White feminists are ruining feminism

Today’s feminists claim they stand for the economic, social, and political equality of both genders. In reality ‘white feminists’ are nothing but whiny, privileged, attention-seeking women who have never known real struggle.

If your biggest concern is your ability to walk around without a bra, you’re living a damn good privileged life and this letter is to you.

To those girls, I say, learn when to shut the hell up and stop victimizing yourselves.

If you look to Taylor Swift, Amy Schumer, or Lena Dunham as your feminist role model – you are the problem. These three are the holy trinity of today’s ‘white feminism’. They victimize themselves and hide behind their privileged lives and pale skin, shaming minority race women in the process. Not all Caucasian feminists are ‘white feminists’ but most white feminists are Caucasian. They prioritize themselves and their grievances over all else.

Where were you when countless women of color were being shot by police and dying in their custody due to gross negligence? Just because an issue doesn’t affect you directly, does not mean it is a non-issue. It doesn’t make sense that the story of a girl being sent home from school for not wearing a bra generates more anger and attention than the story of a young innocent black mother being shot by police in front of her children.

When strange men publicly yelled at me to get out of their country, whilst simultaneously calling me a ‘Saigon whore’. Feminists did nothing to help me. When they should have stood in solidarity with me, they joined in on humiliating me. Instead of banding together in the same way they do for liberation of the female body, feminists upheld the misogyny and even perpetuated girl on girl hate.

When a fellow female student forgot my name, she said, “Can I call you ‘little Chinese girl’ because I don’t really care about your name?”

Although Feminism focuses on the equality of the sexes, this includes the equality of sex regardless of race. These so-called ‘feminists’ are nothing but hypocrites. They just want the same amount of white privilege as their male counterparts while leaving other women at the bottom of the food chain. Well, guess what honey? I don’t want your scraps.

As a child growing up, I have been overtly sexualized and harassed by older men on a daily basis – teachers, neighbors, parents of fellow students. Men treated me differently because of the stereotypes attached to Asian women – submissive with a high sex drive. I have been fetishized and humiliated because of my race and gender. Even now, as a university student, I have had men come up to me in clubs asking, “Oh since you’re Asian, does that mean you’re really tight… down there?” To them, I’m not a human being, I’m merely an object.

Before they see that I am a woman, they see my colour. This is why we have to bridge the gap between white women and minority race women before we can bridge the gap between men and women in general. Before women can be seen as equal to men socially, economically, and politically, we need to start treating another as equals, and stop degrading, patronizing or sexualizing women purely for their looks.

You have to understand that there are minority race women who are losing their lives because of how they were born.

White feminists, if you’re reading this, it’s time you pull on your big girl pants and educate yourselves that showing your nipples shouldn’t be your only concern.