Lucy Siale Biography

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.

To women physically strong and adventuresome it means freedom to enter all kinds of athletic contests and games, to compete with men in aviation, to drive racing cares... to enter dangerous trades, etc. To most of all it means economic freedom.” (Eastman, Pg.509). The topics she thinks most feminists will agree with is the stride toward political equality. However, she may create tension among herself and other feminists by suggesting that all women must know the joys of motherhood to be an ideal feminist. Some women may not want children. I feel as though Crystal Eastman is trying to persuade other feminists to come together and support each other and redefine feminism.

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.

Growing up even I was confused with the definition of feminism, the one I was familiar with was the mainstream feminist. The mainstream feminist only deals with people like her who is promptly white, who are cis-gendered, in the middle class and are able bodied. The opposite of a mainstream feminist would be a intersectional feminist. bell hooks explains in, “Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression,” how feminism should be expanded to men, women and trans people because the things they experience on a daily are different from white people. Oppressed women do not like to be involved with feminism and see how the

There isn’t one person who hasn’t felt in complete disagreement with a statement someone else has made. At one point or another, we have all been moved enough to state our opinion. This is what starts wars on the comment sections of various social media platforms today. Disagreements even happened in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. In the March trilogy by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, you see these differences of opinion play out. March is about the story of John Lewis’ early life and later on, his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the fight for equal rights. Although the Civil Rights Movement resulted in desegregation, which wouldn’t have been possible without the contribution of its leaders

This week, the readings touched on issues relating to resistance and social change. Martinez explains how the U.S. has struggled to see issues of race beyond just Black and white. She also stresses the importance of including other races when speaking on these issues. Hernandez argues that the mainstream feminist movement fails to include minority and low-income women and the issues they face. She states that the movement only benefits white middle class women. Collins explains how people’s ideas and behaviors actualize other people’s inequalities. She says comparing levels of oppression is a competition for attention and instead we should use a new mentality that interlocks these inequalities. Harris

Although intersectionality started with the experience of the oppression of both race and sexism, over the years other forms of identities and societal oppression has been added on to the definition. Today, other forms of identities such as class and sexual orientation of an individual faces different forms of oppression in our society today. Many queer women today would describe their experience intertwined with sexuality and gender. A Black queer woman’s experience would differ in the case that race would now be included and some would apply if class is applied.

discussed. One can sense her urgency for the unity of black people and how her past experiences

Both in a subtle and a direct way, Roxane Gay criticizes second-wave feminists in her article Bad Feminist through the use of irony and the juxtaposition of contrasting adjectives. In the article, Gay describes the stereotypes placed on feminists that have led people to shun the cause and refuse to be a part of it. Like many other females, Gay does not fit into the label of an essential feminist. She likes the color pink, listens to thuggish rap, wants babies, fakes orgasms, loves diamonds, and many other things that clash with being a feminist. Subsequently, Gay is in a personal struggle, which she says “keeps her up at night” (8) because she does not fit into the socially constructed definition of what a good or essential feminist is and does but she does believe in the cause and wants to fight for it.

In the early women’s right’s campaign there was not much focus on the intersectionality it was more based on the issues that white women were facing at the time. This lead to many issue involved in the feminist movement, due to the lack of intersectionality. As Davis points out this lead to the racist undertones throughout the feminist movement one of the issues Davis mentions is when Fredrick Douglass, a member of the feminist movement, sent his daughter away to a white school and she was denied access by a woman claiming to be an abolitionist. These issues were rampant in my opinion due to the lack of a more intersectional attitude. The first feminist movement wasn’t all bad as Davis points out. Many white women put their lives on the line to fight for the rights of their African American sisters. As Davis explains a white woman refused to let he school be segregated, therefor fought for the rights of young African Americans to receive the same education. As Davis states “the

Celeste Scott is a black femme activists who recruited other women of color and created their own woman’s march titled “Our Feminism Must be Intersectional” which was hosted on the same day the white woman march was scheduled. The main idea of hosting the intersectional rally was to raise awareness the women of color experience gender and race discrimination. When Celeste Scott commented “Is this a white feminist thing?” on the event page, many furious women argued back and forth, which led to having two different marches hosted by two different color groups. According to Rebecca, “They say that when they tried voicing their concerns about the march’s lack of inclusivity, they were silenced and told they were being divisive” (1). For this reason, women of color do not voice out their opinion and are blocked from hearing what a white women’s group must say. To further explain, Whirl Magazine apologized to the indigenous women but did not take reasonable ownership of their mistake, which does not get rid of the damaged that was caused (Kerr 2). Although a city was divided with two separate women marches, raising awareness and demonstrating that women of color do not always have an opportunity to voice out their concerns proves that they are not equally treated with respect.

Diane T. Lucero, a very kind and noble person who has achieved so many things in her life, was interviewed by her students on October 24, 2015. We have learned so much from her in the past couple of weeks during our

Intersectional feminism is a type of feminism that looks at not just gender, but different identities of a person, such as race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, economic status, and more. Instead of looking at people in single categories, it takes all of these into consideration, which stands for the rights of all women (Dastagir). By looking at global ethics through an intersectional feminist lens, we can recognize the prejudice that our society has on women of different backgrounds and overcome it.

I am not a feminist simply because I was raised in a feminist household. I am not a feminist because I am an independent, educated woman. I am not a feminist because I am a bitter female, nor because I am a “woman scorned.” I am not a feminist because I hate men, nor because I am a lesbian nor because I like to listen to the Indigo Girls. To the contrary I love men and I am not a lesbian. While I agree with hooks that “feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” (viii), I believe that her definition of “feminism” states the goals of the movement rather than actually defining the term itself. In my mind, feminism is a synonym for equality. I am a feminist

Lucy Grealy tells a story about not fitting in, unbearable pain that takes up residence in one’s head as loneliness and confusion, questioning what things mean, being scared and lost in your family, enduring intense physical pain, and most importantly, figuring out who you are. Lucy had no idea she might die, even though the survival rate for Ewing’s sarcoma was only five percent. She does not present her parents as overly afraid for her life, either. Her autobiography is not a story about the fear of death, but about such courage and anguish. Lucy shows how she falls under the spell of her disability, allowing it to control her life and dictate her future to a greater extent than it would otherwise. Having a disability means that