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Kimberlé Crenshaw (1991) does not explicitly define intersectionality in Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence against Women of Colour. She does however, speak about the shortcomings in current social justice approaches when discussing the unique effects of oppression on women of colour. Crenshaw (1991) states early into her article, that “the problem with identity politics is not that it fails to transcend difference as some critics charge, but rather the opposite – that it frequently conflates or ignores intragroup differences” (p. 1242.) This generalization and ignorance of differences in marginalized and racialized groups is troublesome, as ethnicity and socioeconomic status also contribute to unique
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Analysing scenarios from an intersectional perspective involves contextualizing the experiences of people from a critical lens, and paying special attention to the structures and societal norms that cause intersectional issues (Crenshaw, 1991). One such example that Crenshaw (1991) provides, in regards to women suffering from domestic abuse, is that “many women who seek protection are unemployed or underemployed, and a good number of them are poor” (p. 1245). Crenshaw (1991) goes on to criticize how shelters only pay attention to the abuse itself, and not the structures and societal mechanisms that put poor women in subordination. This is a great example of thinking from an intersectional perspective, and she elaborates further when discussing abuse in regards to women of colour. Crenshaw (1991) states that, “many women of color, for example, are burdened by poverty, child care responsibilities, and the lack of job skills” (p. 1245). She discusses discriminatory practices in the housing and employment markets as being key factors for women of colour experiencing higher levels of poverty (Crenshaw, 1991). Crenshaw (1991) then notes how high unemployment rates in racialized communities also mean that women of color who are victims of violence may have less opportunity to stay with friends or family, since they too have a higher chance of poverty and unemployment. These …show more content…
Mike Tyson garnered support from the black community in the trial, as black men have throughout United States history been falsely accused of raping white women (Crenshaw, 1991). Crenshaw (1991) critiques this stance, stating “the fact that Black men have often been falsely accused of raping white women underlies the antiracist defense of Black men accused of rape even when the accuser herself is a Black woman” (p. 1273). Combining this with the already biased U.S justice system, when in the case of rape, it is very hard for victims to win a case, and with the fact that Desiree Washington is a black woman (Crenshaw, 1991), it made it nearly impossible for Tyson to walk out with charges. One such issue that Crenshaw (1991) does not mention when speaking on Tyson is the fact that he is a wealthy man with popularity and prestige, and thus he has mechanisms of racism working against him, while also having his privilege gained through wealth and prestige working for him. With this case in mind, it is important to understand that structural and institutional factors of intersectional discrimination have real implications for real people, and are not simply theoretical
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.
The theory of intersectionality is one put forth by the feminist theorist known as Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw developed this theory as a critique to what she called a single-axis framework. A single-axis framework is one that considers an issue, be it feminist or otherwise, as a product of a single aspect. To be clearer, and to provide an example, a single-axis framework would consider the experiences of a woman of colour as either those experienced by an individual of colour, or those experienced by a woman. Crenshaw introduced the concept of intersectionality to explain that some experiences are unique to those who fall under a combination of these categories. In her article, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex”, Crenshaw describes intersectionality as “the combined effects of practices which discriminate on the basis of race and on the basis of sex” (385).
Understanding one another starts with understanding the various social intersections that make up our identities. Intersectionality, a concept developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw, analyzes how aspects of social location (gender, race, class, age, etc.) intersect and are linked, thereby creating multiple identities that relate to systems of oppression and marginalization (Carbado, Crenshaw, Mays, & Tomlinson, 2013). In this paper, the theme of intersectional identity will be explored using Janet Mock’s (2014) story as a case study, based off her book, Redefining Realness. Moreover, there will
“[T]he cage may or may not be specifically developed for the purpose of trapping the bird, yet it still operates (together with the other wires) to restrict its freedom” (Alexander, 184). This metaphor used by Michelle Alexander gives a good basis on the idea of intersectionality within feminist theory. What Alexander has stressed hugely in ‘The New Jim Crow’ is the idea of racial hierarchy, which bell hooks also stresses in her chapter Men: Comrades in Struggle in her book ‘Feminist Theory: from margin to center.’ She discusses the hierarchy of men and women while also discussing race. She claims that the history of the feminist movement has not wanted to “acknowledge that bourgeois white women, though often victimized by sexism, have more
...mestic violence become homeless, their social economic status begins to decline. Going from a potentially middle class lifestyle they must resort to living in a shelter or on the street, simply because they are mentally or physically unable to find work due to the abuse they have experienced. As individuals lose their social economic status the social gap between the rich and the poor grows inevitably. The widening social gap can lead to discrimination and disparities such as growing food insecurities which can be described as the struggle for poor and homeless minorities to obtain food. The result of homelessness due to domestic violence will, negatively affect interaction between individuals, consequent to the social gap that will detach the victims of violence from their desired social economic status.
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;).
Rather than approach domestic violence as a direct cause of homelessness, one might hope to understand how such violence could help create the circumstances that might make a woman more susceptible to homelessness. Domestic violence and poverty may intersect with other issues to produce the circumstances that often leave women no other choice but to seek temporary shelter for the short-term, and therefore remain precariously housed.
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.
A newspaper came out that was titled “After the Verdict, the Doubts; Black Women Show Little Sympathy for Tyson’s Accuser”. In the article, there was a Black female close to Washington’s that also blamed the raping on her. She said “Eighteen-year-olds are not naive in this day and age, I know what guys want at 2 o’clock in the morning. Where has she been, living in a closet? … Even if he did do it, I feel no sympathy for her” (Gillium, 79). She was also accused of breaking a pageant rule that was put in her place for protection, Kevin Brown stated that if she had followed the rules, this whole thing would have not happened. Washington then categorized as a gold digger. She was also categorized as a sellout by the community, and if she in fact had been raped she should have been quiet about it in order to protect Tyson. During the trial, Washington was subjected to racist and sexist maltreatment. Washington was isolated by the public and dehumanizing comments made by Tyson were ignored. Washington was left to suffer alone and in silence while Tyson was defended by the public despite his history of objection and abuse of women
A great example was given the essay, “Forget Me . . . Not: Marion Jones and the Politics of Punishment,” Delia informs us that, “If a white man disobeys the laws he's classified as law abiding and virtuous, but when black women they are upheld as a threat to american cultural values. “Judge Karas, delivers an unfair and biased statement on why Marion deserved her time in prison. He’s aware that athletes in society have this prestige status, not only do they entertain, they also inspire young children. He punished Marion, “because of the need for general deterrence and the need to promote respect for the law.” Yet, his statement is very contradicting having in mind that other male athletes are getting away with using PED’s. The judge’s ruling meant that Jones would lose all that she gained because of the fact of her black femaleness. It’s very unfair and saddening that women in this case Marion, was punished unfairly due to her gender and race. William Rhoden, sportswriter said that the court historically does not have mercy on black people in America. Marion Jones is the first athlete to go to jail for lying about steroid
In our society of today, there are many images that are portrayed through media and through personal experience that speak to the issues of black motherhood, marriage and the black family. Wherever one turns, there is the image of the black woman in the projects and very rarely the image of successful black women. Even when these positive images are portrayed, it is almost in a manner that speaks to the supposed inferiority of black women. Women, black women in particular, are placed into a society that marginalizes and controls many of the aspects of a black woman’s life. As a result, many black women do not see a source of opportunity, a way to escape the drudgery of their everyday existence. For example, if we were to ask black mother’s if they would change their situation if it became possible for them to do so, many would change, but others would say that it is not possible; This answer would be the result of living in a society that has conditioned black women to accept their lots in lives instead of fighting against the system of white and male dominated supremacy. In Ann Petry’s The Street, we are given a view of a black mother who is struggling to escape what the street symbolizes. In the end though, she becomes captive to the very thing she wishes to escape. Petry presents black motherhood, marriage and the black family as things that are marginalized according to the society in which they take place.
Elsa Barkley Brown focuses on the intersectionality of being a black woman in America, in “What Has Happened Here?”. Black women experience different forms of oppression simultaneously. Indeed, racism, sexism, classism, as well as heterosexism, intertwine and form layers of oppression.
In the world of sociology and the studies of human interaction, the term intersectionality has been defined as, “the idea that various biological, social, and cultural categories – including gender, race, class, and ethnicity – interact and contribute towards systematic social inequality” (“Definition of Intersectionality – Sociology”). However, as Dr. White defined the term on the Spring 2014 Final Writing Assignment sheet, these categories that make up one’s identity can “intersect or interact in ways that can either advantage or disadvantage the person’s well-being and development” (White). In regards to the text, David M. Newman’s Identities & Inequalities: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, Newman progressively explores the concept of intersectionality throughout the entirety of the text, but he does not ever actually define the term itself. Although an exact, clear-cut definition of the term “intersectionality” has not been officially established, the concept of the term is fairly simple to understand. Every person has different social identities that they carry to their name. Intersectionality is simply an analysis of how those different identities play off of each other and how they affect the person they are describing.
Often identity is only thought of as a collection of individual characteristics that are independent such as sex, gender, race, class, sexuality, etc. Intersectionality is when these characteristics are transformed by one another and “tend to collapse into one another in the context of everyday life”. Dorothy Allison wrote Two of Three Things I Know for Sure where she explains aspects of her life through chronological stories revealing details and providing the reader with lessons she learned throughout her experiences. This book can be read with an intersectionality lens focusing on the moments or stories where gendered poverty shapes people’s experience of sex and sexuality as well as how gender, sexuality, and class transforms whiteness into a stigmatizing attribute rather than it’s usual power given attribute. Allison’s scene with her Aunt Maudy and the scene with her girlfriend both show intersectionality in different aspects and times of Allison’s life.
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