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'm in a position of power over someone else. Unlearning these things requires daily reflection and work.

Feminism has raised (important) conversations about women'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's life. This is to say, leaning into white fragility cannot be the basis for white women's feminist politics.