On an hourly level rather than a salaried level, if white women make more it’s most likely because of the over policing of men of color because at the hourly level everyone gets hired for the same amount. So it’s either the jobs themselves, attendance in such jobs, or failure to stay long enough in the job to earn the wages. There is a racial element to it, but it’s systemic, not because white women get paid more for the same hourly job. White women, on average, also tend to have fewer children which would put them ahead of women of color, because again at an hourly job, everyone makes the same for the same position. The differences in pay are for the positions you take (daycare worker vs factory warehouse picker), how long you stay in the same job to earn incremental raises, your attendance, and whether or not you lose your job and have to start over as a rehire because you were jailed.
I’m talking about physical threat. I’m aware that most rapes are by someone you know as they are mostly cowardly acts of coercion or manipulation. Still, all men hold that and other threats of violence and it affects how we relate to them as women. It’s not anti-blackness when you have the same reaction against and wariness of white men, Asian men, Indigenous men, Hispanic men, etc. All men. Because any one of them could erupt into violence at any time and target you or you might get caught in a crossfire.
Focusing on rape also excludes generalized harassment and other sexual assaults (like groping) that are not rape. Race has less of an impact there, as my morning dog walk and journey to work can attest to. I dropped a man who put his hands on me two days ago. He was not white. He was also not black. I have been harassed many a time by men of all races because I have an absolute gauntlet to go through twice a day for half a year.
Even my dog has become highly reactive towards men because of all this harassment so don’t claim it’s white hysteria. She’s actually been the target over me several times now. Jupiter (and I) got stalked down 3 city blocks one morning. Absolutely, it was her the guy was trying to terrorize because I didn’t react. She did.
Lastly, when you’re socialized to be submissive, usually through religion, you don’t generally hold up well to intimidation. You are also taught from a very early age to have this all encompassing respect for authority. You call it learned helplessness, I call it socialization. I gave you one example of police intimidation at work. It happens. Historically, it’s been more of an issue. But sometimes the opposite is true. The woman who’s false accusations led to Emmett Till’s death is a good example. For her it was racially motivated, no doubt.
Motivations matter. It’s easy to lump everything into a vague concept of white privilege but that very real and very systemic problems. Nuance matters. Also groups are made of individuals. It’s counterproductive to consider groups but disregard the individuals within them.
