Is self-styled revolutionary Russell Brand really just a ‘Brocialist’? Is Lily Allen’s feminist pop-video racist? Is lesbian activist Julie Bindel a ‘Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist’ Is Respect MP George Galloway a ‘rape apologist’? Welcome to the world of ‘intersectionalism’ – or what we used to call sectarianism.
‘My feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit’. This was Flavia Dzodan’s angry challenge to a feminist slogan on a placard on a ‘slutwalk’ march, ‘woman is the nigger of the world’. Dzodan did not like the ‘white feminist’ laying claim to her the oppression suffered by women of colour. ‘Am I supposed to ignore the violence that ensued in the N* word discussion?’ Dzodan asked: ‘Am I supposed to overlook its blatant violence in the name of sisterhood?’
Dzodan’s meme ‘intersectional’ was widely taken up amongst radical campaigners and bloggers. Intersectionality seemed to be a way to balance the different claims of oppressed groups. None would be ignored, or folded into the other. Intersectional feminism would not ignore the special problems faced by black women. Nor would anti-racist campaigners ignore sexism. The watchword of intersectionality was that you should ‘check your privilege’ before making any claims.
INTERSECTIONAL? OR JUST SECTARIAN? | Mute
James Heartfield’s mischaracterization of my work is not the most offensive part of this piece. That’s just a LOL inducing moment. Truly offensive moments include the wilful ignorance regarding the history behind intersectionality (i.e. the works of the actual feminists and womanists -mostly Black women, who actually created and developed the theories, like Patricia Hill-Collins, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldua, etc etc etc). Another offensive moment here:
One radical feminist Emma Brandt complained in turn that ‘liberal feminists “weaponize” trans women against radicals’ – meaning that transsexuals were being used by less resolute feminists to undermine the radical feminists’ authority, which was an interesting counter, but a bridge too far along the intersectionality road.
On second thought, the entire thing is one offensive, mind blowing mansplaining clusterfuck.
I’ll now go back to my work “creating memes”. I’m a cat away from changing the world.
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