Gloria Anzaldúa And Audre Lorde: An Analysis

In this paper I am going to analyze how the media affects the gender stereotypes that the documentary Miss Representation addressed. I believe that, the media perpetuates harmful stereotypes to both men and women. In this paper I will argue that Audre Lorde would agree with my thesis but she would also believe that the minority needs to be looked at more as well. In this paper I will argue that Rebecca Walker would agree with my thesis.

This section on gender features a passage from the Honduran human rights activist, Elvia Alvarado titled, “Childhood to Motherhood.” Throughout the passage, Alvarado retells her experiences as a woman growing up and having to deal with a violent, alcoholic father, an absentee mother, and the constant repression of her womanhood by Honduran society. All the while, her life experiences reflect on topics such as class, machismo, and femininity.

It is impossible to discuss gender and the influences it has on one livelihood without acknowledging the other aspects of one’s identity. Other aspects such as race, class, and sexuality in combination with will always play a major role in one’s life choices and the way they are perceived by others. The term intersectionality as stated by Susanne Hochreiter offers a way to understand the multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed. Intersectionality explains why gender cannot be in isolation from other inequalities in the social world. As a black Haitian woman raised in America, it is clear to see that my identity occupies several spheres. The experiences of being a woman in Haitian culture often conflicts with that in of American culture. In Haitian, there are specific roles and social spaces that women occupy. Traditionally in Haitian culture women are the head of the household but still place their husband’s authority above them. Young Haitian girls must learn many things before they are considered young women in their society. These

Generally, women are grouped together, as stated by Lorde: “As women we have either been taught to ignore our differences or view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than forces of change (Lorde, 1979).” Despite the efforts to categorize women’s issues into one mass of problems, White women perceive the world differently than African American women, Hispanic women, Native American women, etc., and vice versa. This conglomeration of “women’s issues” does not address every aspect of being a woman in patriarchal and unjust societies throughout the world. Through

Collin further explains how she does not deny that any certain groups did not face oppression that is worse than another, as “lynching is certainly objectively worse than being held up as a sex object” (p. 455, Collins). She is simply arguing that we need to reconstruct our views on oppression, and focus on replacing judgements with new ways of thinking and acting. In the case of North Carolina and Mississippi and these laws which disregard gender identity and focus on sex, a new way of thinking about transgendered individuals is imperative to furthering understanding and lessening discriminatory practices and legislations. “Intersectionality” by Irene Browne and Joya Misra, is about the topic of intersectionality in our society and how it stands as a crucial concept when

As with all theories, this feminist approach to Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” does not come without its flaws. While it can be argued that this poem criticizes the performativity of feminine gender roles in a patriarchal society, this cannot be proven definitively without knowing the author’s original intentions. Furthermore, the poem does not give its readers enough information to conclude that the society the women live in is in fact a patriarchal society. This becomes evident, as there is no reference to any masculine figure – so any assumptions about the masculine-dominant culture are purely speculative. It is possible that Halfe wrote this poem in an attempt to challenge the gender binary, however one stands to question how successfully she is in doing so. In Butler’s theory, she introduces the idea that each woman’s feminism is her

Crenshaw’s Mapping the Margins: The Marginalization of Women of Color Analyzed Through Generalization and A Feminist Lens

Despite oppression women have always resisted. Women have resisted oppression in many ways. Women have responded to their multiple sources of oppression of sexism, racism, heterosexism and colonialism. Women resisted oppression by standing up for their rights. Women have been left out of the discussion of oppression for centuries. In a patriarchy society where males are the narrators and voices being heard, one is rarely educated on women struggles. In the Western world gender is a construct made to keep one group superior and the other inferior. Gender concerns what it means to be women or men in society. The traditional notion of gender is acknowledged to not be defined the same all over the world. The general concept of gender is challenged

A common lifelong struggle of humanity is finding oneself as well as one’s place in society. People struggle to define their identities on a global, local and personal level. For instance, a Mexican family is trying to create a living in America, while struggling for acceptance. As a member of the family, a young girl questions the true meaning of home. As she grows, she dreams of what the perfect home will be and also learns how to fight for her rights as a Chicana woman. Assisting in her journey of self discovery, the neighborhood residents allow her to experience different stories and understand the diversity in the world. Sandra Cisneros details this situation in her novel The House on Mango Street. Cisneros shows Esperanza’s coming of

Within societies, culture plays a huge role in shaping who a person becomes. What values they consent to and what would make them content and satisfied with life, otherwise said, happy. In a patriarchal racist community woman as a double minority suffer twice the burden of proving herself, defining her values, and finding what defines her. Some of these women choose to obey and submit and live life as given to them. Just a few stand up for themselves, speak up, fight toward their freedom and independence against all cultural norms and social constructions including race and patriarchy. Some people may suggest that in Zora Nelson Huston’s book Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie is in a continuous search for a true love. However,

Traditionally, women have been made to endure many problems and barriers that hinder their success. Women did not enjoy any rights in traditional society. A woman was neglected, isolated, and abused. Gender discrimination was common and women had their roles significantly reduced. Feminism has resulted in many changes in the society. Women can enjoy greater freedoms and greater rights compared to the traditional society that was characterized by discrimination and abuse. Feminism represents women fighting oppression and effecting various changes on their lives. Through feminism the social status of women has improved. When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost is a book written by Joan Morgan. In the book, she explores various issues facing African-American women in the society. A deeper analysis of the book reveals the important role played by feminism. Morgan uses her life experiences to explore the problems that face women. The paper analyzes the effects of feminism based on Joan Morgan’s When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost.

Director of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s (HEW) Population Affairs Office, Carl Shultz, estimated that the government funded 100,000 to 200,000 sterilizations in America, paralleling the 250,000 sterilizations that took place under the Nazi Regime (Davis, 129). In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the nation experienced a population scare after Professor Ehrlich proposed his theory of a “population bomb”, which stated that an increase in population would lead to food insecurity due to the environment’s inability to support such a large amount of people. (Put cite) The threat of overpopulation pushed the nation to increase birth control in the name of the public good. However, common fixed beliefs, called hegemonic ideologies, of hyperfertility

and institutional changes that we have encountered (O’Rand, 2012). More specifically, Riley’s new life course model is now “age-integrated” and “multiplex” (O’Rand, 2012, p. 199). This life course model also considers the opportunity and constraints different groups experience due to inequalities (O’Rand, 2012).

Gloria Anzaldúa was a feminist who speaks about her Chicana life during a time where Latinos in the United States struggled to find their identity and a language to speak without shame or fear. Anzaldúa targets Chicano readers who share her struggle in finding a clear identity and non-hispanic readers as well in order to gain knowledge about Chicano life. Her language is evidently important to her—and her mixed background makes her the person she is.

The meeting with the goddess also connects to the stage of temptation. However it’s not always the case. In The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, Fa Mulan falls into temptation to the point where the thought of her husband and son distract her from fulfilling her quest. She thinks about them so often that she gets caught off guard by the enemy and she doubts her abilities to fight. “However, if we approach women’s writing as centrally concerned not strictly with gender but with oppression, we can fully examine the conjuncture and relationship between female and ethnic identity.” Schueller, Malini. “Questioning Race and Gender Definitions: Dialogic Subversions in The Woman Warrior” Volume 31, No. 4 (1989) page. 421-437. Print. Schueller