The doctrine of white innocence

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By: Natassja Francis

As a black woman, it is remarkably hard to project my voice. This may take some by surprise, as black women are seemingly always cast as outspoken; the loud and obnoxious lionesses whose animalistic vocalizations cannot be contained. Life through adolescence and into adulthood has taught me the truth: societal forces are working against us to silence our voices and retain the distasteful stereotype of everything we are not.

It happens in every institution, including university. Systemic, oppressive behaviour is most often hiding under the farce of “neutrality.” It may be through the micromanagement tendencies of white peers towards a student of colour guised as “help.” It may be through a white friend or acquaintance failing to address the racist actions of his or her significant other, but insisting that they themselves do not see colour. It may be because a person of colour disagrees with a white peer, and as a result, other white peers avoid the person of colour in the name of “not getting involved.” All of these contexts are examples of “microaggressions,” or seemingly small but powerful and impactful acts of racism. The lack of a conscious effort to end microagression is what enables the persistence of racism, small and large.

A significant factor in the disregard of microagressions is the concept of white fragility. This dynamic plays out in media constantly. While people of colour are largely portrayed in film and in history as powerhorses who can handle virtually anything, white people, and even more particularly white women, are often painted as fragile and innocent glass ornaments. Due to this long-running and culturally ingrained perception of racial roles, it’s a lot easier for any member of the white community to subconsciously compare a stallion to a glass ornament in any situation and opt to hold the stallion back for fear of the ornament cracking at the slightest touch.  The trope of the innocent white girl is, of course, unfounded. I’ve often seen the opposite ensue, where white women are both hyperaggressive and refuse to accept responsibility for their actions because they have been taught that in social situations, they are always innocent.

Microaggressive behaviour is often more harmful than overt racism because of white denial and the minimizing of conflict, along with microaggressive tendencies having become largely normalized in our culture. Although when I speak out I have been threatened with the trope of an angry black woman, I am choosing from this point forward to use my voice. People of colour cannot continue to be the brunt of implicit or covert racism.  We have fed into the illusion for too long. Now is our time to unanimously make our voices heard.

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