As an activist taking a break, I got burnt out dealing with sexism in the queer movement and homophobia in the feminist student movement and lip service to disability rights and anti-racism in both. I completely understand why activists form small groups of like minded peopled to work with. It’s a matter of survival.

(In the interests of open discussion, I’m queer, female, have a mental illness and I’m a white Australian. I like looking at the stars but don’t know their names, love chocolate and my mouth waters when I look at yarn.)

Sure… I originally wrote that comment in more detail, but figured the lengthy explanation would be more suited for my own blog than for hijacking this one (and I will blog it one of these days…) but if I may be concise and attempt not to be offensive, I have, as a white chick with no particular label on my sexual orientation, had trouble assimilating in person (less so online) as an ally to WOC feminist and queer feminist communities.

I went to a rally after the “nappy headed hos” comment protesting Imus, and people from the group that sent me the protest notification were asking me, “What are you doing here? You’re blonde, white, and skinny, why do you care?”

Of course I understand that there is perhaps a legitimate perception of a white chick in a group of WOC protesting at the capitol as a threat, but, y’know, it doesn’t do anyone any good to ask why no white girls are upset about Imus and then try to chase away the ones that are.

Oh– and the baby mama comment? I do think it’s worth being a little skeeved off about– can you see someone calling Cindy McCain “McCain’s Baby Mama?” Naw, she’s white, plastic, and richer than cheesecake.

My problem isn’t with identifying as a feminist. My problem is with idiots like Linda Hirshman making that identity so meaningless or sullied that people who shouldn’t be alienated from feminism cannot be anything but alientated. It infuriates me that these idiots, with their myopic, shoot-yourself-in-the-foot focus on upper-middle-class non-disabled white women, get to be the face of feminism.

But, I don’t agree with some of the exclusionist attitudes (not you, Stacey, you’re an education and a half in every conversation!) in the WOC feminist or queer feminist communities.

This sentence disturbs me a little. Veralidaine, can you explain more what you mean? I don’t want to be reading into this sentence more than is there.

But, I don’t agree with some of the exclusionist attitudes (not you, Stacey, you’re an education and a half in every conversation!) in the WOC feminist or queer feminist communities.

Us Feminisms will remain incomplete and flawed until white feminists get it viscerally that sexism against WOC is their issue as well.

I’m white, but I don’t call myself feminist anymore, because of the above and because of the (too limited) amount of time that able feminists spend working on disability rights activism

i feel so loved : )

BABY MAMA?!?!?!

What the eff is wrong with these freaks?