That horrible video of the woman calling the police on the bird watcher reminds me of the ways white women are socialized to lean into their anti-blackness whenever they feel threatened, and more broadly how feeling "safe" as a white woman is predicated on white supremacy.

This is a hard conversation to have as a white woman and feminist. But it would be negligent and cruel to pretend that my early education around how to "protect myself" while in public (out walking, in a park etc) did not involve learning anti-blackness....

And how to use my yt womanhood as a weapon. Feigning innocence. Calling the police. Crossing the street. Walking through the world feeling inherently victimized even when I& #39;m in a position of power over someone else. Unlearning these things requires daily reflection and work.

Feminism has raised (important) conversations about women& #39;s rights to exist in public spaces without fear of being harassed or assaulted. But white feminists have rarely considered the racial dimension of these rights.

When a white woman calls the police on a black man because she feels "unsafe," she is making a decision from a position of power, and that decision could ruin that man& #39;s life. This is to say, leaning into white fragility cannot be the basis for white women& #39;s feminist politics.