(The Root) — Any womanist or feminist of color probably has a frustrating story of running into issues of racism and privilege with the white women fighting by their sides. They’re with you on the sexism thing, but when it comes to race and class, sometimes our fairer-skinned sisters get a little lost, though they mean well.
The @WhiteFeminist account pokes fun at feminists like the ones holding signs reading "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" at a SlutWalk demonstration in New York. In the fallout, many white feminists across the Internet failed to see why anyone was offended by the sign, seeing it as a simple, clever song lyric. Also applicable: FEMEN, a group of Ukrainian women who have taken it upon themselves to speak for Muslim women everywhere. With many things in life, there comes a time when you have to laugh at such cluelessness because otherwise the sheer weight of its oppression will send your soul straight to the floor of the River Jordan.
@WhiteFeminist gives us a chance to laugh at friction caused by the failure of white feminists, well-intentioned as they may be, to see intersectionality, while (hopefully) giving a clue to those in need. Here are some of the funniest tweets from the account.
Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.