Analysis Of Frantz Fanon 's ' Lived Experience Of A Black Man '

Although the text, Women: Images and Realities a Multicultural Anthology, has done a wonderful job of showcasing the diversity of women’s experiences, I find Beverly Daniel Tatum’s work “Defining Racism: “Can We Talk?”” to be the most striking. In the essay, Tatum describes how she (and many other feminists) define racism and who can and cannot be racist. Tatum argues that there are important distinctions between prejudice and racism, wherein racism is defined as a ‘system of advantage based on race” or more precisely “prejudice plus power” (388). Through multiple examples Tatum illustrates that if one accepts and uses her definition of racism then only White people (the group of people who ‘dominate’ society) are racist because “people of

Equality is something we humans crave for when we are in a time of hardship. When we are being discriminated against, we feel the utmost pain and the need for freedom. Discrimination has lingered since the beginning of time, and ending it is impracticable. A French novelist, Honore de Balzac proclaims, “Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact.” Here, Balzac is acknowledging that an individual is born a free man and is just as equal as any other man. But, an individual will never be fully equal as they desire. Some parts of society will try to act superior to a certain quality of someone’s life, like their race, religion, culture, etc. This statement proves to be valid in Khaled Hosseini’s novel,

The articles “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” written by Juthish Oriz Cofer and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh are two essays covering the topic of race and gender. With a focus on privilege and race, one may assume that these two articles say the same thing, while in reality that is not true. As McIntosh and Cofer come from two different backgrounds and social standing, the authors offer two very unique views on the subject matter. Due to Cofer being a Puerto Rican woman and McIntosh being white woman, the two are opposites when it comes to white privilege and how it has effected them. This allows for them to give different views on the subject within the papers. Each articles differ in the audience, the purposes, and the appeals used within. On the other hand, both works are similar with the end goal and intended audience. As a member of the audiences targeted by both of these authors, I was able to connect to both of their writings due to the many different ways the two authors connected to their audiences.

Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack” addresses the issue of acknowledging whites’ unaware privileges, thus weakening the systems of advantage to reconstruct power systems in the society from 1989 to the present. For instance, men are unconscious about their privileges in a patriarchal society while women are oppressed in the society. White people are unaware of the privileges which they take for granted while non-white communities are discriminated against repeatedly. McIntosh identities her privileges from daily life, which she also relates the patterns of white privilege and assumptions that passed down.

This essay will critically analyze the various forms of oppression that are set out through Audrey Lorde’s concept of the “mythical norm” as discussed by Barbara Perry. Through the “mythical norm”, it can be seen that oppressions exists through the forms of racism and sexism which are exhibited through many scholarly texts and articles. Racism can be seen as a means of privilege and power that is given to individuals who coincide with the criteria of societies norm. In this case, these individuals consist of white, heterosexual, male beings who unknowingly oppress their racialized counterparts. Oppression can also be seen through the form of sexism. Sexism looks at the injustice and inequality of male dominance over female, which results to men being more privileged and advantaged in society over women who are disadvantaged. Therefore, privilege and power is obtained by those who coincide with the concept of the “mythical norm”, leaving minority groups who do not coincide with this conception oppressed through the forms of racism and sexism.

McIntosh takes a social conflict approach to this article arguing that white privileges give unearned advantages to those who have “white” skin over those who do not, just as male privilege gives men unearned advantages over women because of their gender (1988, McIntosh). The Micro approach taken gives clear insight into everyday inequalities, while the lack of a macro view on this topic ignores thing such as intersection theory and the placement of

Race, in France as in the United States, is a perpetual source of confusion and discomfort; to address it is always, in some way, to get it wrong.

There are some behaviors shown by the Black individual that is the result of simply surviving in a white dominated society. Fanon talks about how Black people would treat each other and put each other down in the chapter “The Negro and Recognition”. He uses some theories from Adler and Hegel (even though he is not a fan of them) to help explain why this is happening. Adler states that the only way you can truly understand a man is based on what he wants to achieve in the end. As a result everything that he says or does coincides with what he wishes to ultimately achieve. Fanon uses this theory to explain why the Black man do the things he do and say the things he say. It is because in the end, he aspires to be

Simone de Beauvoir focuses on women and their permanent otherness, women will always be this “other”. They are never the subject or absolute like man is. This constant oppression of women is different of others, women are not a minority, they are numerically almost equal to man and yet man has still been able to create dominance over them. Man is the superior, they are the absolute and women are the other. Oppositely, bell hooks and Patricia Williams speak on the inequality of minorities, specifically blacks. Racism and killing rage are heavily connected. Racism is strong and deep; it is the phantom in the room. Killing rage is a rage that is felt after constant unjust treatment, it is a rage that is healing. This killing rage should be viewed as a passion for freedom. I think a passion for freedom should be the forefront change. This passion for freedom can be connected to each author. A passion for freedom can aid in changing the permanent otherness women have faced and continue to face. Otherness is expressed through inequalities in pay and the way women are viewed. Simone de Beauvoir’s text brought up important and relevant inequalities women and minorities face. Patricia Williams text focusing on the inequality blacks face is relevant and important. Again a passion for freedom from oppression and inequality should be expressed. By Patricia Williams continually

In Fanon’s The Fact of Blackness his body is used as a ground for cross cultural encounters as he is a black man, living in a world populated with a majority of white people. As he goes about his life as a person of colour, he encounters different cultures which are clearly defined in terms of race and skin colour. Because the white people are of a different culture to Fanon, when they see him and his different race – identifiable by skin colour – they judge him

Human Rights have been fought over for centuries. The rights of men and women still have yet to be brought to an equal point. From a similar stance, people originating from foreign lands also often tend to be faced with a disadvantage where human equality is concerned. The correct interpretations of inequality are never remembered; it is only those of the winners that society chooses to follow - which is subject to bias. This ongoing bias is prevalent when discussing the topic of human rights throughout the past few centuries. For both gender and racial inequality, scholars have failed to record accurate accounts of the history. Instead, they wrote accounts which made society view women to be inferior to men and for African- Americans to be inferior to European-Americans.

In Beloved, gender oppression is not a visible problem that exists within the black community between men and women but it is a problem that exists within the context of the relationship between the slave masters and slaves. The addition of race is only an excuse, justification for the oppression of blacks. The setting is crucial in crystallizing the nature of oppression for economic source of race and gender oppression. The relationship between African American men and women is not always oppressive within the community. Both white and black men are known to be negative and domineering to women in society.

Franz Fanon is one of the many profound voices of black identity during the 1950s. His work in the field of psychology features an unfathomed approach to critical theory, post-colonial studies and Marxism. In Black Skin White Masks, Fanon dives into the Negro psyche through understanding its origin. In studying this, Fanon comes to the argument that the dehumanizing process of colonization renders both Blacks and Whites crazy. In analyzing Africans, specifically, Fanon determines that the “Negro [is] enslaved by his inferiority [and] the white man enslaved by his superiority” and that is why they are both mentally unbalanced. It is this neurotic orientation through which Fanon discusses the process through which Africans become second-class French people. In discussing the Negro neurosis, Fanon begins with this statement: The Negro “becomes whiter as he renounces his blackness.”

The ways in which culture and systems of oppression interact are complex. Culture accordingly dictates the expectations of people through cultural norms – which are rules of behavior. In addition, culture outlines the values of a society – which are collective ideas of right or wrong. Therefore, the combination of cultural components and social learning account for how people rationalize thier actions and behaviors among different groups in a society . Accordingly, culturally accepted values and norms of the majority groups - white’s, master/mistresse, of free status -- in Jamaican and Barbadian societies, in effect, supported and justified the systems of oppression faced by African and English women during this period. In order to understand the most obvious form of oppression in Caribbean societies, that being slavery, one needs to evaluate how factors of class, race, and gender simultaneously influenced this system. Uniquely, the practice of extending those with more power and wealth in a society, the greater advantage and security over others, is known as classism. A person’s class, is a significant factor as it helped to maintain societal norms and values, in this case, formulated by the European white elicits. Generally speaking, a class systems defines an individual’s position on an economic hierarchy. This position also includes a person’s cultural position – their ethnic and racial boundary divisions – along with their socially defined position – free or unfree.

The central argument is bringing your inner self out to the surface. In other words bringing the man out from within us. The problem of the Negro is a question of consciousness, which could raise the question of how to accomplish that. A black man sees oneself as a Noir but the society deems them as a negre or in other words dirty negro. He faces the challenge of shame. Shame is a moral function. Shame leads you to deal with the reality of who you are Shame is seeing yourself being seen. Fanon argues the black man does not receive shame.. White people do not deem him as a person. The Negro encounters white people who identify him as what he is and not what he considers to think himself as. Which could lead to the question of, how to fight against dehumanization? For starters, the colonized gaining freedom is a step in the right direction. If you have freedom, you have responsibility. Fanon examines the ontology and that the highest a person could be is white but a black person can not be white. Black men are inferior to the white man. In the Fact of Blackness the boy says “mama mama a negro. I am frightened77! I am frightened!” The black man said “ I made up my mind to laugh myself to tears, but laughter had become impossible.” The laughter became challenging for the “damned’ man because it was ridiculous that a child, a young individual could say the harsh words adults would say. The destiny of a black person is to be a whiter white person. Fanon’s argument is that the