The Combahee River Collective was a black lesbian organization movement which strived to end the racial, sexual, and class oppressions that all women of color face. While trying to dismantle the interlocking system of oppression, these women faced obstacles brought upon by the systems of capitalism and imperialism. The term outsider within was introduced in Sabrina Alimahomed’s article, “ Thinking Outside The Rainbow: Women of Color Redefining Queer Politics and Identity.” Outsider within means being part of a community, organization, but being marginalized for reasons like race, gender, sexuality. For example, race creates outsiders within’s in the feminist movement, thus women of color experience multiple oppressions at once, unlike white …show more content…
Write an essay that explains and illustrates the significance of taking an intersectional approach to queer studies. Intersectionality is a theory which states that people have multiple identities and therefore belong to more than one community and thus experience multiple oppressions at the same time. Those who face multiple oppressions because of their layered identities are mostly queer women of color. Taking an intersectional approach to queer studies means exposing the inequalities and disadvantages that occur when people have multiple identities in order for transformational political work to happen. People of color, especially lesbian women of color experience this layered oppression. As stated in Sabrina Alimahomed’s article, “ Thinking Outside The Rainbow: Women of Color Redefining Queer Politics and Identity,” queer Latinas and Asian/Pacific Islander women experience marginality within the mainstream LGBT movement and their racial and ethnic communities. For queer Latinas and Asian/Pacific Islander women, race creates another layer of oppression, while white women use their race as a form of power and privilege. As stated in Audre Lorde’s article, “ Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” women of color are regarded as others and not important when it comes to white feminism. White women ignore their privilege of being white, and instead of focusing on how women are oppressed based on differences of race, sexuality, class, and age, they just focus on being oppressed as women (Lorde 3) . They fail to understand or even want to comprehend the struggles of women of
Some may live through being sexually abused, live in extreme poverty, or even fall victim of being physical or verbally abused. Whatever the reason is, this book shows an outlet for these struggles. The only way we can help others fight these intersectionality issues is by knowing your privilege and using it to help the oppressed with no voice. In Brittney Cooper’s article “Feminism’s ugly internal clash: Why its future is not up to the white women” she states that “the future of feminism is not up to the white women. Not by themselves anyway”.
The predominant ideas put forth in the piece from the Combahee River Collective were those that addressed the shortcomings of the feminist movement to include all women and to address the full range of issues that oppress individuals and groups of people in our patriarchal society. This greatly furthered my ongoing development and understanding of what intersectionality is, what its goals are, and how it can help everyone instead of the predominately white, cisgendered, heterosexual, upper middle class women that composed and continue to compose a large portion of the feminist movement. One of the biggest shortcomings that are addressed in this piece focused on the racism within the feminist movement and its limited or even minimal efforts
Osh, a character from Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk, would be the best partner on a deserted island because he is a strong caregiver, quick thinking, and resourceful. Osh has proved to be a strong caregiver, which makes him a worthy partner to be stranded on an island with. At this point in the story, Osh is talking to Crow about the challenges of raising her. He didn’t want Crow to be taken away from him so he would go above and beyond to keep her protected and content.
In “Coalitions as a Model for Intersectionality: From Practice to Theory,” Elizabeth Cole addresses how the intersectional approach should be utilized to form coalitions that seek to advance marginalized populations (1). However, unlike the feminist movement, that narrowly defined its goals and constituency, these newly formed coalitions should be broad based, incorporating diverse populations and directives. Moreover, the alliances can even be formed by seemingly unlike populations, which when analyzed through the intersectional lens, may share similar experiences and goals. In addition, by examining the numerous axis of gender, race, and other intersectional components, one can identify other similarities not previously recognized.
Black women are one of the most oppressed groups in the world. Black women have to deal with discrimination because of their race, and then on top of that, their gender. There are many movements/ideologies involved with the oppression of women, but there is one that really speaks in the interests of women of African descent. In the article “Africana Womanism: The Flip Side of a Coin,” Clenora Hudson-Weems discusses what Africana womanism is and how it relates to feminism/black feminism/womanism, Black male/female relationships, and the Black family dynamic. Hudson-Weems argues that Africana womanism is not an addition to feminism, womanism, or Black feminism, but instead it is an ideology for women of African descent to follow.
In the book brown girl dreaming Jacquline Woodson has a very troubled life in new york and a very hard time with her family because of this she is who she is today. In the book, brown girl dreaming the author Jacqueline shares a story of her life in which it tells a story where she starts her life as a newborn baby and her struggles in Ohio Greenville and New York. Jacqueline Woodson's family and life in New York shaped her identity because for her life in NY, she grew up there and was around many different types of people and for her family, it is because that is the group of people Jacqueline grew up around. Jacqueline Woodson's identity and who she is today were shaped by her life in New York. Because of Jacqueline's life in NY, she was
Family is what might have the greatest impact on someone's life and identity. In the memoir Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, she is an African American who grew up right after the Civil Rights Movement in the south. She went through a lot because of her race and her family was able to help her get through it. She also moved around a lot as a kid, which affected her a lot because she was with different family members every time she moved.
In “Invisible Black Women Leaders in the Civil Rights Movement: The Triple Constraints of Gender, Race, and Class,” by Bernice McNair Barnett, Barnett explores the intersectionality of race, gender, and class and its effects on African American women and their unique experience in the Civil Rights Movement. During the Civil Rights Movements, women were allowed to participate, and they even played essential roles that helped to further the movement. From helping to organize the famous Bus Boycott, raising money, and initiating protests, black women in the Civil Rights Movement had a significant hand in creating one of the social movements. However, because of their gender, African American women weren’t allowed to receive any recognition for
1.The theory/concept of intersectionality is a theory centered around oppression, domination and discrimination through various mediums from the social and cultural elements of society. The theory can be applied in many ways toward women as well as their involvement in the criminal justice system. Some forms of discrimination that is more prevalent in perceiving the individual is using a woman's status, race, sexual orientation, ability and age, however there can be more added to this list. The wiki article said “The theory proposes that we should think of each element or trait of a person as inextricably linked with all of the other elements in order to fully understand one's identity.”
Intersectionality is defined by social categories, such as race and gender that have interconnected to apply to individuals and groups, causing an overlap, which has consequently created a system of discrimination and disadvantages Kimberle Crenshaw coined the term in her article ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Anti-racist Politics’ (1889). Intersectionality can be recognised in many iconic Disney films such as, Cinderella, snow white. Aladdin and little mermaid. All these well-known movies provide societal intersections. This can be addressed through the protagonists and princesses ethnicity of being white, with Disney only recently introducing a black princess, in 2009.
As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.
I define intersectionality as having different life experiences and multiple identities that intersect. For example, the EOP program here on campus helps students who are first generation college students. They often have specific needs and obstacles. These students are sometimes below the poverty line. These two identities intersect because having family members who have never been to college often results in making less money which limits the chances of their children going to school.
Audrey Lorde once said “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” I use this quote to introduce my concept of intersectional feminism, Audrey Lorde captured the idea very well. My interpretation of this quote is Lorde focusing on how even women vary in race, religion, sexual orientation and this difference is a woman’s “shackles” which holds her back from being seen as equal. It focuses on how women should not ignore what makes them different, but acknowledge this difference to work together as a feminist community. This brings light to the idea of intersectionality, described as “a framework in which to understand that systems of power and oppression and social identity categories are overlapping, interconnected, and simultaneous”(Lecture Week 3).
Kareen Harboyan English 1C Professor Supekar March 15, 2018 Word Count: Crenshaw’s Mapping the Margins: The Marginalization of Women of Color Analyzed Through Generalization and A Feminist Lens Crenshaw's Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color expands on the multifaceted struggles of women of color and the generalizations ingrained in society that limit women of color and keep them in a box. In this text, Crenshaw builds on the concept of intersectionality which proposes that social categorizations such as gender and race are intertwined and have great influence on one another.
Intersectionality thus highlights the ways in which one’s social context is affected by one’s social identity- which this, your social identity has the ability to either privilege or oppress. For example, an English-speaking individual will experience privilege in an English dominated society, and a homosexual individual will most-likely experience oppression in a heteronormative society. Intersectionality is thus a concept which can be used to expose the ways in which privilege functions in a