One of the main criticisms of the current wave of feminism is that it focuses predominantly on white, middle-class women. To a certain extent, I would agree. With the help of various celebrities, “white feminism” has become synonymous with useless acts of so-called “female empowerment”, such as Natalie Portman attending the Oscars with the names of female directors embroidered into her dress. Sure, it’s highlighting women in a predominantly male field, but what does that actually achieve aside from looking ‘woke’?
Too often feminism focuses on getting women into the top 1%: having women in leadership roles and as CEOs and empowering women to go after what men have been going after for decades. Except, in focusing on this, we forget about the other 99% of women; the women at the bottom of the pile in our capitalist society. Those women who may not have access to higher education for many reasons; women who end up young single mothers; women in sex work industries or women struggling to make ends meet while working multiple jobs. These women deserve feminism too. And they deserve a feminism that fights for their needs and cares about them.
Many working class women find it difficult to engage with feminism because they see it as just another way of politics ignoring them. So how do we create a feminist wave that is for that 99%?
The answer is simple: we need to shift the focus towards helping those women who are most vulnerable and most disadvantaged. Campaigning for women to have access to safe abortions, ending period poverty for homeless women, putting in place laws that protect sex workers and make their work just that little bit safer, campaigning for free childcare so that women can go and seek out higher education or employment.
There are so many ways that working class women are ignored and it’s time we share feminism with them because these women deserve equal rights and opportunities, too. Feminism is about giving women choices, but in ignoring working class women and their needs we take away their options. Let’s make feminism inclusive and better; let’s make it for the 99%.
