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Gender and sexual orientation
Gender and sexual orientation
Gender and sexual orientation
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Our world is constantly adapting to new morals, values, and societal norms; and with any new set of beliefs, many former negative outlooks on life cease to exist. With current laws in place that prohibit multiple areas of discrimination, and more individuals becoming accepting and understanding of the oppression that marginalized communities face daily, changes are being made. One of the most notable changes has been bringing awareness to the term intersectionality and the adoption and practice of intersectional feminism by many men and women around the globe. Unfortunately, intersectional feminism has not adopted by everyone, and our ability to rid the world of the multiple systems of oppression that plague our ever-changing society, is a …show more content…
Intersectionality, is the idea that an individual has a multitude of intersecting identities, like gender, race, and social class that support and construct one another and make a person unique (Ward). Although people share similar attributes, intersectionality allows us to recognize that minorities are wrongfully discriminated against for aspects of themselves that they cannot change or characteristics that they identify with strongly. Understanding gender oppression through the lens of heteronormativity is possible because of intersectionality. It helps us recognize toxic beliefs that makes it seem as though certain genders and sexualites need to behave and act a certain way in order to be accepted. Intersectionality helps people realize that there are numerous classifications that make us who we are and allow us to lives uniquely different lives, and by realizing that, we should become a more empathetic society who fights to change these
Its ability to hold all the power is what allows the dominant group to use systems of inclusion and exclusion when controlling a society. This includes how a person is categorized in order to maintain the status quo . This is key in understanding intersectionality because the dominant group created it. They are the majority, therefore, have a larger impact when influencing the social norms. Bromley comments on this by stating the power and surveillance are used to control actions in order to maintain communities . This is true and can be seen in instances of colonialism. Bromley puts in an example of colonialism and defines it as followed: “by which people, empire, nation, or state conquer, acquired, and control another people, their lands, culture, and wealth” . Examples of such includes the colonialization of Canada. The Natives living in Canada are seen to be discriminated by the Europeans in every way and are forced to coincide by their terms. The Natives are forced to be abolished from their lands and how they should be lived. This is a good example of the dominant group controlling and entire civilization and inflicting their own ideals to the society. Thus, the dominant inflicts intersectionality in order to assume power over
According to feminist Victoria L. Bromley, if feminism is about combating all forms of inequalities, including oppression, towards all social groups, then feminists must study how masculinity oppresses both men and women. Patriarchy, men’s powers and dominance, hegemonic masculinity, the idea that the “dominant group” in society is most powerful, and hyper masculinity, the exaggeration of the emphasis on male characteristics, all lead to oppression through multiple forms: privileges and unearned privileges, hierarchies of power and exclusion. Bromley argues that the feminist approach towards eliminating oppression, is to use an intersectional analysis, a theoretical tool used for understanding how multiple identities are connected and how systems
In the world of sociology and the studies of human interaction, the term intersectionality has been defined as, “the idea that various biological, social, and cultural categories – including gender, race, class, and ethnicity – interact and contribute towards systematic social inequality” (“Definition of Intersectionality – Sociology”). However, as Dr. White defined the term on the Spring 2014 Final Writing Assignment sheet, these categories that make up one’s identity can “intersect or interact in ways that can either advantage or disadvantage the person’s well-being and development” (White). In regards to the text, David M. Newman’s Identities & Inequalities: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, Newman progressively explores the concept of intersectionality throughout the entirety of the text, but he does not ever actually define the term itself. Although an exact, clear-cut definition of the term “intersectionality” has not been officially established, the concept of the term is fairly simple to understand. Every person has different social identities that they carry to their name. Intersectionality is simply an analysis of how those different identities play off of each other and how they affect the person they are describing.
The theory of intersectionality is one put forth by the feminist theorist known as Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw developed this theory as a critique to what she called a single-axis framework. A single-axis framework is one that considers an issue, be it feminist or otherwise, as a product of a single aspect. To be clearer, and to provide an example, a single-axis framework would consider the experiences of a woman of colour as either those experienced by an individual of colour, or those experienced by a woman. Crenshaw introduced the concept of intersectionality to explain that some experiences are unique to those who fall under a combination of these categories. In her article, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex”, Crenshaw describes intersectionality as “the combined effects of practices which discriminate on the basis of race and on the basis of sex” (385).
According to feminist scholar Victoria Bromley, intersectionality is a theory used by feminists that considers the intertwinement of systems of oppressions, intricate multiple identities of individuals, and social inequalities of society. Each of these factors influence the lives of humanity and have ultimately created a world where being different can either be a negative or positive thing. Through the use of expression and persuasion, Bromely argues that intersectionality analyzes the complexity of multiple identities and their interrelationships, the experiences and positionalities of those with multiple identities and their existence within the frameworks of power, which are systems of inclusion and exclusion, and hierarchies of privilege,
The identities have tended to be divided into some different categories, such as gender, race, and class, and these sources have been judged in the different ways. In other words, the different determinant factors of the individuality have been considered separately, and these components have been regarded as a unrelated simple category. Under these points of view, however, it is hard to recognize the problems of interrelated individual component of the identity. Thus, to solve the disregarding crossover point, the new theory of the “intersectionality” are essential. This essay explores the key definition of the “intersectionality” from the viewpoint of gender studies, and how the concept is connected with the social system and individual identity
“Imagine living in a world where there is no domination, where females and males are not alike or even always equal, but where a vision of mutuality is the ethos shaping our interaction. Imagine living in a world where we can all be who we are, a world of peace and possibility.” (Feminism is for everybody, page 8). This particular quote from the assigned reading really spoke to me. How amazing would it be to live in a world where no one group dominates another, or more importantly no one group discriminates one another. Obviously, just as bell hooks’ said following this quote, the feminist movement cannot do all of this alone. There are so many other things going on in the world that need attention as well, such as racism, class exclusivity, and imperialism. Over the past few years I have become more informed on the feminist movement and the assigned reading only heightened my
Intersectionality is complex. For example, I experience race differently as a black female than a black man does. And similarly, a white woman experiences sexism differently than me. Despite the four systems of oppression that were discussed, there are also many ways in which I am privileged. As someone who conforms to gender norms, is heterosexual, able-bodied, credentialed, young, middle class, and fertile, my standing in society is a lot higher than most. The unique thing about intersectionality is both the oppression and privilege have made me into who I am today and have ultimately changed me for the better.
Intersectionality is the feminist framework that overlaps gender, race, class, etc. in order to work toward equality and justice for all. Through the lineage of intersectional speeches/writing we can see how it is imperative for contemporary studies, how the current use of intersectionality differs from original intent, and how the application of the intersectional framework is used on contemporary feminist usage.
Intersectionality is a term used to describe a situation whereby an individual has multiple identities and as result, the person feels that he or she doesn’t belong to one community or another. Because of the many conflicts in an individual’s identities, he or she could be a victim of multiple threats of discrimination (Williams, 2017). The discrimination could be a result of race, gender, age, health and ethnicity among others. To give an example, a black transgender woman could be discriminated in the workplace because of being black and also because she is transgender. From an intersectionality perspective, the woman faces multiple threats of discrimination because of the overlapping identities of gender and race and therefore the transwoman faces a bigger struggle (Barber, 2017). Transwomen of color will most likely encounter prejudices in the form of homophobia, racism or sexism in many dimensions of their life. The perspective of intersectionality is not only applicable to women but it can also be applied to males. For example, a gay Latino man could be discriminated based on race because he is an immigrant into
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
Feminism is the movement for removing inequalities from society. Women imbued with a spirit of radicalism understand that a liberal feminist attitude, despite the seeming slowness of change that accompanies it, may transform a community more rapidly than a revolutionary approach that alienates those to be convinced and, thus, extinguishes the possibility of improvement. (Weaver 49) Feminists confront the problems of their society in hopes of altering society to be equal.
Intersectionality also known as intersectional theory originally was a theory which was encoded in feminism. Intersectionality was a term in which feminists developed to explain how they were being socially oppressed because they were woman, in particular this theory addressed issues of the women’s suffrage movement and women wanting to retain the same rights as their male counterparts. As time progressed it became more common to see see it branched out into multidimensional levels of institutions such as- race, class, sexism, culture, religion, and even biological transgender. Intersectionality by definition aims to analyze multiple identities exposing different types of discrimination and disadvantages that occur
Are there good (or bad) ways of being a feminist? Intersectional Feminism Carbado et al states that the theory of intersectional feminism and its application in America has been drawn from both black feminist ideologies and the theory of critical race. The concept has existed for as long as history records, with regards to oppression and marginalization of social groups, but only in 1989 had it been given a descriptive term through an essay by Kimberlé Crenshaw (Carbado et al 304). The term, intersectional feminism, was meant to refer to the current marginalization of sections of women in feminist theories as well as political theories and activities.
Intersectionality according to Patricia Hill Collins is the “theory of the relationship between race, gender and class” (1990), also known as the “matrix of domination” (2000). This matrix shows that there is no one way to understand the complex nature of how gender, race and class inequalities within women’s lives can be separated; for they are intertwined within each other.