The Core Themes Of Postcolonial Theory

Taking from Crenshaw, Smith notes that an intersectional approach supports keeping matters of rape, race, and all types of oppression together instead of only calling for those things when convenient. Regarding those who sought to separate the issues, Smith presents counter opinions on what else Native women need from “outsiders” to aid healing from the atrocities of genocide and colonialism. Intersectional approach regarding violence against Native women relates to marrying all forms of oppression suffered and experienced by native women. Smith believes all else fall short when treated as separate entities.

It is mandatory to understand the history behind Intersectionality and it’s upbringing to understand how it ties into cultural identity. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s classic article “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color” helps to understand the struggle that women of color face with entwined differences that are not confronted and dealt with accordingly. Crenshaw mentions that, “The problem with identity politics is not that it fails to transcend difference, as some critics charge, but rather the opposite -- that is frequently conflates or ignores infra group differences. In the context of violence against women, this elision of difference is problematic, fundamentally because the violence that many women experience is

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

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).

Nevertheless, I argue that Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality should be used as the framework in analyzing discrimination, either by women or any discrimination faced by individuals in the society. According to Crenshaw:

Crenshaw proves that all forms of oppression must be taken into account, as is the case in pinpointing the root causes of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In her analysis, she explains how in society, the treatment of women of colour differs greatly from that of white women because of stereotypical depictions of women of colour in media. Although she mainly cites this by delving into the stereotypical representation of Black women, this treatment is crucial to Indigenous women as well. Indigenous women are often seen as negative stereotypes of their cultures, which contributes to the disproportionate rates of violence against them. Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality is integral in addressing this systemic and institutional

“Intersectionality” devised by Kimberley Crenshaw in her intuitive essay “de-marginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of anti-discrimination doctrine, a feminist theory and antiracist politics “ Intersectionality is thought to act as framework, which requires recognition that overlapping marginalised identities impact the way individuals experience oppression and thus must impact the way, advocates do work. Its more than comprehending multiple marginalized identities that people may face, and is viewed as a means of approaching the various layers of subordination experienced and endured by individuals and groups of women who are excluded from the idea of archetypal women the feminists imagined, these being;

The call for feminism marks the beginning of an extensive journey with the quest to inspire women and to advocate women right in a male governed the world. Gloria Anzaldúa and Maxine Kingston both scrutinize feminism in the framework of “Borderland: La Frontera: The New Mestiza” and “The Women Warrior” encouraging women to occupy a strong position in the post-colonial male led civilization. The author both traces the journey of women struggle to achieve rewarding role within the structure shaped by men. The alliance of different voice from disregarded women gestures a strong theme that inspires Maxine Hong Kingston and Gloria Anzaldua to write enthusiastically within the feminist topic to dispute the patriarchal society.

Colonialism occurs when metropolitan nations fuse new territories or peoples through means which are involuntary such as; war, conquest, capture, and additional forms of enforcement and control. (Blauner 1987,150) Colonialism is distinguished by economic exploitation, forced entry, and cultural imperialism through the establishment of new institutions and methods of thought. (Stevenson,Winona). More specifically Settler Colonialism is a perpetual social and political structure in which newcomers/colonizers/settlers come to a place, claim it as their own, and do whatever it takes to vanish the Indigenous people who already reside there. Throughout this presentation the ways in which the Indigenous women of Canada were colonized by the

Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, a prominent feminist, brought to attention the term intersectionality, which denotes the intersection amongst form or system of oppression, discrimination or even domination. However, this paper will examine the effect intersectioanlity has on legal feminism, through the concepts of antiracist and black feminist theory. As well as focusing on the term structural intersectioanlity and its relation to the fundamental claim of how coloured women within legal feminism are oppressed . Consequently, in this paper, I will further deconstruct the term intersectioanlity and its significance in understanding law and gender, as well as presenting how intersectionality influences socio-legal studies. To begin with, Kimberle Crenshaw first coined the term intersectioanlity in 1989.

Black Feminist Politics and theory grew out of many black women 's feelings of dissatisfaction following the civil rights era, and the white female feminist movement throughout the 1960-1970s. During the early conceptualization process of black feminist theory, the women of this new movement, specifically Kimberlé Crenshaw, came to name the term “intersectionality theory.” Black Feminist Politics and theory argues that sexism, racism, class oppression, and gender identity are intricately bound together. Complexly, they serve to maintain subjugation and suppression. In this essay, we will investigate the formulation and a brief history of Black Feminist

Crenshaw mentioned in the article, that “the narratives of gender are based on the experience of white, middle-class women, and the narratives of race are based on the experience of Black men” (Crenshaw). Gender and race still influence women’s lives in the society, but this is not the case in feminist and anti-racist practices. An identity is silenced. Crenshaw trying to explore how this intersectional position can be considered when taking into accounts the violence against women of color. I don’t think that intersectionality is better than the discrimination against the poor. But we can think about that the effect of oppression in a specific time and society area. In other words, maybe we can use oppression as an action in the society.

Furthermore, women are often seen as a symbol of cultural preservation and a measure of family honor. In conditions of war and colonial rule, which represents an attack on men’s honor and dignity, attention to women’s roles as prescribed by cultural tradition is often intensified. However, the unusual conditions of war and resistance to colonial rule also may provide openings for women to reconfigure their roles and rights, based on new needs of society.

The postcolonial era presents various issues for the decolonized nations, like the reconstruction of a government and the maintenance of an economy. In addition to that, the individual identity of the colonized people is a complex issue that they must cope with as well, and it is an issue that is still present today. Compared to the other issues of postcolonialism, the construction of one’s identity might appear trivial; however, there are many problems of postcolonial identity, including the obligation of one to perceive themselves as people do from the outside through stereotypes, and the difficulty of unifying two conflicting identities: one that is created by outside sources, and one that is created through personal experiences.

In effect, it was this very labeling of the female as 'other' that "was the starting point for contemporary feminist theory" (Mascia-Lees & Sharpe, 2000:22). By labeling the female as 'other', the dominant patriarchal discourse of modernism retains its position as subject (2000:22). Feminism aims to reverse the power relations of such modernist binary arguments, allowing those labeled as 'other' the chance to claim the title of 'subject' (2000:23). Nevertheless, the fact remains that modernism is ultimately a patriarchal discourse, a discourse effective only in its entirety and is thus unable to be 'cropped' to the liking of feminists (Hekman, 1990:6). As a result, by remaining