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Essay on intersectionality
Essay on intersectionality
Intersectionality race class gender essay
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Real Women Have Curves, set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this is the story of five full-figured Mexican-American women who are racing to meet nearly unmanageable manufacture deadlines in order to keep their tiny factory from going under. While they work, hiding from the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), they talk, about their husbands and lovers, their children, their dreams for the future. The story is told from the point of view of Ana, the youngest among them. Just graduated from Beverly Hills High School, Ana dreams of getting out of her home and going off to college and becoming a famous writer. Although she needs the money, Ana doesn't like working at the factory with her mother or sister, and has little respect …show more content…
All young adults of Ana's age are at a crossroads, but for youth of color and low income, the choices are more limited and difficult than for the more privileged, like most of Ana's Beverly Hills classmates. The pressure is on the former to do what it takes to help their families financially. I felt this way at age 14. I wanted to quit high school to work in the fields, but my mother taught me a lesson. She made me work 10 hours a day except Sundays all summer, and by fall I begged to go back to school. She knew I would live a farmworker's life of poverty if I did not get an education. By contrast, Ana's mama strongly discourages her from applying for college, even dismissing her teacher when he comes to visit. Her mama can only envision the old Mexican traditional role of wageworker and housewife for her daughter, and constantly demeans her for her weight. Ana's self-esteem is strong, however, and she believes that she has value even if her amply curvaceous figure won't fit into the dresses that she, her mother and coworkers sweat to make in the sweltering, dimly lit garment factory. Her father, sister and grandfather provide the encouragement she lacks from her mama — who is also real-sized, and does suffer from a lack of
Pashtana said she would rather die than not go to school and acted on her words. Her education is limited and she doesn’t have all the recourses to make school easier, yet she still loves and wants all the knowledge she can get. While I sit in my three story private school, a clean uniform free of holes or loose seams, my macbook air in my lap, the smell of cookies rising up from the cafeteria, wishing to be anywhere else but there. No one has beat me because I want to go to school, no one has forced me into a marriage, I’ve never put my life in jeopardy for the sake of education. Pashtana’s life and choices made me take a moment to stop and reflect on my own life and how fortunate I am to have what I have. We dread the thought of school because to us it is a chore, it’s a hassle, it’s something that messes with our sleep schedule, it is something that gets in the way of lounging around and binge watching Netflix. Pashtana doesn’t take her school and education for granted because she does not have the same liberties we do. While we enjoy driving into the city and shopping over the weekend, Pashtana unwillingly makes wedding arrangements with her cousin. While we complain about our mom nagging us to clean our room, Pashtana is getting beaten by her father because she wants to learn more about the world. While we have stocked fridges and pantries and
Modern society believes in the difficult yet essential nature of coming of age. Adolescents must face difficult obstacles in life, whether it be familial, academic, or fiscal obstacles. In the House on Mango Street, Esperanza longs for a life where she will no longer be chained to Mango Street and aspires to escape. As Esperanza grows up on Mango Street, she witnesses the effect of poverty, violence, and loss of dreams on her friends and family, leading her to feel confused and broken, clinging to the dream of leaving Mango Street. Cisneros uses a reflective tone to argue that a change in one’s identity is inevitable, but ultimately for the worst.
Lola demonstrated the disparities of our school system, as she is from an impoverished neighborhood with a school that hindered the progression of her education. Lisa demonstrated how community influences individuals and impoverished communities often cause young members to perpetuate their parents socioeconomically situation. However, some influences, such as church communities, can have strong positive impacts on their lives. Both girls demonstrated the importance of guidance and advocate in one’s life. Lola through her troubles in the school system, and Lisa through receiving guidance through the church. Both girls have been greatly influenced by their parent’s socioeconomic status and restricted from their full potential, causing them to fall into only slightly better situations than their parents. They are prime examples of the cycle of issues in our society, and the reason that we need to make a
...eral topic of school. The sister strives to graduate and go to school even though she is poor while her brother blames the school for him dropping out and not graduating. “I got out my social studies. Hot legs has this idea of a test every Wednesday” (118). This demonstrates that she is driven to study for class and get good grades while her brother tries to convince her that school is worth nothing and that there is no point in attending. “‘Why don’t you get out before they chuck you out. That’s all crap,’ he said, knocking the books across the floor. ‘You’ll only fail your exam and they don’t want failures, spoils their bloody numbers. They’ll ask you to leave, see if they don’t’” (118). The brother tries to convince his sister that school is not a necessity and that living the way he does, being a drop out living in a poverty stricken family is the best thing.
Relating to Alvarez and her struggle is very easy and well known in every generation. Society puts a ridiculous high standard on outer appearances, especially for girls and women. Women grasp the perspective of the standards that are set and put them into drive. Women become stressed, emotional, and nutcases because they want to please others instead of pleasing themselves. In some cases, women have died trying to live up to these customaries, if not becoming dangerously ill. As a young lady, knowing what could happen, frightens but doesn’t phase me. Wi...
The portrayal of gender in this text shows the husband as the prime breadwinner of the household while the wife stays home to clean the house and tend for the children. This is clearly our traditional family lifestyle of a household. Now although this can be considered traditional, we clearly see this lifestyle outdated in our twenty-first century society today. The text is demonstrated to show the young daughter her place in society, and teach the young girl the everyday tasks she will need to know in order to run a household smoothly and successfully. It is also clear that the mother’s life reflects all of these ideals that a husband should be the one working and the wife is to be happy and content by taking great pride and satisfaction in the caring for her home. The mother also has strong view on the behavior for a women in society and throughout the story gives many warning on her daughters behavior such as “on Sundays try and walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming”. (Kincaid 56) This is a clear statement from the mother tha...
Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody" (Bambara 604)—offers an indication as to why she is so hard-pressed to concede her substandard socioeconomic standing in the larger scheme of things. Sylvia is forced to finally address the true state of her place in society, however, when she observes firsthand the stark contrast between the rich and the poor at a fancy toy store in Manhattan. Initially furious about the blinding disparity, her emotionally charged reaction ultimately culminates in her acceptance of the real state of things, and this acceptance in turn cultivates her resolve to take action against the socioeconomic inequality that verily afflicts her, ensuring that "ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin" (606). "The Lesson" posits that far from being insurmountable, economic and social injustice can be risen above, but it is necessary that we first acknowledge the role that it plays in our lives, and then determine to take action against it; indifference, and the inaction that it breeds, can only serve to perpetuate such injustices.
This essay discusses the ideal American body - meaning perfect weight, skin, hair color, etc. - all of what appears in a typical fashion magazine. Rodriguez, an eighteen-year-old Latina writes of her past in middle school. One day she found an ad stating that a model search contest was coming to Beverly Hills, only a two-hour drive from her hometown. Having always to fit in with her peers, she begged her parents to take her so she could show the agency that she had what it takes. After attending, she received a call stating that she was a runner-up in the competition and her parents beamed, enrolling her in modeling and acting courses. However, she was told that being a size seven and weighing 130 pounds, she needed to lose weight fast and drop down to the typical size three that the other models were. She was handed magazines such as Seventeen as motivation for what “real models look like.” This is an example of a binary present in America, which states that in order to be model material you have to be skinny and blond. Leaving depressed, she grew determined and decided to lose as much weight as she could, still knowing that she came from a line of wide-hipped Hispanic women. She soon developed a routine where all she did was work out and eat one meal a day, thus developing a severe eating disorder. This is yet another binary present in the US, that girls of color don’t develop eating disorders. Now, to break the binary, she goes to conferences and is a peer advocate to girls everywhere, speaking about what she learned and how powerful the media truly is for teens around the
Being a curvaceous young woman is hard enough. Especially when you’re trying to find love, you’re seeking approval and anticipating a better future for yourself. The film Real Women Have Curves stresses how important higher education is to a Mexican-American teenager and the wrath she endures from her mother because of her weight and aspiration. Mark Twain stated that, “Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great” (http://thinkexist.com/quotation/keepaway_from_those_who_try_to_belittleyour/215215.html). I believe I can personally relate to Real Women Have Curves, the reason being is because I’m a daughter, I’m overweight, and I’m seeking a post-secondary education. This is a synopsis of Real Women Have Curves; I’ll reveal why the film is so inspiring to me, I’ll give feedback from movie reviews, and I’ll use documents from my course’s textbook, to fully develop my ideas.
Many are confined in a marriage in which they are unhappy with, and are reductant to make a change. Some are committed to make a change for themselves. Esperanza ponders each one of these women's lives. Through each role model Esperanza gains crucial life lessons on how to overcome different life hardships. Through some women like her great-grandmother and Ruthie, Esperanza learns she must take control her fate, to avoid marrying young, and not let a male figure dictate her future. Other women like Alicia, Esperanza learns to keep pursuing goals in life and to take control of her destiny no matter what obstruction may lay ahead. From Esperanza’s role models, the moral lesson that can be taken away is to be proactive about your life and to shape your own future. Everyone is a role model to somebody in their life. Strive to leave a positive message behind for the ones shadowing in your
Mari and her family are in an unstable housing cycle, the family’s inability to afford their rent becomes clear and homelessness becomes one of the main points of Mari’s character. In addition to being a queer Latina, Mari belongs to a single-parent immigrant household and is dealing with an unsuccessful educational experience. Mari’s mother work long hours at a minimum wage job, and Mari feels a strong sense of responsibility to help financially. In Latino households, we are taught to place family above one’s self. The tradition of Latino teenagers hustling to help family stay above water is important. It
When April first moves in with the Dions, their generosity and love welcome April into their family and although she does not feel like a complete part to their family, she loves them and knows that is was loved back. During her time with them, her confidence begins to build. The Dions treat her just as they would their own children and celebrate her achievements with recognition and praise. April feels as an equal to other children and believes she has value which she later struggles with. She explains her confidence when, after the Dions celebrate her good grades she says, “For an eight year-old, I had a very large head for a while”(22). By saying this, April is identifying the fact that she knows she had high confidence in her self but after a while, that changed. Following this however, April’s life changes and her pride and self assurance begins to diminish. When April is moved to a second foster family the Derosiers, their neglect and abuse towards her cause her to feel awful about herself and her heritage. The family make April and later her sister Cheryl do all the chores, they beat them and they verbally abuse them with racist names and hurtful stories about their parents’ alcohol problems. This family’s treatment towards April and her sister only make her more ashamed and self conscious about her Metis background which has a lasting effect on her life as an adult. April’s phsycological well-being experiences many more difficulties as her life progresses that cause her self-esteem and identity to struggel due to society’s views and treatment of Metis women and
Sometimes growing up we experience situations that can change our perspective on life. Especially, when these situations happen unexpectedly; we are in disbelief. In Toni Cade Bambara short story “The Lesson” written in first person; it delves into the struggle of a girl, Sylvia, who realizes the economic and social injustice surrounding her. However, with the help of Miss Moore Sylvia comes to grip with this issue, and opts to overcome it. In “The Lesson” Miss Moore wanted to impart on Sylvia and the other children is the value of a dollar, the importance of education, and to fathom the social and economic injustice that bounded them.
Aside from the mother’s race and gender, her lack of education also plays a role in the hardships in her life. Hughes makes her limited education apparent in his use of her vernacular. Words like “ain’t” and “I’se” (MS lines 4, 9) symbolize the fact that Mother is from a Black background and she does not have sufficient education. These limitations, however, do not keep her from persevering and keeping a positive paradigm. She wants her son to realize that, though they may not have the best education or a more advantageous skin color, they must strive to overcome these hardships to reach their higher potential.
Beneatha is an intellectual, twenty years old, she attends college and is better educated than the rest of the women in the Younger family. Hansberry reveals Beneatha’s values regarding education. Beneatha believes in education as a means to understanding, idealism and self-fulfillment rather than money. Some of her personal beliefs and views have distanced her from Mama who is very conservative. She mentions to Ruth and Mama that she might not get married, a possibility that really shocks them because it is not within their expectations of a woman’s role. Beneatha’s dream to become a doctor was related to her desire to find her true identity, be a well prided, independent woman who could be free from the stereotypical house-working woman lifestyle and be successful without relying on a man. She was also an anti-assimilation idealist who was against embracing the white American culture and argued the need for African Americans to pride themselves on their heritage and celebrate it. Her solution and dream was to attend college initially, and become a doctor. Within...