People of color homosexuals, and poor people are viewed through the lenses of old racist, sexist, and classist prejudices. However, we — the young men and women of today — can transition to a new outlook that is all inclusive, welcoming and constructive through intersectionality. We hold the power to alter what is and is not considered acceptable today; So, why do we allow prejudices from the past to control how the people of today are Viewed? Intersectionality helps us to understand and respond to the ways that gender identity, race, age, and sexual orientation intertwine. The reading that I chose is: The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master‘s House. In this article, Lorde puts an emphasis on: the lack of representation for multiple different groups of women, racism, homophobia, and many other important topics. These topics are very relevant to the understanding of intersectionality because they show how gender, race, class, and sexual orientation intertwine with one another.
In the text. Lorde discusses the lack of representation for Black women. lesbians. poor women. and third world women at the conference she is attending. However. she mentions that she is a “black lesbian feminist”; Therefore, there is some representation for black women and lesbians, but still not an adequate amount in comparison to the representation of white women (Lorde, Freedman, Taylor, Whitter, 8: Rupp, 2007). Black women, homosexual women and poor women are often forgotten about, or disregarded when it comes to the little things in life; these little things have become what is “normal” or expected for white women, straight women, and rich women, Women of color tend to experience more than one form of oppression at any given time. They often experience both racism and sexism. while white women generally only face sexism. Offering support to this claim Sabrina.
Alimahomed stated, “Women of color who pointed to the ways they experienced multiple oppressions simultaneously, contrary to the experiences of white women gender was often their primary and only concern.”. Black, homosexual women experience racism. and sexism as well as a different form of oppression: homophobia Homophobia is “culturally produced fear or prejudice against homosexuals the sometimes results in bullying, and violence. “They endure the stares of people as they walk down the street with their girlfriend, disapproving noises or dismissive nods in their direction. Every day they get up knowing that someone is going to have a problem with their lifestyle for no reason In addition, she talks about the relationships between women and how we feel the need to nurture each other, The article also states that maternity is the only social power available to women within a patriarchal structure.
This view seems to be only within a patriarchal structure because it is designed in a way that prevents women from having any sort of authority or power. Napikoski and Lewis offer suppon to this claim. stating that patriarchal structure or patriarchal society “consists of a male-dominated power structure throughout organized society and in individual relationships” (2019). In a similar topic, Lorde states “Women of today are still expected to educate men on our existence and needs.” I think that women are expected to educate men on our existence and needs simply because some men don’t care enough to leam on their own Using an intersectional approach in the creating of this paper was essential to produce a more effective analysis because it allowed me to comprehend what I was reading.
The intersectional approach helped me connect the dots. It also, was really beneficial in a sense that it prevented a good bit of bias, because I was learning how to use intersectionality. This approach assisted me in widening my knowledge on these topics. This paper covers many topics in relation to intersectionality. It discusses the oppressions that women of color face. as well as the lack of representation for women of color. lesbians. and third world women It addresses the gap between what is and is not acceptable In the beginning of this paper I asked a pressing question. This question was “Why do we allow prejudices from the past to control how the people of today are viewed today?”.
The answer to this question is that we allow those prejudices to control the present because that is what we have been taught to do, and it isjust easier to do as you are told than it is to push against the flow, From early childhood, to even now a lot of parents force their opinions and beliefs onto their children Very few households promote individual thought processes, and this is why we allow prejudices from the past to control how the people of today are viewed. Yes, we do have the power to alter the way that people are viewed, but no one wants to be the person to stand up first. Therefore, the likelihood of us ever using that power is very slim.
