Why I Can No Longer Call Myself a Feminist

I hope the publication AJ+ will be ok with me using this thumbnail. I don’t want this to be a rant on the white feminists that I know have viewed brown men as threats. Because on some level brown men have committed sins against white feminists, real physical ones that have made a lot of people uncomfortable.

The usual suspects of course, are here (and I won’t name them as to not cause any MORE uncomfortable feelings here) but because of the some of the lesser sins of “stalking.” I feel as if I must come clean and say I can no longer call myself a feminist due to the anxiety & fear white feminists cause in me from committing them.

But on some level, it does take some perceived responsibility off of my shoulders. I don’t have to lead these movements after all, and because of that I don’t have to have the label either. I can stick to the ones I identify more strongly with. And if someone I trust that is in this new wave of feminism comes along asks for my help, I still don’t have to take on that label. Though I doubt any white feminists leading any movements will ask me.

Two names: both the same name, and both with the title of “Dr” in them. They are who I should thank for the sudden realization that I cannot truly call myself amongst them. I have white gay men and white queer women to thank for letting me see the disparities in that community as well. Both of these doctors whom are a significant part of. And I suppose the white women who have gotten upset with me in the past during class.

I thank them for realizing that even if someone is queer & neurodivergent, if they can’t see past my skin & see that I too am both, then it matters little. Their current (& possible past) socioeconomic status blurs them to my ethnicity, to what I could possibly ask of them. Not as a brown kid with real executive functioning issues, but as a man asking someone whom he thinks has more social power than he for guidance & help.

But, past transgressions to one means that both will shun me. It’s not really that big of a deal, they felt I was a creepy threat so they blocked me. Happens with most men almost on a daily basis, and those two individuals deserve the right to feel safe. I just hope, that in the future they don’t have to make me afraid of the police in order to achieve it.

This isn’t me asking for some apology, this me stating something for myself. Because of what happened I do not feel comfortable around white feminists: male or female; cis or trans. And thus, because of this sexism I can no longer call myself a feminist.

I know when I’m seen as a threat due to my skin color, or perceived lack of it. I know that culture, Latin or not, is not an excuse for any sexism or racism. Nonetheless, I do not feel safe around white feminists anymore. So I will not call myself amongst them, anymore.

I wish these two individuals the best, and to the one (or both) that might stalk this blog. The VA psychologists & psychiatrists might as well be both of you to me at this point. And at least one of you knows my opinion on the staff at most VA hospitals.

This is a very long rant in me saying I think all white feminists are racist in some way shape or form. And being married to a Latino still means you can be racist BTW. I know, I’ve seen it before.