10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Calling the Police on Black and Brown Bodies December 7, 2019 by Cicely Blain Leave a Comment Serve and protect. That’s the phrase we most commonly associate with police. So how do we deal with the reality that so many Black and brown people live in constant fear and terror of blue uniforms? Thanks to modern-day Black liberation movements like Black Lives Matter, the reality of police violence against marginalized communities is frankly undeniable. We no longer live … [Read more...]
Feminist Rage: 4 Ways White Feminists Continue to Silence Women of Color’s Anger at Racism October 21, 2019 by Shannon Weber Leave a Comment Women are angry, and rightfully so. I only have to write the words “Brett Kavanaugh” — a series of events so deeply disturbing in their unmasking of elite frat boy rape culture that I stopped my compulsive news watching for three weeks after — to convey how deeply US women are under attack by the Trump regime. As white women in particular are justifiably encouraging each other … [Read more...]
4 Reasons Centering Whiteness Can Derail Racial Justice Conversations — And How to Do Better October 7, 2019 by Shae Collins, Guest Writer Leave a Comment This article was originally published by EverydayFeminism.com under the title "Conversations on Racial Injustice & Whiteness: 4 Ways Not to Police People of Color & Be a Better Ally" and is republished with permission. To be completely honest, talking about race and racial injustice makes me very uncomfortable. Whenever someone brings up topics like police brutality, … [Read more...]
6 Questions to Ask Your Partner When You Have More Privilege Than Them October 5, 2019 by Anis Gisele, Guest Writer Leave a Comment This piece was originally published by EverydayFeminism.com under the title "6 Questions to Ask If You Have More Privilege Than Your Partner" and is republished with permission. Content note: This article briefly alludes to suicidal ideation and eating disorders. I learned to be a girlfriend through ’90s American rom-coms. 90% of the time, I learned, I had to be … [Read more...]
Fantasy or Disrespect?: 7 Halloween Costume Pitfalls to Avoid October 1, 2019 by Maya Gittelman Leave a Comment Halloween is eagerly anticipated by many. It's an opportunity to eat candy, dress up, and revel in nerdy pastimes or scary movies. Yet all too often, enjoying Halloween is a privilege experienced by people who don't have their identity infringed on by well-meaning, ignorant, or outright hateful celebrants. This is not only a problem with individuals, but with industry; with … [Read more...]
White People Interested in Dismantling White Supremacy: Who Are We Beyond Our Violence? September 7, 2019 by Gregory Mengel, PhD Leave a Comment “One of the things that most afflicts this country is that white people don’t know who they are or where they come from.” -- James Baldwin In the fall of my senior year in high school, one of my classmates hosted a Halloween party. For some reason, I thought it would be funny to get some of my other friends to join me in dressing as Klansmen. No one balked at the idea. We … [Read more...]
10 Defensive Reactions to White Privilege That Make No Damn Sense – But Are Super Common August 10, 2019 by Maisha Z. Johnson Leave a Comment This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism and is reprinted by permission. I know it probably makes me a weirdo to want to talk about white privilege so much, but I actually enjoy conversations on this topic – even with people who disagree with me. Sure, these conversations can get heated, uncomfortable, and downright aggravating. But they’re also necessary in order … [Read more...]
Fellow White Women: We Learned to Be Complicit with Oppression — Now We Must Become Brave July 29, 2019 by Louisa Leontiades Leave a Comment This article was originally published on louisaleontiades.com as "The Cowardice of White Women: Learning to Resist" and is republished with permission. Some questions you don’t expect to have to ask in your lifetime, let alone answer. But with the rise of Trumpian fascism, a question has consistently rattled around my white woman’s brain: At what point would I put my own life … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Help Someone in a Mental Health Emergency Without Calling the Police June 12, 2019 by Katie Tastrom 1 Comment With the continued crisis of police violence against Black people, including the murder of people in mental and/or physical health crisis, it's more clear than ever that we need to be extremely thoughtful about calling the police. In fact, we should do everything we can to keep the police from being called. When someone is having a mental health emergency, the people around … [Read more...]
4 Ways Sick and Disabled White Folks Can Show Up for Anti-Racism June 8, 2019 by Katie Tastrom Leave a Comment I know that navigating intersections is hard, especially when you have privilege in one area and are oppressed in another. First, we need to remember it is not nearly as hard as living at the intersections of oppression. We also need to be excruciatingly honest with ourselves (and each other) about how these factors influence us at each time and place we occupy. As a white … [Read more...]
9 Reasons Why Acting in Solidarity for Racial Justice is Preferable to ‘Allyship’ May 30, 2019 by Jaime Grant Leave a Comment There is almost nothing more dangerous in the lives and livelihoods of Black men and women than a well-intentioned white woman with no political framework for her interactions across race. White women’s well-being, our ‘safety,’ is constantly deployed to justify white supremacist violence, especially police violence. Our casual conversations with Black and brown people on the … [Read more...]
25 Ways I Was Granted White Male Privilege After I Transitioned – and Why ALL Men Must Speak Up Against Sexism May 15, 2019 by James St. James 1 Comment This article originally appeared on Everyday Feminism under the title "These 25 Examples of Male Privilege from a Trans Guy's Perspective Really Prove the Point" and is reprinted by permission. Quite a bit changed for me over the first couple of years I started testosterone. My health and mental well-being improved, my "happy button" grew over an inch in length, my natural musk … [Read more...]
4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Hijacking the Conversation on Racial Justice May 11, 2019 by Jennifer Loubriel, Guest Writer 2 Comments This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com under the title "4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Bringing the White Tears" and is reprinted by permission. If you’re a white person who has been in many activist spaces, then you’ve probably experienced a specific, often unspoken ground rule: There’s no room for white tears in this … [Read more...]
The Difficulty of Portraying Softness While Existing in a Brown Body April 30, 2018 by Erika_Ruiz Leave a Comment It is almost close to impossible to portray genuine softness within a cisheteropatriarchal capitalistic society without it becoming a commodity or lifestyle that can be marketed and sold to us. We are taught from an early age that our emotions hinder us. This is because our society as a whole thrives on an unrealistic portrayal of intimacy and love. We are taught that to be … [Read more...]
Dear White Friend: What White Privilege Really Means September 6, 2017 by Kimber Simpkins Leave a Comment The Body Is Not an Apology’s goal is to share the myriad ways human bodies unshackle the box of “beauty” and fling it wide open for all of us to access. Our goal is to redefine the unapologetic, radically amazing magnificence of EVERY BODY on this planet. When we do, we change the world! Join the movement and become a subscriber today! bit.ly/NoBodiesInvisible. Dear … [Read more...]
What I Said When My White Friend Asked for My Black Opinion on White Privilege July 15, 2016 by Lori Lakin Hutcherson Leave a Comment This article was originally published on Good Black News and is republished with permission. Yesterday I was tagged in a post by an old high school friend, asking me and a few others a very public, direct question about white privilege and racism. I feel compelled not only to publish his query but also my response to it, as it may be a helpful discourse for more than just a … [Read more...]
