Intersectional Romance Fiction Essay

With these mediums of oppression, her first theory, referred to as the Matrix of Domination is brought up. Previous models of oppression were considered additive, or hierarchal, meaning that they must be ranked. Collins uses the experiences of black women to explain that all these modes of oppression, gender, race and class are interlocking and equally important when viewing domination. This bleeds mores into Part II, but the essentials are discussed in this section.

Aziz Ansari published his first book Modern Romance, on June 16, 2015, where he teamed up with notable sociologists to uncover the mysteries of the changing dating scene around the world. Ansari states that relationships have been evolving for the past century for reasons ranging from people having different wants and desires to more advanced technology. These developments have revitalized the dating culture, but simultaneously have also made it very complex. Ansari’s reason for writing this book was that he was “fascinated by the questions of how and why so many people have become so perplexed by the challenge of doing something that people have always done quite efficiently: finding romance” (Ansari 6). In the book, he dives into the

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.

The American literary canon presents a one sided view of women, due to the dominance of male authors. Classic American books generally present images of women in a male-centered viewpoint, creating a biased representation of women in literature. In “Feminist Literary Criticism: From Anti-Patriarchy to Decadence,” Anne Barbeau Gardiner states that the American literary canon is “strikingly narrow…prepared by white men whose judgment was prejudiced and whose language was full of gendered meanings.” (Gardiner 395). Gardiner

Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s.

Analyzing the ways in which a piece of literature includes feminist ideologies can bring out the potential messages that the creators of these productions were attempting to portray, while allowing the reader to critique the literature from a feminist perspective.

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.

Racism has been a debated topic throughout the years. There have been many questions about if racism is a communal structured method of categorizing and separating people or if it is a learned or inherited behavior. The word has so many different meaning to each person affected by it. According to Miles and Brown, “The concept of racism is heavily negatively loaded, morally and politically” (3). All the way through history, racism has generated grief for those who fall victim to the problem. “Kindred” by Octavia Butler explains how a black woman is able to take a journey back in time to encounter and witness slavery up close and personal. In Natasha Trethewey “Bellocq's Ophelia”, the reader is able to recognize Ophelia’s yearning to be seen as a white woman opposed to a very fair-skinned black women. both Ophelia and Dana encounter racism and stereotypes. “During both of these women’s journeys throughout the stories, they have to face issues and hardships concerning their race in many different ways.”

The role of strong female roles in literature is both frightening to some and enlightening to others. Although times have changed, Sandra Cisneros’ stories about Mexican-American women provide a cultural division within itself that reflects in a recent time. The cultural themes in Cisneros’s stories highlight the struggle of women who identify with Mexican-American heritage and the struggle in terms of living up to Mexican culture – as a separate ethnic body. The women in Sandra Cisneros’ stories are struggling with living up to identities assigned to them, while trying to create their own as women without an ethnic landscape. In Sandra Cisneros’ stories “Woman Hollering Creek: and “Never Marry a Mexican” the role of female identities that

Oppression has been a problem in this country, dating all the way back to the Europeans traveling to the New World, and forcing themselves on the Native’s and famously the British oppression of the thirteen colonies. Oppression is still a serious problem today, with almost all minorities, such as women, African-Americans, and the LGBT community feeling it’s pressure. Although these groups have gained seen many changes in their freedom, they are still being oppressed. Oppression is a common theme throughout American Literature, weaving in and out of many that are seen as classic American novels and poetry. Some of these books include Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the poetry of Langston Hughes, Richard Wright’s Native Son and Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. The form of oppression that is evident throughout all these works, is racial oppression, and narrowing it down even further, the oppression of African Americans.

When many aspects of a woman life are controlled for her and she can no longer make decisions for herself, she becomes a slave to her oppressor. Throughout the class, the theme of women being controlled by other oppressing forces, can be seen in many texts. Women have their decisions made for them in terms of their, food intake, appearances, and lifestyle choices. These ideas are seen in Beyond the Lights, where Noni’s mother Macy both what Noni eats as well as how she looks. Again in “The Gilded Six Bits,” Missie May’s hunger and food intake are controlled and judged by Joe, who believes because he is a working man, his hunger is more important. In Color Stories: Black Women and Colorism in the 21st Century, society controls women’s appearances by pressuring them to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. In both Not That Kind of Girl and Borderlands: La Frontera, women’s decisions about their bodies in a sexual manner are controlled by the pressures of men. Oppressing forces play such a strong role in so many of the texts covered in class this semester, it makes one wonder if this oppression and forceful control is an accurate representation of our society today.

It a problem from which all women, regardless of color, suffer. However, Crenshaw believes that this feminist argument is “less concerned with exploring domestic abuse within ‘stereotyped’ communities than with removing the stereotype as an obstacle to exposing battering within white middle- and upper-class communities” (1259). Discussing domestic violence in “other” homes is therefore only relevant in highlighting domestic violence in white homes; otherwise, “the experience of violence by minority women is ignored” (1260). Crenshaw continues to explain the “othering” of women of color, but this much should be enough for the purpose of this essay. Essentially, when feminism brings minority issues into the discussion and make them universal issues, it is only to allow “white women victims to come into focus”

American Literature has always been about men and for men. In this essay, we are going to analyze the women’s role in the book, as inferior and weaker gender.

Throughout his book Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari the author develops and explains concepts that are involved in romantic relationships. In his arguments he describes certain points that explain how romances were modernized with the advancement of the technology. The growth of technology has created new sources of communication like for example socials networks and other websites in the internet that allow people to have an easier search to find a partner when they are looking for one. One of the biggest arguments that author talks about is when he describes how technology has played an important role in romantic relationships. The use of technology that exists in the present day has become excessive and it is a good argument to discuss in the essay. Up to today the online services and socials networking sites have become important factor s in the search for that “perfect someone” that people want to share the rest of our lives with, but at the same time it becomes a dangerous weapon that disappoints, lies and destroys romantic relationships. It’s not really that technology influences bad things; but it is more up to the responsibility of people and the purpose they use it for. The fact that the technology has become a very helpful tool to date someone is something very common to do nowadays but also it is dangerous because people do not really know who they are talking to or who is behind the computers monitors. Although

In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the