Picture a world with equal opportunities, where no one is discriminated because of their differences. This ideal world promotes prosperity, and without a doubt, it creates an atmosphere of brotherhood amongst us. In today’s modern world, the issues humanity face are far greater than just racism, which is the oppression of people of color. These issues are way more broad than racism, it starts with gender parity. Gender parity is formally a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to education of males and females. In order words, it is affiliated with the dominance of alpha white males in society. While racism is a notion that all members of a race are inferior to another race, gender parity is the inequality between …show more content…
More specifically, women of color and how they overcame white supremacy. While women of color are in search of recognition and liberation due to feminist standards, they must overcome gender parity within their own gender. This research will demonstrate how women of color have to seek for equal opportunities within their own gender and opposite gender. Generally, the women class is treated as minorities in modern society, but white women are above women of color, although the class is by oppressed by white men. With gender parity, already being an issue throughout the existence of mankind, racial parity within that gender is even worst. Instead of coming together to equalize their rights with men, white women are deteriorating women of color because they are aesthetically superior to women of color. The following plays Funnyhouse of a Negro by Adrienne Kennedy and Venus by Suzan Lori-Parks, illustrates and addresses these issues …show more content…
Although racism is generally over, there’s this notion that white people are typically superior to black people. Although women are considered as minorities, white women are favored in this society. White are portrayed as the ideal women which causes black women to use hair products or even whiten their skin. “The idea that for a black woman to be considered beautiful, she must wear fake hair. And for those who cannot afford human hair, there is always the synthetic option. No matter the choice, as long as a black woman is wearing fake hair, she passes the beauty yardstick. As if all this is not bad enough, some black women (and surprisingly some black men too) have fallen for the beauty myth that the lighter the skin, the more beautiful the person. To get this light skin they so desire, dark-skinned people bleach their skin with dangerous chemicals” (The Black Women and the Beauty Myth) It is safe to infer that black women are seeking the image of the ideal women. They are bleaching their skin which is as close as to the whites it could possibly get. They are wearing fake hair, so it could resemble the white women’s hair. Going back to Funnyhouse of a Negro, the protagonist, Sarah states “My mother looked like a white woman, hair as straight as any white woman’s”. And that ultimately demonstrates the conflict she has within herself. White women are the ideal women and black women idolizes that fallacy
The existing literature on ethnic and racial studies among African-Americans has focused on issues pertaining to beauty and body politics especially on natural hair. Spellers and Moffitt assert that the body politics that one assumes, guides how one relates to a particular political ideology in a particular society. Black natural hair is considered as a way by which the true identity of African women can be understood (Jacobs-Huey). It is a symbol of power among black women; it influences how people are treated by others.
During the twentieth century, people of color and women, suffered from various inequalities. W.E.B. Du Bois’ and Charlotte Perkins Gilman (formerly known as Charlotte Perkins Stetson), mention some of the concepts that illustrate the gender and racial divide during this time. In their books, The Soul of Black Folk and The Yellow Wallpaper, Du Bois’ and Gilman illustrate and explain issues of oppression, dismissal, and duality that are relevant to issues of race and gender.
Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” discusses racism and how it still exists. Light-skinned people still dominate dark-skinned people and as a white American, it is quite an easy belief that anyone can pursue their dream career, and that if they don’t, it’s considered their own fault because they didn’t try hard enough. As a white individual, it is important to realize the advantages and privileges I have just because of my fair skin. Everyone must adjust his or her thinking in order to understand the secreted racism in society. I found it interesting how McIntosh created a harmless language that allowed whites to observe their role in society and how dominant their race is without them feeling uncomfortable or guilty.
African American women are considered the most disadvantaged group vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. Researchers have concluded that their racial and gender classification may explain their vulnerable position within society, despite the strides these women have made in education, employment, and progressing their families and communities (Chavous et al. 2004; Childs 2005; Hunter 1998; Settles 2006; Wilkins 2012). Most people agree that race and gender categories are explained as the biological differences between individuals in our society; however sociologists understand that race and gender categories are social constructions that are maintained on micro and macro levels. Historically, those in power who control the means of production within a society have imposed race, class, and gender meanings onto the minority population in order to maintain their dominant position and justify the unequal treatment of minority individuals by the divisions of race, class, and gender categories (Collins 2004; Nguyen & Anthony 2014; Settles 2006;).
On Being Young-A Woman-and Colored an essay by Marita Bonner addresses what it means to be black women in a world of white privilege. Bonner reflects about a time when she was younger, how simple her life was, but as she grows older she is forced to work hard to live a life better than those around her. Ultimately, she is a woman living with the roles that women of all colors have been constrained to. Critics, within the last 20 years, believe that Marita Bonners’ essay primarily focuses on the double consciousness ; while others believe that she is focusing on gender , class , “economic hardships, and discrimination” . I argue that Bonner is writing her essay about the historical context of oppression forcing women into intersectional oppression by explaining the naturality of racial discrimination between black and white, how time and money equate to the American Dream, and lastly how gender discrimination silences women, specifically black women.
...nd attractive. It creates a double consciousness that is difficult to reconcile. Carla Williams argues that “given the legacy of images created of black women… it is an especially complex task for contemporary black women to define their own image, one that necessarily both incorporates and subverts the stereotypes, myths, facts and fantasies that have preceded them. (Wallace-Sanders et.al, 196) The root of the problem lies within our society. While very culpable, mainstream music and advertisements are not the only promoters of female objectification; the key is unwinding the inner tensions between these two groups. There is a need for the promotion of female solidarity, regardless of their skin color. We need to rid society of the evil of racism—only then will conceptions surrounding African Americans parallel and be as positive as those surrounding white women.
According to Essed, racism and sexism “intertwine and combine under certain conditions into one hybrid phenomenon." Essed, (1991) Pulling these -isms apart, racism is a system that gives advantages to member of a certain race, or individuals who are perceived to be a part of that race, while simultaneously giving disadvantages to individuals who are not members of that race. Sexism is a system that provides advantages and disadvantages on the basis of sex. Gendered racism differs in that it pertains specifically to racial and ethnic understandings of masculinity and femininity, as well as along gendered forms of race and ethnic discrimination. Both of these constructs make up the individual’s identity, and they intersect one another. Because people have social identities that intersect, it is important to focus on how those identities shape an individual’s experiences.
Gordon, Maya. "Media contributions to african american girls' focus on beauty and appearance: exploring the consequences of sexual objectification." Psychology of Women Quarterly 32.3 (2008): 245-256. ERIC. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
It is essential to recognize the relative perception of beauty products and hair treatments for different ethnic groups at the time in question. For the white consumer, the use of makeup was the major issue; the disreputable view of the painted lady had to be overcome. The black woman had a more complex situation regarding the products being offered. Hair-straightening and skin-lightening products could be viewed as an attempt to seem more white, and use of these products was thus charged with racial overtones within the black community.
Hunched low, they are vulnerable and insecure. They are grandmothers, aunts, mothers, wives, lovers, friends, sisters and children. Although they span a wide range of years and roles, a common thread is woven through all of their lives, a thread which confronts them day in and day out. This thread is the challenge they face as minority women in America to find liberation and freedom from
In all societies around the world, women are treated as if they are a minority group, just like any racial or ethnic group that is out of the norm. The justification for considering women as a minority group and the existence of sexism becomes clear through the examination of social indicators, including education, employment, and income.
The issue of gender inequality will never truly be solved in the United States. This arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through hormonal differences, chromosomes, and brain structures. Gender inequality is defined as unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on gender. One of the reasons for gender inequality is income disparities. Another reason is because of the positions in the workplace. Thirdly, the reason is because of beliefs that one another has. For these reasons is why these situations should be examined to get to the root of the problem.
Almost 250 years of slavery and anti-blackness within the United States has created a divide in what type of hair is acceptable. According to Cynthia L. Robinson, “Black hair texture is graded” (Robinson 2011). Precisely, this means that a Black woman has either good hair or bad hair. Good hair has a resemblance of European hair texture, meaning straight and wavy curls. Good hair also diminishes the look of African ancestry. Bad is the complete opposite. The texture is kinky, coiled, and thick, giving the appearance of short hair (Robinson 2011). Hair that bears a resemblance to Eurocentric beauty standards is more beautiful and makes the individual with that hair type more beautiful as well (Robinson
Within today’s society, the issue of equal rights and equal treatment of others is a heavily focused on topic. However, with time and effort by civil rights, the rift among gender and race have diminished compared to decades ago. This change in belief, from white male supremacy to diverse equality, was a turning point for the world. Decades ago women’s rights did not exist, they were not allowed to vote and were to become housewives while the husband worked to support the family. Within the last few decades, civil rights groups contributed their efforts to reduce both gender and racial stereotypes of both men and women.
Throughout history women have fought and struggled in patriarchal societies, which restrain them to certain gender roles and denied them basic rights, such as suffrage. In fact, women have suffered discrimination at all levels. In a long and exhausting battle, women have managed to conquer some equality through the power of strong female relationships. By working together in solidarity women have found the inner strength to fight back and achieve some equality. If the battle for equality has been extremely tough for woman in general, imagine the ordeal suffered by black women.