Dorothy Smith Bifurcation Of Consciousness

In Dorothy Smiths reading, one of her many concepts mentioned in the textbook included her concept of bifurcation of consciousness. The concept of bifurcation of consciousness refers to “ a separation or split between the world as you actually experience it and the dominant view you must adapt.” (562) In Smiths feminist standpoint, women are constrained to view the world from a “masculine” perspective, that being the dominant view. It’s basically the detachment of knowers from what they know. Smith relates this concept in the text book to her personal experience of living in both worlds, the masculine and the housewife. She describes the role of being a housewife/mother and also her occupation, yet she mentions that she was unable to relate

I recall in Du Bois reading last semester, how African Americans are able to see themselves in the perspective as a “negro” and as an American. They are gifted to see themselves not only as of who they are but also as how the rest of the white people see them. Since “Negros” live in a world were they are not easily accepted by the white society, it constructs a dispute between the obligation to find ones place in this society and the impulse of not wanting to ones self. The similarities are very obvious when woman in this world must adjust to the “rules of game” as mentioned on page 563. For example, women who are in “masculine” (men) occupations must adapt to the dominant group. I believe and agree with Dorothy Smiths concept bifurcation of consciousness; it is something that is seen in society until this very day. Smith’s mission is to construct a sociology that will regain the voice of those individuals that are deprived in this society. In a like manner, feminist Collins asserts that sexism, class oppression, and racism are inextricably bound

In the textbook, Collins presents the differences between what it means to be a white female versus a black female. She notes there’s a different gender construction for different races. Additionally, Collins “ maintains that the experience of multiple oppressions makes black woman particularly skeptical of and vulnerable to dominant paradigms of knowledge and thus more reliant on they’re own experiential sources of information. Black woman come to voice and break the silence od oppression by drawing both from their own experience and from the collective secret knowledge generated by groups on either side of power.” (575) In short, Collins explains how black feminist have a history of resisting and continue to resist oppression. The connection between the concepts of these feminists is to draw the attention to the unjust treatment, relating it to their personal lives. They also present the reader with a second