VivirLatino

More than a few Latinas in the blogosphere think not, based on some real (and recent- although what went down is nothing new)happenings. I myself have struggled with the term feminist, a label that has been put on me more than I have actually used it myself (hell, I even got an award for it once). But more and more across the Latina blogosphere, the term is being rejected, not because these mujeres don’t believe in the equality between the sexes, but rather because the feminist struggle has often been on the back of women of color with many a white woman failing to (rather not caring to) take notice.

La Sin Verguenza writes:

In the past 4 years on this campus I have learned that “Feminist” with a capital F means whining that you can’t recruit WOC faculty or graduate students while simultaneously denying them tenure and critiquing their work as “lacking in theoretical rigor.” It means using WOC faculty/graduate students to advertise and promote your departmental diversity (Ha!) while failing to support those same WOC with funding. It means wearing Frida Kahlo earrings and writing about poverty in Latin America (See? I care about “them”! I DO!) without ever interacting with an ACTUAL person of color outside of the university setting. Feminism is claiming to be working class when your parents were/are university professors. It’s claiming an ethnic-Other as a grandparent or great-grandparent so that—despite your apparent whiteness—you can claim to be marginalized (See? I’m oppressed too!). It means taking knowledge from us and from our communities for self-promotion without ever giving anything back in return. Andrea Smith has something to say about this type of knowledge gathering. She compares it to sexual assault. Feminism is a privilege that I just don’t have… or want.

Don’t even get me started on what Feminism means in the blogosphere. I want no part of that either.

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