Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

White Feminists' Role in Universalizing the Female Experience

This paper questions the extent to which white feminists have used capitalism in order to further the feminist movement and how these methods may have overlooked women of color.Examples of the relationship between capitalism and the white feminist movement can be seen from the suffragette movement to modern Buzzfeed articles. Specifically, this paper will investigate mainstream feminism rather than scholarly feminist theory. Examples of this type of feminist advocacy include the popularization of the term “#girlboss” and the way that term was utilized by white feminists in a way that universalizes the experiences of all women. This paper explores the dangers of this generalization of women's experience as it does not recognize the deep structures, such as patriarchy and racism, that grant privilege to white women and obstacles for women of color. This paper utilizes qualitative methods such as testimonies from women of color and white feminists, bringing in personal testimonies from Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” and Koa Beck’s “White Feminism.” The paper concludes that white feminists often universalize the female experience and exclude minority women.