Feminism took a few steps forward and a few steps backward at the 2015 Oscars when female celebrities demanded to be more than a pretty face, but also seemed to demand their pretty face required more support than other minorities. Patricia Arquette, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boyhood, said in her Oscar acceptance speech, “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”“Everyone else’s rights,” comes with something of a sting specifically at the 87 Oscars when African American actors, directors, producers, etc. were so wholly underrepresented. “Sure, feminism is kind of the order of the day,” said Cara Nebeker, a recent graduate of psychology from BYU-Hawaii, “but there are oppressions so much deeper than wage equality for men and women. Up until 150 years ago, African-Americans’ souls were considered three-fifths of a person and weren’t paid for their work at all.”A movement to help desexualize women, #AskHerMore, demanded that red carpet interviewers ask women more questions than what they are wearing. Rina Tafua, a senior in university studies from California, said #AskHerMore allows women “to be considered humans instead of walking mannequins. It’s a step up for feminism, but it’s easy to see how other movements are more important.”Bell Hooks, an American social activist, most famous for her commentary on gender, race, and class, said, “In America, the social status of black and white women has never the been the same. Although they were both subject to sexist victimization, as victims of racism black women were subjected to oppressions no white woman was forced to endure. In fact, white racial imperialism granted all white women, however victimized by sexist oppression they might be, the right to assume the role of oppressor in relationship to black women and black men.”Feminism attempted to take a place above race equality and sexual orientation issues, according to Twitter responses recorded on Buzzfeed.com. “Patricia Arquette sure ruined her nice moment. Fighting against one injustice does not excuse blindness to others,” said @Wende. “Girl please go away,” said @Sanniel, after Arquette went further down her ignored oppression spiral. Backstage at the Oscars she demanded, “It’s time for all the women in America and all the men who love women, and all the gay people, and all the people of color who we’ve all fought for, to fight for us now.” The fight for their own equality isn’t over, said people on Twitter, and demanded Arquette take a hard look at her words to see the innate racism there. Arquette’s desire for gender equality highlighted the need for “intersectionality” in the fight. Intersectionality, according to The Telegraph, is a term created by Professor Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989 regarding the phenomenon of feminism as multi-layered depending on a woman’s race, ethnicity, economic class, and ability.Uploaded March 4, 2015
Writer: Alyssa Walhood
