Innocent Subjects : Feminism and Whiteness

A cutting analysis of the racist structures of mainstream feminism.

In a time of intensified global white supremacist and patriarchal violence, anti-racist feminist movements have never been more vital. Women of colour are at the forefront of these struggles worldwide - but are white feminists really by their side? Despite a rich history of black and postcolonial critiques of racist and imperial feminist politics, racism still exists within contemporary British feminism. To explain why, Terese Jonsson examines the history of feminism over the last forty years. She argues that black feminism''s role in shaping the movement has been marginalised through narratives which repeatedly position white women at the centre of the story, from the women''s liberation movement in the 1970s to today. Analysing the ways in which whiteness continues to pervade feminist literature, as well as feminist debates in the liberal media, Jonsson demonstrates that, despite an increased attention to race, intersectionality and difference, stories told by white feminists are shaped by their desire to maintain an ''innocent'' position towards racism.