Introduction
The following is in fitting with the requirements of the take home exam for SOWK505, Spring-- 2015. The topics of black feminism and intersectionality will be discussed in section one, based off of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. In section one the author will relate said topics to past concepts of what it meant to be black, and what it means to be black in the 21st century. The topic of LBGTQI youth will be explored in section two, specifically central identity formation issues in terms of empowerment theory. In section two the author will demonstrate how LGBTQI youth may be helped to rise above challenges which are central to their current standing and perception in society.
Section One: Black Feminism and Intersectionality
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Considering the time in which Ms. Truth lived, her remarks were seen as taboo. Truth was a former slave who, until the age of nine, spoke Dutch. She traveled around the country speaking and singing the message of women’s rights. The speech was given during the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Truth took to the stage after several clergy members had spoken of women and men in terms of rights and their respective place in society. Though slavery had been abolished in Truth’s native New York under the Anti-slavery Law, which was passed in 1827, blacks were still not seen equal to whites in the Northern states; therefore Truth’s appearance and subsequent speech was looked at as radical by many of the …show more content…
One central concept ties members of this community together besides their sexuality being counter to heterosexuality, and that concept is identity development. Stage three of the Cass’s (1979) Model of Gay/Lesbian Identity Model speaks to the contradiction a person feels inside in regard to trying to find others like themselves. A LGBTQI youth is usually living a dual life, where they are starting to engage and enjoy what is becoming more and more their true selves, yet sustaining their heterosexual appearance in the public arena (Cass, 1979). Simultaneously, they are gradually experimenting with distinguishing the dissimilarity in heterosexuals and their identified sexuality Cass, 1979). For those who advocate on behalf of LGBTQI youth, it is vitally important to have readily available resources and programs with the expressed goal of assisting the person through this time in their lives, either through structured interventions or simple information about the community around them. Without positive social interactions with other members of the community, the youths may isolate, causing them to not realize their full potential and the human right of
Mercer, L. R. & Berger, R. M. (1989). Social service needs of lesbian and gay adolescents. Adolescent Sexuality: New Challenges for Social Workers. Haworth Press.
Interstitial politics, defined by Kimberly Springer as a “politics in the cracks” is also a key element in intersectional analysis. As Black feminists it’s our job to locate places of contradiction and conflict, because in working alongside these sites of power and gatekeeping, we can achieve a better knowledge of how they operate as well as develop strategies to dismantle them. This embracing of sociopolitical dissonance embodies the spirit of dialectical practices in Black feminism. In the chapter “Distinguishing Features of Black Feminist Thought” Patricia Hill Collins emphasizes that
The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.
Beale, Frances. "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female." An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought. New York: New, 1995. 146. Print.
Sojourner Truth was a born slave named Isabella, delivered her speech at a woman’s convention in Ohio in 1851. Women’s rights were a big issue but Black Women’s rights were in worse condition. She stood for feminism, racial equality and religion. She supported freedmen and corner preached about Evangelism after she understood the bible and Christianity more.
Truth was an amazing woman who fought for what she believed in and never gave up. One of the things she strongly believed in was women’s rights. Truth wanted equality for all women, black and white. One of the reasons Truth gave in a speech about women’s rights was that when she was a slave she worked alongside men, plowing,husking,chopping,and mowing. So what makes her any different from them?Truth traveled all over to give these incredible speeches and without her, gender inequality might have still been around today.
It was said, “New York was Truth’s Egypt”. In a short amount of time Truth became the national symbol for black women (Painter, 5). Truth was a slave in Ulster County, New York but was freed in 1828. That was the year that she had her command from God, it was he that told her to preach about her beliefs and equality. She told people that God was only looking for people who show love and concern for others and this is why she must continue to preach (Encyclopedia, 474).
Sojourner Truth was a Civil Rights Activist, and a Women’s Rights Activist 1797-1883. Sojourner Truth was known for spontaneous speech on racial equal opportunities. Her speech “Aint I a Women? “Was given to an Ohio Women’s Rights convention in 1851. Sojourner Truth’s was a slave in New York, where she was born and raised and was sold into slavery at an early age (bio, 2016)
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.
The way humans look externally and feel internally has been a barrier and the kernel to many of America’s social conflicts. Audre Lorde’s essay, “Eye to Eye: Black Women, Hatred, and Anger,” attempts to answer why Black women feel contempt among one another. It resonates that Black women, in lieu of their hatred for each other, should replace it by bonding together because they share the same experiences of being women and Black. In the essay titled, “Colorblind Intersectionality,” penned by, Devon W. Carbado seeks to expand the definition of “intersectionality,” which is a theory Professor Crenshaw initially introduced as a, “Drawing explicitly on Black feminist criticism,” (Carbado 811). Carbado is able to provide other forms of intersections by
The speech was written because of its power and influence on the movement and the language and strategies she utilized played a huge role in it. Sojourner used her experiences as an enslaved woman and mother to build a connection with her audience. Black men in the audience could relate to her struggles as a slave and white women as a mother. Sojourner had showed her audience that a person can experience multiple systems of oppression and their presence should not be erased. Sojourner also repeatedly asked “and ain’t I a woman?” after her every rebuttal of sexist and racist stereotypes of women, which arguably was directed to the white women in the audience. The women’s rights movement solely focused on the experiences of white women under male dominance. By highlighting her experiences as a black woman and following it with asking “and ain’t I a woman?” Sojourner is calling out white feminists on their shortcomings. The movement would not be for women’s rights when it only advocates for the rights of white
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.
Truth mentions that a man said that “women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere.” She declares none of these acts have happened to her. She states she “could work as much and eat as much as a man - when [she] could get it - and bear the lash as well!” She also says she’s had thirteen children, most of them sold off as slaves. She spoke that “when [she] cried out with [her] mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard [her].” All of her statements end with “ain’t I a woman?” Her statements show how men say they should treat women, but do not uphold black women to these treatments. Truth shifted her speech towards religion after an audience member said women could not have as many rights as men because “Christ wasn’t a woman.” She mentions that the first woman “was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone,” and women should be able to fix it. She ended her statement by telling the audience that women are asking to fix it, and men should let them. Truth’s speech was an empowerment to change democracy. The speech helped to tell people at the time that the government, vested in the people, should not dismiss a woman’s thoughts or opinions because of her
The debate over homosexuality as nature or nurture dominates most topics about homosexuality. People often confuse the nature/nurture issue with the development of gay identity. In fact, the nature/nurture argument plays a small, insignificant role concerning gay youths (Walling 11). Homosexual identity is the view of the self as homosexual in association with romantic and sexual situations (Troiden 46) Many researchers have either discussed or created several models or theories concerning the development of homosexual identity. However, the most prominent is Troiden’s sociological four-stage model of homosexual identity formation. Dr. Richard R. Troiden desc...
Huegel, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens. Vol. 1. Free Spirit Publishing, 2003. 1 vols.