Andrew Kimbrell's 'Masculine Mystique'

The “Rock Pile” by James Baldwin and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston are two stories that examined black male resistance to emasculation. The men in these stories lived in patriarchal societies, and they reaped the benefits of a structure that favored men. In both of these stories, the male characters are dominant figures in their households, and when they felt like their manhood was being attacked, they retaliate viciously.

According to (Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian); author of “Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change”; many of us feel overwhelmed when we consider the many forms of systemic oppression that are so pervasive in American society today. We become immobilized, uncertain about what actions we can take to interrupt the cycle of oppression and violence that intrude on our everyday lives. According to (Merriam Webster); oppression, is treating someone unjustly; or cruelly exercising authority or power; weighing down body and mind (www.merriam-webster.com).

The author seeks to bring to light the unfair treatment of the Negros by the whites in the places they live in. He also seeks to show that leaders only make empty promises to their people. Brutal cases are most among the Negros as they are attacked and their cases go unnoticed or ignored. Moreover the author wishes to show that the Negros are not treated equally as other residents of Birmingham.

Throughout our history our society struggles with inequality. Sexism and racism still addresses like class, gender or other dominating classifications a structural problem in our United States culture. In Jean Baker Miller’s essay “Domination and Subordination” she discusses the temporary and permanent inequality. Miller states that the temporary inequality is a relationship between a dominated individual who explains and is a teacher to the subordinated individual. In contrast her explanation of the permanent inequality is the relationship of different individuals who always will be unequal. In her discussion about the permanent inequality, she mentioned the dominant groups. Inferior groups are a lower part in our society, thus are judged

Three months ago, when I first identified myself as a critical thinker, it was one of the first times I have consciously considered my privileges and oppressions as they pertained to my identity as an able bodied, straight, middle class, light skinned, cisgendered, Mexican American woman. I briefly mentioned that although I am often mistaken as all white, I am actually also Mexican, and it was not until college that I became more interested to learn about this disclosed side of my family and their culture. My dad was also my mom’s step¬¬¬brother, and although he passed away over three years ago, his side of the family is still very much connected with my mom’s side because my grandma, and his father, remain married to this day. Because of this,

The story “The View from the Bottom Rail” is set at the time of the ending of the Civil War when slaves about to be freed from their masters. Knowing that the Union soldiers were close, the slave master would paint the soldier as “long horns on their head, and tushes (pointed teeth) in their mouths, and eyes sticking out like a cow!” (Davidson & Lytle, p. 177). Obliviously, this wasn’t true. With freedom coming, some slaves were still loyal to their masters. Yet, the slave masters still consider slaves to be the bottom rail of society. The bottom rail was considered the “lowest level of America’s social and economic scale” (Davidson & Lytle, p. 179). The slaves were portrayed to be dumb or stupid because state governments discouraged slaves

During this week, we have covered numerous topics, none more prominent than the oppression of women. Everyone had different opinions, allowing me to take into account different views on the issue. In one of the texts we examined, “Oppression”, Marilyn Frye, a philosopher, debates the subjugation of women. She states the cultural customs that causes oppression of women. I do agree with her view that women are oppressed, but I do not agree that it is just women. I believe that men as a gender are also oppressed.

In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women; men exert their authority over many women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority.

In Mapping the Margins by Kimberle Crenshaw, Crenshaw explains to the readers why women are more subjected to problems of violence. Race and gender have a huge part in this. Women of color, however, are more subjected to these type of things. Including rape, abusive relationships, homelessness, etc. Women of color are part of subgroups which increases their chances of being part of violence. Being part of the different subgroups prevents them from getting everything they need and want. They are burdened by lack of income and jobs. Without these essential things many of them will not be able to take care of themselves nor their family.

The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. Skeeter, a southern society girl, interviews the black women who have spent their lives being servants for wealthy white Southern families. There are various scenes throughout the film that show social stratification, racial inequalities, gender inequalities, and class inequalities.

At some point in an individual's lifetime, they will be faced with the judgement of race, class, and gender. These three classifications will cause people to be looked down upon, or become a praised individual. Also, you can receive unjust treatment in certain cases, such as someone thinking they are somehow better than another person. In “To Kill A Mockingbird”, there is a character by the name of Mayella Ewell, who is a poor, white woman that is abused. Mayella is a un-powerful character in the fact that she is a female, and she is very poor.

Within the context of African American literature, there is a common portrayal of a self-conscious narrator who takes on a quest for his or her own self-definition. This portrayal is frequently led by the so-called mulatto, a character of mixed background who is passing and has this ability to be able to cross over the coloured line to the white side. However, this white passing comes with a heavy internal conflict and this struggle for self-identity is captured in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. James Weldon Johnson epitomizes the struggles that a mixed-race protagonist would experience as he crosses the social boundary from the coloured side to the white side. Through this portrayal of a mixed race coloured man, Johnson is able to portray two well established literary troupes within African American literature: the tragic mulatto and the ex-slave narrative.

The strengths are that this reference does mention some very useful statistics and also the point of view of a black officer regarding racial profiling and traffic stops. A weakness is that an attorney is quoted, making a general statement that all police are racist, which is not accurate, however, it is prevalent. The main points are that Latinos and blacks are far more prone to injury/death at the hands of police in one particular coroner's office. Black leaders feel police should be able to carry out their jobs without violence. They feel it is not in their job description. It comes right out and states that police do use statistics that say which race is more likely to commit certain crimes, and they will look for those things when conducting traffic stops, which one black officer says he has no problem with. However, there's a point at which it becomes an abuse of power. Gail B Stewart, the author, received her undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College, and completed her

Society has a unique way of viewing women and labeling them as “submissive”. Even though there is a typical view of women, imagine having to deal with stereotypes for being a black woman in the time of slavery. The picture changes for a woman. First, she is no longer a woman but instead she is property in a man’s eye. Next, she is not assumed to be “weak” or “submissive” but she was told and taught that she and has no power or say so to change it. That is how Harriet Jacobs’s life was depicted in “A Perilous Passage in the Slave Girl’s Life”. Harriet Jacobs was the first black slave woman to stand and prove that she is not weak, submissive, or property. Jacobs did not do it just for the black women but as a black person

In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 1981 novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the narrative recounts the events leading up to the eventual murder of bachelor Santiago Nasar, a man accused of taking the virginity of the defrocked bride Angela Vicario despite the lack of evidence to prove the claim, and the reactions of the citizens who knew of the arrangement to sacrifice Nasar for the sake of honor. This highly intricate novella incorporates a range of literary techniques, all of which are for the readers to determine who is really to blame for Santiago Nasar’s death. Marquez uses techniques such as foreshadowing and the structure of narrative, along with themes such as violence, religion, and guilt to address the question of blame. Although Santiago