Above is an excerpt from “How White Feminism can look just like sexism,” a comic created by graphic artist Alli Kirkham to address how many of the same arguments people use to dismiss the value of feminism are used by White feminists to dismiss the value of addressing race and racism. In a series of side-by-side frames, she shows two people talking to illustrate statements criticizers use to argue against, dismiss, or minimize the experiences and values of feminists, and compares it with another frame that shows how the same white feminists say similar kinds of things to people of color about race and anti-racism.

discussion

What is feminism? How does focusing on gender equality relate to inequities experienced through other inter-connected aspects of identity, such as racial identity?

What is the critique of White feminists?

How does this comic show how unexamined privileges and internalized biases manifest in everyday talk?

Look through all of the frames in this comic strip. What kind of diversity is represented?

How do comic strips and graphic novels communicate in ways that you cannot with other forms? What is particularly effective about messages told through a comic format? Can comics be educational? Do you think more people would be willing to read a comic about topics like racism and gender inequality than read a book or news article about the same topic? Why?