This is Imperial Feminism, also known more accurately as Gendered Orientalism. This is the kind of “feminism” that centers white narratives and strips away the agency of women of color. It places the West on a pedestal of gender empowerment, and thus ignores the systemic misogyny of Western nations. It generalizes non-Western cultures. It promotes the dual image of the scary brown man and the white savior. This is the “feminism” of white people (especially, but not only, men) trying to save women of color. It appropriates women’s rights movements in the service of paternalism and empire. This is why we need intersectionality: to fight against oppressive ideologies that use and abuse the idea of justice to perpetuate injustices. We must not
