WHITE FEMINISTS IN DONALD TRUMP AGE: THE CASE OF WOMEN’S MARCH ON WASHINGTON 2017 =

Abstract

ABSTRACT This thesis is humanities-oriented research that explores the subjective participation of white feminists in Donald Trump age through the case of Women’s March on Washington. As the largest women-driven movement in the contemporary U.S. in Trump’s inauguration day, the march has been subjected to negative feedbacks which questioned the claimed intersectionality of the march regarding the inclusion of people of color. However, white women countered the argument by claiming their own disprivilege and colorblind beliefs, which further angered black feminists, resulting in the tension between white and black feminists in the known historical march. This study will specifically explore how a web of discourses on race and sex determine the participation of white women before, during and after the march as well as what factors contributed to their participation. By giving an insight into the involvement of white feminists in contemporary feminism, the study is hoped to shed a light on the dynamisms of modern feminism which are currently being subjected to change in political climate of Trump and see the way those dynamisms might contribute to future movements. Based on the theoretical perspective that Michel Foucault specifies with the concept “discursive formation” and “power relation”, this thesis examines the network of events and senses that govern the tension between white and black feminists. This is achieved through recording and analyzing a series of historical events that led to formation of white women identity in feminism and white identity politics at the turning point of American politics. The thesis reveals a system of historical legacy as well as unawared beliefs that established and governed white women identity in new-wave feminism, making it possible to argue that white women should also be considered in the strategy of intersectionality in feminism for the sake of successful coalition building