White Tears refers to emotionally charged reactions, such as guilt, sadness, or defensiveness, that are typically displayed by White individuals when faced with racism or discussions about White privilege (Phipps, 2021). These reactions are frequently performative and hinder change and accountability, since they appear empathetic or remorseful (Kutlaca & Radke, 2023). This entry illustrates examples of emotional withdrawal or emotional outburst of White individuals when confronted with racial inequality.
Framing & Perspectives
These reactions are a core expression of White Fragility, which reflects a low tolerance for racial stress, especially when conversations challenge one’s sense of identity, fairness, or morality (DiAngelo, 2018). Such emotional responses are shaped by broader social norms and historical power dynamics. They often function to shield White individuals from discomfort and accountability by recentering attention on their emotional experience, rather than on acts of racism (Hamad, 2018).
Relevance
White Tears often appear in public spaces, such as on social media, where White people express sadness or guilt when racism or White privilege is brought up. However, these emotional reactions are often performative and masked as empathy or remorse, but they rarely lead to real change or accountability (Kutlaca & Radke, 2023).
In White Tears/Brown Scars, author Ruby Hamad shares examples from her own life and other Women of Color, describing how conversations often shift when they call out racist behavior by White women. White women may begin to cry, which draws sympathy toward her rather than focusing on the harm caused. These tears can serve as a way to avoid responsibility and redirect the attention away from racism and onto the White person’s feelings, also if it happens unconsciously. Even when a Person of Color speaks up calmly and respectfully, they are often still perceived as angry or threatening for standing up for themselves (Hamad, 2020). This issue relates closely to White feminism, which focuses on the experiences and feelings of White women while overlooking the discrimination that Women of Color face (Hamad, 2020). White feminism is rooted in colonial power structures and can unintentionally preserve the same racial hierarchies it claims to fight against. It often prioritizes the emotional comfort of White women, which can derail conversations about racism and make it harder for systemically overheard voices to be heard. In this way, White Tears serve as a subtle but powerful method to maintain power, masked as vulnerability. Doing so slows progress toward justice and reinforces the inequalities that need to be challenged (Phipps, 2021).
Keywords: Racism, White Supremacy, Discrimination, Social Injustice, Racial Inequality, Racial Stress, White Feminism
Connected terms: Microaggressions, Microinterventions, Ethnocentrism, Racialized Beauty Standards, White Defensiveness, White Fragility, White Guilt, Whitewashing, White Silence, Tone Policing (also Tone Argument), Xenophobia
References
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: why it’s so hard for White people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.
Hamad, R. (2018, May 7). How White women use strategic tears to silence women of colour. The Guardian. From: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/08/how-white-women-use-strategic-tears-to-avoid-accountability
Hamad, R. (2020). White tears/brown scars: How White feminism betrays women of color. Catapult.
Kutlaca, M., & Radke, H. R. (2023). Towards an understanding of performative allyship: Definition, antecedents and consequences. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 17(2), e12724.
Phipps, A. (2021). White tears, White rage: Victimhood and (as) violence in mainstream feminism.European Journal of Cultural Studies, 24(1), 81-93.
