`` Shifting The Center : Race, Class, And Feminist Theorizing About Motherhood Essay

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

Similarly, Patricia Hill’s work “Black Feminist Thought” explains the need for black feminism. For Hill U.S. black feminism is needed in order for black women to survive, cope with, and resist their differential treatment in society. Black feminist thought creates a collective identity among this marginalized group of African-American women. Hill provides several features that make U.S. Black feminist thought different than any other set of feminism. The first feature Hill speaks about is ‘blackness’ it is this concept that makes U.S. black feminist a different group that suffers a “double oppression”. Thus, U.S. Black women collectively participate in a dialectical relationship which links African American women’s oppression and activism. Hill speaks on the U.S. black feminist thought and the dilemma they face in American society. During the women’s right movement there was a tremendous difference between black and white women’s experiences, “while women of color were urged, at every turn, to become permanently infertile, white women enjoying prosperous economic conditions were urged, by the same forces, to reproduce themselves”. It is this difference in attitudes that demonstrate why there is a need to focuses on the linkage of experiences and ideas experienced by the black women in America. Consequently, Davis analyzes the hypocritical differences of the government of the

On November 8, 2016 the US election took place. The two front runners, the Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton and the Republican nominee, Donald Trump went neck to neck in the presidential race. On this frightening night, millions of people watched America’s worst nightmare unfold right in front of their own eyes. Donald J. Trump the islamophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic, homophobic, sexist, racist bigot defeated Hilary Clinton and became the 45th President of the United States of America. Donald Trump shouldn’t have even been nominated to run for president.

November 8, 2016. As the clock ticked from day to dust, the American population sat down to the conclusion of the forty fifth presidential election. Within moments, the fate of the nation was broadcasted into the homes and hearts of millions. For the some, the results of the election bought upon a sense of joy and excitement. However, for the other half of America’s citizens, hearing the call for Trump to presidency emitted feelings of sadness, disappointment, and above all else, confusion. How did a multi-billionaire businessman defeat a former First Lady of the United States and Secretary of State to become the president on the United States? In fact, how did a man of such little constitutional knowledge obtain the amount of political attention

The most recent presidential election has been one of the most dividing in the history of America. While President Trump won the electoral vote, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, creating a divide in workplaces, schools, and many other public places. The greatest challenges that the President will need to address first are the unity of Americans for the acceptance of all people and the education of young people, as they are the future of our nation.

In this essay, I will compare and contrast the recent top two candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as it relates to the presidential election, along with my opinion and views regarding what recently took place as of November 8th, 2016. It’s no secret that this election has been the craziest thus far. Not only for the first time has a female candidate made it this far in an election, but we also got to witness the shenanigans that took place leading up to the election, majority of which came from our very own, Donald Trump.

After research-filled, highly targeted, and negative campaigns, the results of the 2016 Presidential Election stunned the world. But were these results really all that surprising? America was prepared for a change in policy and election projections were incorrect due to the fact that there existed many “under cover Trumpers”, whom voted their conscience but were not willing to openly admit their political beliefs for fear of condemnation. The 2016 Presidential Election results open many areas for research into the legitimacy of the Electoral College, civic engagement, and campaign strategies as well as raises concerns over the fear American people possessed in defending their political values.

“If any efforts are to be made to free Black people of the constraints and conditions that characterize racial subordination, then theories and strategies purporting to reflect the Black community’s needs must include an analysis of sexism and patriarchy. Similarly, feminism must include an analysis of race if it hopes to express the aspirations of non-white women. Neither Black liberationist politics nor feminist theory can ignore the intersectional experiences of those whom the movements claim as their respective constituents” (Crenshaw, 1989, p.

In Bromley’s “Feminism Matters”, Chapter Four effectively argues that the way in which race, gender, class, ability, sexual orientation, and a variety of other social categories interact within each other to create a hierarchy of power within our society that has lead to an imbalance of privileges. Additionally, she manages to convince the reader that all these concepts are incorporated in the theoretical tool of intersectionality and that once we can understand this we will be better equipped with the approach to handle the struggles of modern day. Thinking of our positionality as being a blend of pre-existing conditions, we can realize that the advantages and disadvantages we receive in life are not only due to our gender, but the reality that “[we] might be living in Canada, in [our] first year of university, born in South Africa, a Buddhist, and struggling to pay for [our] living expenses, yet able-bodied and employed” (Bromley 2012).

Until quite recently, the traditional view of family that has predominated society has been comprised of gender roles. The “ideal” family in the past has consisted of a white, middle-class, heterosexual couple with about 2.5 children. In this heteronormative nuclear family, the father is the head of the household and the breadwinner of the family, while the mother is the one who cares for the children and completes household duties. Of course, most families do not fit into this mould and those who do not fit have been repeatedly marginalized due to their differences. It is no question that race, class, sexuality, ability, and many other identity markers intersect in how forms of family may vary. As explained by the concept of intersectionality, gender must be analyzed through a lens that includes various identity markers which contribute to how an individual experiences oppression. It is through the use of intersectionality, the discussion of patriarchy, and the deconstruction of “family” that bell hooks (1990) and Michelle K. Owen (2001) paint family as a site of belonging and contestation.

The 2016 presidential election was a polarizing one, in which political sideliners were motivated, placed into a role unbeknownst to them, and single handily contributed to one of the biggest upsets in election history.

This essay will compare the effectiveness of social division using Karl Marx’s theory of class division and the feminist theory of patriarchy. I will also link this to ethnicity in black feminism and evaluate how relevant these theories are to society today.

In an attempt to define Black Feminism, Collins clarifies that it must “avoid the idealist position that ideas can be evaluated in isolation from the groups that create them (Collins 385).” This clarification forms her basis for why Black Feminism is necessary, and who it serves. Thinking about feminism historically, the concerns of black women were pushed aside in favor of fighting sexism; a notable example occurs within the Suffrage movement, where votes for white women were prioritized over women of color in order to push such legislation through. And even when feminism began looking at other social injustices, such as racism and class issues, often only prominent feminists were invited to the discussion. What resulted was, and often continues to be, a problem of white women speaking for oppressed people. It’s impossible, Collins argues, to have Black Feminist thought without examining the experiences and positions of African American women. Therefore, Black Feminism must be a movement that “encompasses theoretical interpretations of Black women’s reality by those who live in it (Collins 386).” However, such a definition brings about many questions:

Donald Trump was elected president of the United States of America on November 8th, 2016, and now has been running our country for over a year. As Trump’s first year in office slowly began, his reputation seems to be creating different outside views of our nation and arguments started producing everywhere. After competing with Hillary Clinton for the presidential term in office, Trump defeated her along with her democratic supporters causing one of the most shocking elections in U.S. history. Using public media web pages, we are reviewing both sides of the argument regarding Trump’s election and we are going to decipher why each arguer supports their side, and why each side is reasonable for the benefit of our country.

Donald’s Trump’s victory in the 2016 election is very complex. The political mishaps that have occurred since JFK’s presidency reshaped the American psyche of who the president should be. This chain of dissatisfaction with the federal government led the American people to hope for a president who is honest, free of corruption, and supportive of the middle class. Trump recognized the American need for a new kind of president and took on a persona that perfectly exemplified this. The Trump Mythology is the belief that Donald Trump is a transparent, honest politician; however, this is only part of the equation. Belief in the Trump Mythology contributed to his victory, but it is also important to acknowledge the respective roles of demographics, voter turnout, and Hillary Clinton’s flaws. An interesting difference between the Kennedy Mythology and the Trump Mythology that is worth noting is the role of the media. Throughout the Kennedy Era, popular media fed the people’s fascination of Kennedy’s Camelot, perpetuating the mythology. Donald Trump, however, was largely hated by popular culture. American media ultimately discounted Donald Trump as a viable contender for the presidency.