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Teaching ARAO to women who work in women's services is something to dread. Not only because of the phenomenon of white women "owning" this work, in the ways that white women "own" much of social work, and work with people who can be termed "sub-citizens": children, the elderly, abused women, immigrants, welfare recipients, others that are too numerous to name. Pretty much anyone who's not an able-bodied white straight middle class man. Meaning the rest of us, yes?

But also because the levels of entitlement, overt racism and classism and deliberate exclusion that says very clearly, "I belong here, you don't". 

And "how dare you imply that I'm racist/classist?"

We can't get along because holding the gatekeeping powers is power isn't it, and many folks don't want to name that power, never mind work at giving it up, and actually sharing it with women who have never, in the Canadian context held it. We can't all get along because holding on to power is something we have ALL internalized, and the idea of even looking at this truth is so threatening to folks. Ergo: "How can I have white privilege? I grew up poor!"   "I'm a lesbian!"   "My husband is Black!".

For the love of cats.

Shut. The. Fuck. Up. 

Let's look at all the progressive movements of the past 100 years. Looking at Canada and the U.S. only.

The union movement.

The white feminist movement (first and second wave).

The environmental movement.

The civil rights movement. 

The Gay rights movement, now the LGBTTIQQ2 movement.

The official Left (in Canada). 

The animal rights movement.

The anti-poverty movement.

All (most?) helping professions dominated by white women and the politics such professions teach and practice. 

All the above have replicated parts of the white supremacist, male supremacist, capitalist, settler-minded systems that we have all been taught.

This truth answers the question: Where are the women of colour? Something asked when folks deign to look around and think, "hey wait a second, who's missing?" Should we be thankful that they ask in the first place?

Fuck no!

Women of colour have had to fight and struggle to make headway into any of these movements, some with great success, and some with great pain. It's been far easier to develop our own communities, our own services, our own cultures and art, within our chosen communities, across cultural boundaries, held together by our multiple versions of what feminism is.