Crenshaw's Mapping The Margins Analysis

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.

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

Integrating theory into social work practice is essential in defining why social work is needed and how to practice it effectively. This paper will discuss two theories; intersectionality and life course theory, as I believe that these two theories are collectively suitable and effective in interrupting the cycle of oppression. I will draw upon both my own experiences and literature to analyze the strengths and limitations of intersectionality and life course theory. This discussion will exemplify how intersectionality and life course theory enhance each other and can work synergistically to inform my social work practice.

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.

In “Intersectional Resistance and Law Reform,” Dean Spade proposes that the United States was founded through “racialization…(which) continues to operate under new guises… that produce, manage, and deploy gender categories and sexuality and family norms” (16). More over, these laws and norms tend to maintain the “status quo,” and employ an inherently flawed justice system that is only equipped to address single-axis discrimination issues (5). Thus, the intersectionality movement is largely dismissed by the social and justice systems, as it utilizes “critical intersectional tools… that are often (too) difficult for legal scholars to comprehend” (17). Interstionality’s progress is also impeded by advocates leaving to support single-axis issues. However, Spade warns that this approach is ineffective, as it fails to protect the most marginalized members of society.

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

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 book, “America Swastika: Inside the white power movement’s hidden spaces of hate” by Pete Simi and Robert Futrell, was written 2010. I chose this book because I am interested in learning about why these racist groups have so much hate towards another race or group. Personally, I do not condone racism because it does not make sense to me as to how one person can hate another one without knowing them. I wanted to learn about how people who are in groups such as, the Ku Klux Klan, live in our country which is identified as a melting pot. White power movements are talked about in our history books and are explained as if they are in the past, but they aren’t. We still deal with racism and hate in our country as stories about acts of hate crime

What was the message of the New Right in the 1980’s and to whom did they appeal?

Woman who are targeted because of their skin color or because they are immigrants coming into a country like America, in hopes of finding better, attempt to prosper in a cold world that values dirt more than they value them. Excluding women from certain health care facilities because they hold a green card, neglects them from being allowed the same equal rights as any citizen in the United States would have, is what especially hits hard for me. While reading “Invisible Immigrants” by Michelle Chen in the Reproduction and Society book, I was made aware of the drastic measures some women are forced to take in order to accommodate their health but I was also able to open my eyes and see what my reality could have been like had I not become a United

In addition, organizers should not utilize a “monolithic” approach, which can cause those “who occupy multiple subordinate identities…to experience a secondary marginalization (Cohen 1999) in which their interests are not addressed” (3). This is most evident in the feminist movement, which basically advanced the rights of white, upper class women, but failed to help women who were poor, black or lower class. Therefore, it is important to recognize that in a large alliance, there will be sub-populations and power struggles; nevertheless, an organization should foster goals that are inclusive and equitable. Moreover, according to Cohen, society is basically a “pyramid structure…so 90 percent of the world's population is (a) potential ally, (and) therefore it’s very important to think in a coalitional way and look at how these things intersect” (5). It is also essential to recognize that “social identities are not fixed” and that science’s “reliance on the null hypothesis” can be misleading (8,9). Thus, the author urges psychologists and sociologists to “develop a more sophisticated and interdisciplinary understanding of historical and sociological aspects of the social construction of race, gender, class and other categories of identity, difference and disadvantage” (10). By employing this intersectional methodolgy, society will be able to broaden these coalitions and begin to address the most marginalized of

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

The disregard for black women is an issue that is slowly becoming a topic of discussion. In addition to Malcolm X’s acknowledgement that “The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman”, Crunktastic writes in the Crunk Feminist Collections about her experience being a black woman and being disrespected. Both Boynton and Crunktastic write pieces that encourage men to put aside their feelings of entitlement and begin to respect black women. By doing so they will not only benefit themselves but the future generations as well, it will help in developing a new generation in which men can be vulnerable and women can be stronger and

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).