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Intersectionality feminist essay
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Kimberle Crenshaw is an African American feminist who introduced the theory of intersectionality. According to the text book, intersectionality “takes the position that race and gender, as well as class, and similar sociodemographic variables are mutually constructing systems of power.” (Cockerham.) Intersectionality is usually used towards women and is identified as the comprehension of how overlapping characteristics or identities impact discrimination.
Alexander Crummell, an Episcopalian priest, professor, and lecturer, set out to analyze and discuss “The Race Problem in America.” This piece was written in 1888, following the Reconstruction period after he had traveled to Europe and Africa, lecturing on American Slavery and African-American and African issues. Crummell, when not working outside of the country, resided in the North at various places in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where many of the countries African-American intellectuals lived at the time. As a professor, lecturer, and priest, the intended audience were members of the society who were literate, Christian, and for the time period, more radically thinking. Due to his relationship with Christianity and the relationship
A Critical Analysis of Racism in Canadian Law and the “Unmapping” of the White Settler Society in “When Place Becomes Race” by Sherene H. Razack
Any notable person with medical expertise will testify that racial identities bear no scientific weight and one’s race is only as significant as the person--or culture the said person is submerged in--makes it out to be. When dissected sociologically, “race prejudice [is] an irrational manifestation of individual pathologies” (Racial Fault Lines, 17)... “[that] represent attempts by one group of people to secure for themselves a privileged position in the social structure at the expense of stigmatized and subordinated social groups,” (Racial Fault Lines, 18). And, while the privileged groups’ “superiority” and other groups’ “inferiority” is arbitrary and holds no ethical legitimacy, the damage caused to the “inferior” groups is undeniable and enormously detrimental. Tomás Almaguer, in his insightful book, Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy in California, explores the various ways in which the Mexican, Native American, and Asian populations in the late nineteenth century
In many contemporary spaces, intersectionality is taught and consumed as a static concept of merely listing identities carried by one person simultaneously. It’s used more often as a checklist than a place of analysis or resistance. However, the use of intersectionality as just an apolitical tool, rather than a theory born from the knowledge of Black women experiencing a “triple jeopardy” of oppression and seeking liberation by deconstructing the institutions that bind them, is reductionist at best. In “Intersectionality is Not Neutral”May communicates that intersectionality pushes us to question and challenge the relatively mundane or acceptable norms in society that lend themselves to a continuous legacy of systemic inequality.
Furthermore, she also through writing some contrast test to prove that identity contingencies not just affect black people’s lives, but also has the ability to influence white people, male, female, young, old, and so on. However, Crosley-Corcoran as a white person who admits in her article that white privilege really exists and provides her kind of benefits which is inborn and black people have no chance to gain. Because of her identity is a white person, so her talking is a powerful and effective evidence to reinforce Steele’s argument that “identity contingencies—the things you have to deal with in a situation because you have a given social identity, because you are old, young, gay, a white male, a woman, black, Latino, politically conservative or liberal, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a cancer patient and so
In his essay, “On Being Black and Middle Class” (1988), writer and middle-class black American, Shelby Steele adopts a concerned tone in order to argue that because of the social conflicts that arise pertaining to black heritage and middle class wealth, individuals that fit under both of these statuses are ostracized. Steele proposes that the solution to this ostracization is for people to individualize themselves, and to ‘“move beyond the victim-focused black identity” (611). Steele supports his assertion by using evidence from his own life and incorporating social patterns to his text. To reach his intended audience of middle-class, black people, Steele’s utilizes casual yet, imperative diction.
In the first section of the first chapter of “The New Jim Crow”, Michelle Alexander talks about how “...racism is highly adaptable...” (Alexander 21) and how forms of it has been constantly repeating throughout history. She then goes on to say, “...similar political dynamics have produced another caste system in the years following the collapse of the Jim Crow-one that exists today.” (Alexander 21). The Emancipation Proclamation didn’t really accomplish much, so in an effort to make a change, the Civil War took place. After the Civil War, the Jim Crow laws emerged to restrict people of color. Accordingly, the valiant efforts to abolish slavery and get rid of the Jim Crow laws changed American society. After the collapse
Sociologists often employ intersectionality theory to describe and explain facets of human interactions. This particular methodology operates on the notion that sociologically defining characteristics, such as that of race, gender, and class, are not independent of one another but function simultaneously to determine our individual social experiences. This is evident in poetry as well. The combination of one poet’s work that expresses issues on class with another poet’s work that voices issues on race, and so forth, can be analyzed through a literary lens, and collectively embody the sociological intersectionality theory.
In Michelle Alexander’s article The New Jim Crow, she addresses the importance of educating people on the harsh reality of racial caste in America. As a civil rights lawyer and with previous work experience at the ACLU in northern California, Alexander knows the importance of getting relevant information to the public in order to inform them of important information. In The New Jim Crow Alexander uses a specific wring style through rhetorical devices to convey her message that the US justice system is turning into the modern day laws of Jim Crow, outlawing African Americans and taking away their basic natural rights while creating a new racial caste system and the possibility of the system to change.
For example, “Chicana movement is to end sexist oppression within a broader social protest movement”. Chicana feminists tried to merge with white feminists but their voices were not being heard and white feminists were speaking for themselves. Chicanos were encouraging Chicanas to discontinue their feminist movement and believed that they should focus on fighting for cultural survival. This lead to a double jeopardy because not only they had to fight racism and sexism. Chicana feminism argued gender and racism as multiple form of oppression and didn’t want to put one above another. Additionally, Chicana feminists started fighting beyond gender rights, they fought for “farm workers, prisoner, welfare, undocumented, etc.”. Chicana feminists recognized multiple issues that needed to be addressed. White feminists were focused as middle class movement but Chicanas were working class movement. Chicana feminists were beginning to address women of color in poverty, education, health care, immigration, etc. Many women of color feminist group recognized that they need to form a coalitional movement to address issues that affected people of color and women. This affects today’s society because there is still discrimination of people of color. We see it in the social media where there’s different treatment in presenting news to the
Curtis GreenTiffany ConleyENGL213027 April 2016 The Help is a book written by an American novelist, Kathryn Stockett. The story takes place in a time in Jackson, Mississippi where racism was still highly existent just as it is today. During this time, we learn of the black maids who are taking care of any needs that should be met by the white families whom they look after. Throughout the novel, we see many deals of racism as well as the way that it impacts both sides. While racism is still an issue in today 's general public, it could be incredibly decreased if we had more individuals like Miss Skeeter who showed the powerful usage of differing qualities while displaying understanding.“These women collaborate on a book detailing the “real”
Definitions affect everyday life, especially definitions of how we define ourselves. People grow up with a basic core of selfhood, but develop a different sense identity as they age, encounter different experiences, and listen to what others tell them they are. Other things like racism, class, and gender also contribute to shaping an individual’s identity. These ideas aforementioned are described as double consciousness and intersectionality. These concepts were chosen because of the prevalence of their ideas throughout the book “Men We Reaped” by Jesmyn Ward and this paper will not only delve more into these topics, but also point out the contradictions provided by the author and her family’s
Although it often goes unknown, Allison wrote Two or Three Things I Know For Sure and it shares experiences that reveal intersectionality and it addresses how her life experiences and environment shaped her into who she is now. This book also reveals the juxtaposition between how people identify themselves with intersectionality and how society or others view and hold them to specific standards. This book reveals how history can repeat itself, how others can be impacted by the intersectionality surrounding them and how they feel pressured to stick to a standard placed upon them such as the reoccurring idea of being “pretty”. The book ends with Allison and her sister addressing Allison’s niece as being “pretty” and Allison breaks down the walls surrounding her allowing herself to see the battles she’s faced in the
Intersectionality is a term used to describe a situation whereby an individual has multiple identities and as result, the person feels that he or she doesn’t belong to one community or another. Because of the many conflicts in an individual’s identities, he or she could be a victim of multiple threats of discrimination (Williams, 2017). The discrimination could be a result of race, gender, age, health and ethnicity among others. To give an example, a black transgender woman could be discriminated in the workplace because of being black and also because she is transgender. From an intersectionality perspective, the woman faces multiple threats of discrimination because of the overlapping identities of gender and race and therefore the transwoman faces a bigger struggle (Barber, 2017). Transwomen of color will most likely encounter prejudices in the form of homophobia, racism or sexism in many dimensions of their life. The perspective of intersectionality is not only applicable to women but it can also be applied to males. For example, a gay Latino man could be discriminated based on race because he is an immigrant into
Multiracial feminism recognizes the need for coalition politics. The autonomous women of color feminist organizations share similar goals, and they realize there is strength in numbers. While creating autonomous groups allows Blacks, Latinas, Native American, and Asian women to focus solely on the oppressions they individually face, they are aware that they share problems with racism, sexism, and classism. Most minority groups are targeted by the government and live in low income households. Along with receiving support from other minority groups they also receive support from militant antiracist white feminists as well. An idea multiracial feminism expanded on was the phrase “Personal is Political”, which means issues that seem personal (abortion, abuse, employment, etc.) are actually political issues (Thompson, 59). Multiracial feminism made the point to expand on that phrase and according to Anne Braden, expand it to “The Personal is Political and The Political is Personal” (Thompson, 59). This expansion of the phrase is important to the antiracist white supporters of women of color. It lets them know that racism, and oppression only women of color face does not mean white women cannot be aware of it and speak out against it. It made the point that a person does not need to directly experience the oppression in order to know it is not right. This allows an