Wow. Where does one even begin?
Listen, I get it. It’s a horrible thing to be be stereotyped. Walking into a room knowing people might have negative preconceived notions about you is nerve-wracking. Having to shoulder the blame for something you didn’t do isn’t fair. Tough shit, boo!
It could be helpful to walk around in those feelings of frustration for a while and you might leave with just a touch more empathy for what people of color go through every single day. And here’s the crazy part: We don’t even get to wear matching t-shirts!
Could you argue that these ludicrously stupid shirts are mostly innocuous and perhaps even a genuine gesture of goodwill? Sure. As long as we can also discuss how deeply self-involved you’d have to be to put this on your body and wear it with anything less than satirical shame. You might as well wear a hoodie that says: “I have black friends,” or: “I dated an Asian guy in college.”
Now, 100% of the proceeds from the merchandise is going to Planned Parenthood which is nice. But you could also just donate to Planned Parenthood without needing a souvenir of your benevolence.
That aside, it’s hard to see how this really helps anyone or anything other than the conscience of the white women buying this shit. I’ll tell you, as a black woman, seeing that shirt doesn’t necessarily tell me you’re an ally or worth trusting any more than the sanely-dressed white woman next to you. It doesn’t tell me you actually understand intersectional feminism. All it says is you want people to know you’re not a complete asshole. The irony is, this shirt kinda makes you look like an asshole.
It’s also curious that this is seemingly the first time these ladies felt white women have needed to add an asterisk next to their white womanhood. Brace yourselves now: You’ve done shit like this before.
Throughout history white women have benefited from whiteness and their womanhood and used it to oppresses others. This ain’t the first time y’all done fucked up.
Instead of wearing your common sense around like some goddamn badge—and to be clear, not voting for Donald Trump was not some noble gesture—why don’t you just go do something?
Girl, call your representatives. Perhaps try donating to specific Planned Parenthood locations in communities that disproportionately serve women of color. Go volunteer at and donate to organizations that support immigrants who will likely have their families torn apart in the upcoming years.
Shit, go for a bike ride. I don’t care. Just don’t do this. Please, for the love of god, do literally anything else but run around bragging about doing something that Black and Latina women had on lock. White ladies, come get your people.
