1
Moore
Marcus Moore
Women Of Color In USA
Julie Lewi
February 24, 2017 Sexualization & Sexual Exploitations Of WOC Although we live in the 21-century women of color across the United States, have been victims of one or more forms of discrimination. The fight to bridge the gender equality gap is a war that has been going on for generations. Women of color never had the gratification of being just a woman, for they are intertwined with issues of sexualization and sexual exploitation. The representations of the past and present frames WOC as sexualized objects. It’s part of a system of social disempowerment and victimization. It’s part of the larger picture of institutionalized racism that has great personal and
…show more content…
Saartjie was paraded all around London and Paris freak show exhibits. European whites never saw a black woman 's naked body before. European whites were left in awe at her large breasts and behind. White woman and men paid to see her naked body displayed in a cage. Baartman 's remains were the basis for scientific racism. Whites used her frame to produce a borderline separating the strange African female and typical European woman. Whites used her buttocks as the prominent highlight in projecting her like a savage. In animations and pictures, Baartman 's characteristics were often fabricated to emphasize the distinction separating European women. This social structure of visible representation likely magnified and reinforces racist perspectives. Since the invention of television, the media and film industry has contributed to sexually exploit, and oppress woman of color, not only in America but also around the world. There is a great focus on women of color as sexual targets. This is deleterious to society because the media are creating social stereotypes for women of color that can occur in unhealthy social and physical habits. For example, Women of color are sexualized in particular forms perceived as animalistic and sexual with a firm focus on body appearance mainly the posterior. Sexualization has given women an ideal version of who they are supposed to be.
Issues which affect women were nonexistent to men, men often blame women for the issues women needed to thrive. One group within the Chicano movement call the “loyalist” believe the “Chicano movement did not have to deal with sexual inequities since Chicano men as well as Chicano women experienced racial oppression.” (pg 10) If Chicanas identified themselves as feminist, they were labeled as “anti family, anti culture and anti man.” Moreover, Black women found themselves being criticized by the opposite sex.
Reading Summary and Analysis #1 In Chapter two of The Pain of Gender Silence of Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America, Charisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden examine how black women are often silenced when it comes to sexism. It looks at the difficulties black women have juggling separate identities and social pressure in order to fit in. The chapter talks about how black women have to constantly live in two different worlds and balance their personal goals with those of society. It also takes a look at how sexism and racism affect black women's lives, providing real life examples of the ways in which they are silenced and disregarded.
The documentaries Dream World 3 and Killing Us Softly 4 examine the exploitation of women within the media. The media, such as advertisement and the music video industry, relies heavily on the seductive image of female sexuality. Evident in not only every genre of music, but also every form of advertisement, the videos and advertisements expose and, subsequently sexualize the female body. Such sexualization inevitable leads to
Since the dawn of American culture, women have been oppressed. Due to inequalities in the hierarchy of social power, women have been targeted for discrimination. However, women have not sat quietly and let the “man” dictate their lives. Through movement raised through women of all cultures, change has come to all American women. Racism, homophobia and classism created hardships for the American women who rebled through reproductive justice organizations, anarcho-syndicalism, and embracement of their sexual orientation. These helped efforts created the foundation that we live in today and continues to inspire and mold the environment .
Doetsch-Kidder’s (2016) monograph defines the important role of intersectionality as a defining sea-change in the way that women of color began to unify across racial and cultural barriers. Interviews with minority activists define the perception of the diversification of feminist ideology through the lens of intersectionality. One interview with a African-American activist named Donna illustrates the unity between women of color that evolved in the 1970s: “But overall, we are all fighting for civil rights, so there has to be some type of overlap with each one” (Doetsch-Kidder, 2016, p.103). This development defines the “overlapping’ ideology of different feminist groups, which soon began to devolve the racial and cultural barriers not only between women of color, but also with white feminist groups. In Doetsch-Kidder’s (2016) point of view, the civil rights movement laid the foundation for intersectional feminist principles to be practiced for women seeking greater representation in the workplace.
IExperiencing gender inequality at CU reflected an ugly truth: The United States has not moved past discrimination! In uncovering, the country’s gruesome treatment of black women, I found that gender and racial discrimination overlap because they are simultaneously experienced. The United States has a long history of treating women unequally, especially black women. Before the enactment of the 19th Amendment, white women did not allow black women to join the Woman’s Suffrage Movement because of racial prejudice, and they feared that the government might dismantle the organization (Dumenil 2007). Fortunately, in 1920, women gained the right to vote through the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. However, because most states in the country
Underlying the feminism movement of the 1960s and 1970s was the “white racist ideology.” The women’s movement of the 1960s was in fact the white women’s movement. It was an opportunity for white feminists to raise their voices, but they only spoke about the plight of the white woman and excluded themselves from the collective group of women across all races and social standings. White women assumed that their experience was the experience of all women. When black women proclaimed that the movement was focused on the oppression of white women, the white feminists asserted “common oppression” and retorted with “oppression cannot be measured.” Ironically, feminists in the 1960s compared their oppression to the oppression of African Americans as
The stereotypical misrepresentations of African-American women and men in popular culture have influenced societal views of Blacks for centuries. The typical stereotypes about Black women range from the smiling, a sexual and often obese Mammy to the promiscuous Jezebel who lures men with her sexual charms. However, the loud, smart mouthed, neck-rolling Black welfare mother is the popular image on reality television. These images portrayed in media and popular culture create powerful ideology about race and gender, which affects daily experiences of Black women in America. With few healthy relationships portrayed in the media, Black women are left to make decisions based on the options
lthough the enslaved women were married, their husbands could not protect them because of the control that the masters had over both spouses. Many times, due to rape and sexual intercourses between the slave and masters, both white and African American women had to keep their pregnancies hidden and they were not allowed to speak on who the father of the babies were. Often times black women would rebel against their masters because they felt it was morally wrong and often like "their ancestors and counterparts of Africa, most slave women took their motherhood seriously. They put this responsibilities before their own safety and freedom, provided for children not their own, and gave love even to those babies born from violence." (Hallam, 2004) . If a enslaved women, who had children, were to tell who the child's
Everyday Transgender Women of color are mistreated and repressed by society, they face constant ridicule and mistreatment. They face a constant issue of society judging them and putting them under a microscope. Societal repression is a constant issue these women face just because of their gender identity. Transgender Women of Color are one of the most least mentioned groups in society. This under shadowed group of women is struggling. They face constant abuse and repression, society is destroying these women. These women who are just like everyone else are one of the most mistreated societal groups around. They face things like mistreatment in the health field that should be helping them through one of the biggest transitions of their life.
As African-American women address social issues that are important to their life experiences, such as class and race, instead to acknowledge “common oppression” of gender inequality, they are often criticized by “white bourgeois feminists” (hooks, 2000). Their ability to gain any form of equality within society is tarnished by such groups as they develop a “fear of encountering racism” from simply joining this movement (hooks, 2000). As white men, black men, and white women oppress them, their issues are often ignored due to reoccurring stereotypes and myths that claim black women are strong, independent, and “superhuman” (hooks, 2000). It becomes extremely difficult to seek liberation and equity within a “racist, sexist, and classist” society, as their gender and race causes them to be at the “bottom of the occupational ladder” and “social status” (hooks, 2000, pg. 16). As black women are perceived to demonstrate strength and dynamic qualities as white women perpetrate the image of being
Women are sexually exploited in the media. In today’s society if people watch television programs such as Chingy featuring Snoop & Ludacris – Holidae; Charlie's Angels; the Z100 commercial with Britney Spears; or Baywatch they will see that the feminine image is presented differently than the masculine. In these programs men are typically placed in sexual situations fully clothed, while women are presented in provocative clothing or less. The camera will frequently zoom in on body parts to focus on the woman’s buttocks, midriff, and legs. Society is still dominated by men who control what people see. As a result women are increasingly portrayed as sex symbols as a way for a media company to turn
A trend that is developing in entertainment media today is the objectification of women in society. Specifically in indian movies, music videos, music, and television, there is strong focus on women as sexual objects rather than women. This is detrimental to society because the media is creating social stereotypes for both men and women that can result in unhealthy social and physical habits. The issue is especially prevalent because the more the media uses sexual content regarding women, the more viewers seem to buy into them. Thus, the media is able to shape the culture's sense of dating, romance, sex, and what is 'ideal' within society. The sexual attitudes of society are shaped and that has effects that can affect all demographics among society.
In history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. Women had had to endure years of sexism and struggle to get to where we are today. The struggle was even more difficult for women of color because not only were they dealing with issues of sexism, but also racism. Many movements have helped black women during the past centuries to overcome sexism, racism, and adversities that were set against them. History tells us that movements such as the Feminist Movement helped empower all women, but this fact is not totally true. In this paper, I will discuss feminism, the movements, and its "minimal" affects on black women.
For centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term “Intersectionality.” Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminations interact thus, goes hand in hand with Judith Butler, in her article titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” which expresses the term “gender acts” and helps decipher a probable cause of the many discriminations faced in contemporary society. Since both gender inequality and racial inequality share a common thread, I believe that what intersectionality represents will help understand Judith Butler’s view on gender classification and the dynamic it’s caused on our social and political formation.