California's Women's March cancelled for fear of being "too white"

I think one of the problems is that the Women's March (now trade marked in the States) isn't a genuine organisation. By that I mean, a lot of women, not just in the States reacted really negatively to the election of Trump.

Many joined in the Marches on that basis. Not because they thought the organisers were their "leaders" or had a political analysis they subscribed to.

But what it did represent because of the huge media focus on it, rather than say the myriad of genuine grassroots women's groups and individual activists. This made the organisation a target for what I call media feminists, ie women who get their credibility, not from other women, but from the patriarchal media deciding (on a whim) that this is the latest version of feminism that they (the media) want to promote. And of course there are always entryists.

What should have been an amazing opportunity for women to build on contacts that national, or state wide marches gave them access to, somehow became the silenced followers of unelected groups.

It has just turned in to "Event" feminism where you display, usually thought saying all other feminists are wrong, that you are currently the most cutting edge representation of feminism that the media will want to talk to and promote. (Look at the idiocy of them announcing the concept of a women's strike through of all place, the Guardian. Guardian readers can maybe afford to take part in a day of political action and not worry about losing their job or zero hours contract, but most women cant.)

Here is another story about how this is essentially a competive feminism rather than a collaborative one. This is what happens with top down organising. It represent nobody but the egos involved rather than something, probably a bit fuzzy, but is representative of all those taking part.

www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/us/womens-march-anti-semitism.html

I am totally mystified by people who think that political change is achieved by alienating potential allies and never, ever building coalitions.

You're mystified by this? Really? cough Pretty much all of feminism.

Pachyderm I’m with you o this. I also heard the what about the trans women like we had to go & big tgwm to March.

And the pussy hat thing is so blindingly stupid. They have cat ears. Cat=pussy. It's a pun fgs. They are pink because of the sex stereotype of women having a natural affinity for pink. They are not about the color of (some) white women's labia!

I might be wrong but I understood the shape to be like the inside of the vagina - a labia/vulva hat would be a totally different shape and probably require string to hold it on. We're all pink on the inside even though our vulvas vary in colour. I thought it was typical male ignorance about female reproductive system that led people intent on dividing and further disempowering women to try and discredit the pussy hats as being "white".

Often marches are attended by those with a degree of privilege (you need to be relatively able bodied, not caring for somebody, not working that day etc). It doesn't necessarily invalidate the reason for the march. I'm really grateful for the people that protest climate change when I can't, for example.

White women, as a class, have more power in this country than black women as a class. This needs to be acknowledged for sure and I believe that includes taking some personal responsibility for being the change. However I think the forces behind the promotion of this idea (that white women are only representing their own interests) are seeking to divide women and divide the left. White women are disempowered by this but the power lost isn't actually afforded to black women is it? Who wins when the women's march is cancelled?

This whole 'white/cis/het/middle-class/middle-aged' thing is a way of making people feel small and worthless, like their opinions are intrinsically flawed and don't deserve to be heard. It's usually deployed by other white/het/middle-class people, too.

"White feminist" is just another stick to beat other women with, like TF.

Absolutely.

And the pussy hat thing is so blindingly stupid. They have cat ears. Cat=pussy. It's a pun fgs. They are pink because of the sex stereotype of women having a natural affinity for pink. They are not about the color of (some) white women's labia!

They were going to have a women's protest march in Ireland this year when Trump was to visit (he didn't in the end). There was talk of "pussy hats" being worn but they were deemed by our libfems to be "white colonial feminist" and rejected. Ireland is about 96% white, as a north European island with very little immigration up to 20 years ago, so either this is something we have to apologise for or we have mindlessly adopted American identity politics and buzzwords forged in an entirely different social and cultural climate.

None of the people ranting about this were anything but white either. "White feminist" is just another stick to beat other women with, like T**F.

I am totally mystified by people who think that political change is achieved by alienating potential allies and never, ever building coalitions.