White tears/brown scars : How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color

Australian journalist Ruby Hamad exposes the phenomenon by which some white women, leaning into the trope of the damsel in distress, can weaponize their literal or figurative tears to get what they want at the expense of BIPOC. For example, a white woman accused of racism by a BIPOC co-worker can employ strategically shed tears to evoke sympathy from other co-workers, effectively inverting the positions of villain and victim. This phenomenon was particularly apparent in the summer of 2020 as people agitating for a racial reckoning butted heads with ostensible allies unprepared to turn their attention inward.