What does it mean to call feminism 'white and middle-class?'

Abstract

This paper argues that there are a number of problems with the often reiterated arguments to the effect that feminism is 'white and middle-class'. They tend to elide the problematic of male domination, focusing instead on hierarchies among women. They ignore the male dominated nature of the anti-racist struggle itself. And they suffer from a lack of clarity about what 'white and middle-class' might mean. The body of the paper is devoted to a detailed investigation of some of these arguments, with the aim of elucidating the problems. It concludes with a recommendation that any assertion that feminism is 'white and middle-class' be carefully and critically evaluated, and not simply reiterated as self-evident.