As a white, able-bodied, cisgender, straight person who grew up in a middle-class American household, I consider myself to be incredibly privileged. The only aspect of my identity that marginalizes me is my womanhood, and fortunately, I was born during a time when most institutional oppressors of women have already been put to rest. Thanks to the work of feminists who came before me, I have the right to vote, to get a divorce, to become gainfully employed in any industry I like, and I have rights in a courtroom or hospital independent of my husbands or father’s wishes. For all intents and purposes, women are equal with men.
Kidding. Because in reality, women have a great deal more work to do, and the biggest threat facing feminism is the fact that most people think we don’t need it anymore.
There is a reason we describe women as a “marginalized community” despite the fact that women comprise about 50 percent of the global population. That reason takes many forms. Men are promoted on the basis of potential, while women are promoted on the basis of proven performance, and men are more likely than women to get second chances if they take a risk and fail. Factors like these lead to fewer women getting promoted in business, leading successful political careers and positioning themselves to be upwardly mobile.
Often, women hold themselves back for fear of being “bad women.” Imagine a woman who is afraid to be aggressive and competitive, or a woman who is unwilling to assert herself, or a woman who is hesitant to accept opportunities for which she feels unprepared, despite having adequate experience. This tendency is one insidious way gender roles, while often giving us valuable relationship-building and emotional skills that are important in contemporary leadership, inform our behaviors and attitudes and ultimately prevent us from attaining leadership positions.
The outcome is a world in which women are dramatically underrepresented in the highest echelons of business, politics and income earners globally, and as such, men maintain their position as the shareholders of power. This is also true in the United States.
But for many women, concerns of personal safety and accessing resources to meet basic needs are greater priorities than climbing the corporate ladder. Too often, the mainstream feminist movement buries itself in concerns of who is shaving what and whether or not women change their last names upon getting married, while poor women in rural communities are not taught proper sexual education, and women of color still experience racial violence and harassment. Additionally, there are many issues that exist within the movement, such as racism, that demand serious attention. We cannot pretend to have solidarity if some women are actively marginalizing others in a community that is supposed to be for us all.
Too often, feminism has the feel of a movement for privileged white women, and in the process, we overlook women whose identities place them in marginalized positions no matter what movement they turn to. The priorities of the movement need to be refocused on the issues that matter if we hope to continue the much-needed fight.
Marina Roberts is a senior majoring in finance. Her column runs biweekly on Mondays.
