Hippocratic oath, and I cannot help but see the hypocrisy in denying these women control over their bodies.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug (Tyson, 2001).

The “uterus collector” violated the Hippocratic oath; he showed no warmth, sympathy, and understanding to the women he sterilized. It should give my Latina sisters a small comfort to know a Black woman became the whistleblower to address their mistreatment in ICE detention centers. If any woman or man reading this wants to know what a loyal ally would do, truly treat the people you are advocating for with respect and dignity. Commit to improving their lives and never look away from their pain, as gruesome as it may inevitably be. If intersectionality has a chance, it must first address inequities.

Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy — just about everybody,” Wooten said in the complaint. “I’ve had several inmates tell me that they’ve been to see the doctor, and they’ve had hysterectomies, and they don’t know why they went or why they’re going.” Other alleged failures by the center included dangerous and unsanitary conditions and poor safety precautions around coronavirus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that if true, the whistleblower claims represented “a staggering abuse of human rights (Bryant, 2020)

I wholeheartedly agree with Nanci Pelosi’s statement. It brings tears to my eyes, but we need to talk about this. The American government is abusing Brown families on the border, and these latest allegations should bring home the issue for all women. Please understand these women did not ask for this. This doctor is taking their uteruses, sterilizing these women. This racist behavior fits into the Eugenicist, white supremacist ideology that Margaret Sanger pushed forward.

White women, your hero is our enemy. Please stop pretending we are in this together because we are standing on a cliff, staring into the abyss. Have mercy and stop pretending to love us when you only get angry and march when your pussies are in jeopardy. Some women don’t even have the right to conceive and become pregnant. Doctors sterilize them without their consent. Aren’t Brown women, women too?

Wooten claims the doctor, who has since been identified as gynecologist Dr. Mahendra Amin, was so notorious for performing such procedures that she referred to him in the report as the “uterus collector” (Bryant, 2020)

The feminist movement fails because it perpetuates a lie that “all women matter,” which could not be further from the truth. Black and Brown women are castoffs. We are the bodies who get mutilated to make your health care safer. Generations before mine saw progress. However, we are still your underlings in this society. First, make us equal to you. Then, we can fight patriarchy. We are not all on the same page, and by neglecting our needs, white women are underestimating the power of unity.

Those who are angry at identifying politics and discussions on race perpetuate an environment where Black and Brown women continue to suffer. Do not look away. It is a dereliction of your duty as a woman. Men are not the only ones capable of honor, so prove it. Speak out if you see the mistreatment of Black and Brown women.

We are all mourning Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She was a champion for women’s rights. However, women’s rights in America has always meant “white womens’ rights,” as seen in Susan B Anthony’s betrayal.

History of Eugenics in Planned Parenthood Stymies Progress

Suppose white women want to know by many women of color feel hesitant to embrace women’s health initiatives; they should consider the following.

The system dehumanized Black and Brown women using the guise of women’s health in the past. White women need to address the credibility of our communities’ health care system because we do not receive the same treatment.

A Eugenics named Margaret Sanger founded planned Parenthood. As a result of her white supremacist ideology, she advocated for population control of marginalized groups.

Consider that Planned Parenthood was founded by a woman who wanted to control the reproductive rights of Black, Brown, and white impoverished women.

Thus, many Black people feel that abortions are an attempt to control the population of the poor. Because of redlining, our neighborhood stayed impoverished, and therefore we were less equipped financially to become mothers. As a result, fighting for our right to choose is more akin to survival rather than a privilege.

While white liberals support a woman’s right to choose, they do not fight aggressively for restorative justice for enslaved women’s descendants, nor do they engage in a fight for restorative justice for Indigenous Tribes. It shows a blatant disregard for the inequities we experience. WOC always pick the lesser of two evils but not in the same way as white women.

Conservatives do not believe in the implementation of social programs. As a result, poor women suffer. So, abortion is not as much as liberation for Black and Brown women, but instead reflects a bigoted system where affluent white women are getting abortions for entirely different reasons than poor white women, Black women, Hispanic women, and women of color. Compounded by the fact that Black and Indigenous women die at three times the rate of white women, and it is clear that for WOC, most believe it is necessary to have the right to choose. However, it is not a joyous occasion to involve ourselves with gynecological doctors in any capacity.

White women are essentially ignoring the broader issues that WOC experience and, in essence, marginalizing groups of women. We do not view this type of health care service the same, and as a result, we approach it from different perspectives because our priorities differ dramatically. Some would argue that all women do not belong in the same movement, after all.

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 in 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).

Black Women Reproductive Experimentation

There is an all-out attack on womanhood, but many fail to understand that our fight goes far beyond fighting for a woman’s right to choose. We need to make human rights violations part of the platform. Without the experimentation on Black women, you would not have an OBGYN to go to because our bodies were the beta test.

These forced sterilization surgeries are eerily reminiscent of the forced gynecological experimentation that Black women endured.

James Sims, considered the father of gynecology, learned by experimenting on enslaved Black women. Under his care, he violated these women, causing them pain and anguish. Black women were his lab rats, and the consequences of his actions disqualify him from the praise he receives from those who lionize his contributions in the field.

For those white women who stand against reparations, ask yourself how cruelty became more critical than righteousness. And to the Japanese women who received reparations, why is it that you never fought for ours?

The silence towards Black and Brown women’s suffering tells the true story of feminism — white women use the movement to gain their rights but stay silent when it does not concern them directly. So that you know, we noticed the aggressive fight for reproductive rights and the wanton disregard for Latina women’s reproductive rights.

Will White Women Stop Using Us?

Genuine empathy will not wither; it will blossom. If you want liberty from the patriarchy, then listen to Black and Brown women. We cannot be sisters if we aren’t friends, and we cannot be friends if you don’t see us and continue to place distance between your fight and our fight?

The women’s movement has allies but also many enemies. If we help white women get equal pay, solidify their reproductive rights, and gain independence, will the women’s movement show the grit necessary to fight against human rights violations, or will it shrink into the darkness?

Black and Brown women are intelligent, caring mothers, sisters, wives, partners, and lovers. We are your neighbors, your workers, your constituents, and, most importantly, human. Now, more than ever, white silence is white violence.

Genuine empathy will not wither; it will blossom

Looking Forward

While many consider this election a referendum on Trump, it is also an assessment of the effectiveness of the latest wave of women’s rights advocacy. Most women want women’s rights. Yet, 53% of white women voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

The backlash against President Donald Trump from many female voters combined with the impact of the coronavirus have given the president a real problem with women as he heads into the most intense period of the campaign, experts say (Milligan, 2020).

While pundits indicate that many white women will abandon their support for Trump, women of color have heard fake outrage before. When the infamous Access Hollywood tape came out, Trump made derogatory statements about women. Many white women expressed outrage. Yet, they let their womanhood take a back seat to their political affiliation. If they cannot demonstrate complete loyalty to other white women, should WOC even expect that commitment and support level?

Black and Brown women are fighting against misogynoir. We are also fighting against white supremacist drove feminism, which fails time and time again to deliver.

White women in the feminist movement fail to prioritize Black and Brown women; apathy is a betrayal of womanhood. Their silence is just as harmful and terrifying as the patriarchal system; they work so hard to challenge. Are women who only care about their liberty worthy of liberty? Should we fight alongside white women? I don’t know all the answers. I can say that we have been neglected and used.

Unity goes beyond accepting Black and Latina women in the women’s movement. It is about embracing and elevating the voices of women of color.

While I am cautiously optimistic, many Black and Brown women feel done waiting for white women to do the right thing, and I alone cannot fix that. White women know what it is to be marginalized and disregarded. I hope they use this insight to understand women’s nuanced experiences and implement that intersectional ideology into the policies they promote and drive forward.

Yet, the inability to cross over and advocate for Black and Brown women may be the Achilles heel of the entire movement. We deserve more than an honorable mention; give us agency.

Inviting Black and Latina women to the table is not enough — we need leadership roles. Black women and WOC need access to positions within the women’s movement and local, state, and federal governments. We need allies to provide space for us to take the wheel and trust us to steer the ship.

White women, if you are listening, please work with us to close the camps. Black and Brown women are suffering, and looking away is not going to fly.

Author’s Note:

WOC — women of color (all non-white women)

*For clarification on the terms such as “Black, Negro,” and “African American,” read the article provided below, which explores these terms’ historical and socio-economic dynamics in American culture.

Articles Curated in Race, Equality, Beauty, and Women:

For a man’s perspective on Black women, read Dayon Cotton:

References:

Bryant, M. (2020, September 21). Allegations of unwanted Ice hysterectomies recall grim time in US history. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/21/unwanted-hysterectomy-allegations-ice-georgia-immigration

Foster, A. (2020, July 07). Does the #MeToo Movement Even Apply to Women of Color? Retrieved September 23, 2020, from https://www.swaay.com/women-of-color-metoo-movement

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/

Milligan, S. (2020, May 15). What Women Want. Retrieved September 23, 2020, from https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-05-15/women-voters-could-take-the-election-from-trump

Tyson, P. (2001, March 27). The Hippocratic Oath Today. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocratic-oath-today/