All the women are white: Analyzing the use of women in US social studies standards

Utilizing intersectional feminist theory, my analysis of US social studies standards in this article demonstrates that white women and their experiences are essentialized throughout US history standards in both language and content. The standards situate women’s racialized and gendered identities as distinct while also using euphemisms and vague language to imply whiteness without naming it. Additionally, the narrow descriptions of labor and the emphasis on suffrage in the standards essentialize white women’s experiences while presenting them as deracialized. Social studies standards often categorize Black and Indigenous women either as racialized or as women, and they rarely include Latina women or Asian American Pacific Islander women at all.