I am white. This is not something I chose for myself, but I am well aware of the unjust privilege this genetic factor has on my life. I am aware of this privilege because of the education I received from my family, through years of social studies and history classes, and from the things I experience and witness on a daily basis. Can I fully comprehend my privilege as a white person? Probably not. I have never experienced life as a person of colour, and there are no doubt subtle and not so subtle atrocities committed against racial minorities that I can't even fathom. But rest assured, I am, and have always been well aware of the privilege the colour of my skin has afforded me. I am also a woman. This is not something I chose for myself, but I am well aware of the unjust impact this genetic factor has on my life. I am aware of this impact because of the things I have personally experienced from a very young age, as well as what I witness on a daily basis. I am privileged (and just plain lucky) enough to have the bulk of the sexism and misogyny directed specifically at me done so in subtle, underhanded ways, but one does not have to be a racial minority to see the way women are treated in our society. Our culture is steeped in sexism, from the language we use to the people in power, the laws in place and the all-too-frequent miscarriages of justice. These are things that make me angry, and take very, very personally. As a white woman, I am in no way implying my struggle against the patriarchy is equivalent to that of a person of another race, however it is very real and after 30 years of living it, it is a part of me. I will continue to make my voice heard, I will continue to stand up, and I will continue to fight for women. But more importantly, despite the colour of my skin, when I fight for women's rights, I fight for the rights of all women, particularly those less privileged than myself. There have been many arguments made, more so recently, that "white feminists" are less valid than their more persecuted sisters of colour. This division of women is detrimental to the very foundation of feminism. To turn something as positive as people coming together to support women into a battle of race is so wrong it turns my stomach. Yes, white people absolutely need to understand privilege and what it means in the bigger picture, but perhaps this is not a conversation to have in anger on social media and comments sections. Yes, of course there will be uninformed, privileged white women jumping on the feminist train without fully understanding what they're fighting for. Humans are imperfect and there will always be sheep. But guess what? There is strength and opportunity in numbers. To make a point of publicly patronizing and speaking out against the "nice white ladies" marching this past weekend, and demand they recognize their privilege before they dare stand alongside us is shortsighted. To be constructive and make real progress, we must focus on coming together, educating one another calmly and practicing a little patience. We are so much stronger united than divided, and it would do us all some good to remember that.