“In terms of being an ally there are many ways that white women can help,” says Stephanie Phillips, a member of Black Feminists.  “The best way is to listen to black women when we air our issues and not look for negatives or loopholes in our story. If you are running a feminist campaign or organisation it is also useful to think about whether your organization takes into account Black women’s issues when running campaigns.”

Black Feminists is a group that began three years ago. The organization focuses on issues affecting black women that are often ignored by the mainstream feminist movement. Meetings are held throughout England, but it is their online presence that garners much attention.

The meetings are for black women only: “It is important to hold black women only discussion for similar reasons that it is important to hold women only meetings. It is very rare that black women get to fully talk through all of the issues and hardships that affect them. At Black Feminist meetings we are able to offer women a safe space where they can share their concerns and hopes with others that understand and have experienced what they’re talking about.”

This isn’t to say black feminism is about separatism. “We firmly believe that an intersectional approach is essential to all feminist thought and action,” says Phillips. “We aim to incorporate this belief into all aspects of our group. We also try to self criticize, and be aware of when we could be doing better.”

As easy as it would be to lump every feminist together, all women are different, and there are different struggles to address. Admitting to privilege is often confused with admitting to personal inherit maliciousness. Whereas it can really be a stepping stone to empathy, understanding and reaching the end game of a united, more powerful movement.

A former This intern, Hillary Di Menna writes Gender Block every week and maintains an online feminist resource directory, FIRE- Feminist Internet Resource Exchange.

Allen isn’t the first to be accused of doing this. The most popular example at the moment started back in August: Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance.

Amongst the slut-shaming nonsense came valid points about Cyrus’ use of black women as props. Her all-black group of back-up dancers seemed to be there more to authenticate Cyrus’ need to appear “urban” as opposed to the bubblegum wholesome image she started her career with. By now, we’ve probably all heard about her slapping a dancer’s bum as the rest of the crew admires her own as it twerks. Part of the former child star’s revamped image is to be more sexy, and playing on racist stereotypes that black women are more sexual, seems to be part of this revamping.

In a September 24 Rolling Stone article Cyrus says, “I don’t keep my producers or dancers around ’cause it makes me look cool. Those aren’t my ‘accessories.’ They’re my homies.” And yet the timing is all too convenient for her new  image. When she spoke with the songwriters behind her single, “We Can’t Stop”, she told them, as reported in a June 12 Vibe article, “I want urban, I just want something that just feels Black.” For her, that seems to mean gold teeth and twerking.

The question if Cyrus’ twerking was cultural appropriation was first posed on the blog Black Feminists on September 17. A commenter named Daria responded, “Within the mainstream conversation, there’s the implication that I somehow have [to] identify with twerking and its supposed place within ‘black culture’ to feel angry that’s it’s been appropriated. It bothers me that in order to understand the anger behind the Cyrus situation, people have to understand and equate this to being a ‘black’ thing that she is imitating which leads to all sorts of issues about supposed norms and stereotypes surrounding black female sexuality.”

Talk show host Wendy Williams responded to the VMA performance and Rolling Stone article on her show, “You can’t pick up black and put it down. Black is something that you are, and it is.” Her more thorough explanation includes, “When young white people do ‘the black thang’ these same young white people grow up to be middle-aged white people. They take off the whole black accessory thing and they become white again.”

There are obstacles out there that those of us with white privilege will never have to face. Maybe that’s why it seems so easy for some to reduce a race to a fashion statement. “Miley and the black actors in the video are all props on the stage of visual pleasure,” Akil Houston, professor of African American Studies at Ohio University tells Vice writer Wilbert L. Cooper. “I think it’s important to consider that these images function within the sphere of multinational corporate control so both the lead (Miley) and the accessories do not maintain a high level of autonomy in terms of imaging.”

Cyrus tells Rolling Stone that she doesn’t try to be black, her bum is too flat for that. But we all know women, of all colours, are more than their physical assets. We, all of us, are not props.

A former This intern, Hillary Di Menna writes Gender Block every week and maintains an online feminist resource directory, FIRE- Feminist Internet Resource Exchange.