Is The Feminist Movement Inclusive Enough?
By Flora Irvine-Hall
“The belief in and advocacy of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes expressed especially through organised activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”
This is how Webster’s dictionary defines feminism, which is a pretty accurate description of what the movement is supposed to be in my opinion.
And it seems like the number of women who identify as feminists is on the rise with a 2023 survey from Ipsos revealing that 49% of women in the UK call themselves feminists which is an 8% increase from 2019. A small increase but an increase none the less.
But with feminism on the rise, could the movement be more inclusive?
I personally believe that all women should be feminists but I’m also aware that feminism, western feminism in particular, does not benefit all women equally. And while the movement continues to make progress, there are still lots of women who are not being included.
Women of colour are often left out of feminist discussions and any contributions that they make for women’s rights are often forgotten about. An example of this is Tarana Bruke, a black feminist activist and survivor of sexual violence. An article by Mashable highlights that Tarana was the actually the one who started the #MeToo movement in 2006 yet is almost never mentioned in conversations about the movement today. Woman like Tarana allowed vulnerable women to have a voice, so we should not be erasing hers.
Queer women are excluded too, especially if they are not feminine. Masculine lesbians have faced ridicule for centuries despite doing a lot for the suffragette movement which can be seen in women like Annie Tinker, a woman who refused to conform to gender norms. Her fascinating story can be found on the National Park Service website. In the 1970s, second-wave feminists such as Shelia Jeffreys started to demonize masculine lesbians when they claimed that any kind of masculinity was negative including when it came from masculine woman. Though we have come a long way since then, sometimes it still feels like lesbians are excluded from feminist discussions.
And far too often, transgender women are excluded as well. An article from William & Mary Law School explains how second-wave feminism was focused on equal rights for women but also saw a rise in gender-critical feminists. On the surface, gender-critical feminism may not seem like a bad thing but it can sometimes be a slippery slope to being a trans-exclusionary radical feminist or a TERF as they are better known in the media. In terms of how much progress feminism has made with trans rights, a YouGov poll revealed that 57% of cisgender women supported trans rights. It’s fantastic that this is over a majority but in an ideal world it should be 100%. Public figures such as J.K Rowling who were once seen as progressive, have sadly fallen down the TERF rabbit hole. An article by Glamour focused on the timeline of her transphobia which can be dated back to 2017 after liking tweets that criticised the trans movement. Feminists against trans women claim to only care about the safety of women but it’s pretty evident that their distain towards trans people is fuelled by hate and ignorance. While the cisgender and transgender experience of womanhood might be different, we should not be excluding trans women.
I am not saying that we should stop labelling ourselves as feminists, I am saying that before we do, we should make sure that our feminism includes everyone. No woman left behind.