The Effects of Scientific Racism on Black Women 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.

White defendants when the victim was white. In the midst of it all, the rape of Black women by white men throughout slavery and until this very day and age goes on hardly ever talked about, and justifies this manner as an additional technique used as an essential weapon to maintain white male supremacy, and dehumanize Black persons culture. This piece will examine how gender and race interconnects with the perception of what is considered criminal intent and the justice system. Gender acts on as an important task in recognizing who commit what sorts of crimes, why they carry out so, who is frequently wronged, and most importantly how the criminal justice system take actions to these victims and wrongdoers. How the many racial occurrences shape they way our society is structured and what impact it on has women’s bodies. One will observe how rape is surrounded by the unlawful beliefs and will bring to light why one should be aware of those beliefs and its approach towards women. Those accused of raping Black and White women, if they are Black men they will be charged much more severe and more than likely, in the past, become lynching victims. If a White man is accused of rape, generally excuses are made for his acts of crime and are often let off and won’t be held culpable. One will argue that lynching and rape was an answer premeditated to hark back blacks of their "true" position, to uphold decreasing white male domination.

Davis begins her article with how rape laws within the United States were created, and who they were originally meant to benefit. She explains that when rape laws were first being created, they were not at all meant to protect women, but rather, they were made to protect the reputation of upper class men. She writes, “in the United States and other capitalist countries, rape laws as a rule were framed originally for the protection of men of the upper classes...” (Davis 50). This particular framework resulted in a mindset wherein all other individuals who did not fall under this particular category were more likely to be accused of and punished for the crime of rape. As Davis reports, although upper class white males were not exempt from accusation and punishment, “remarkably few white men have been prosecuted,” and rather, “the rape charge has been indiscriminately aimed at Black men...” (Davis 50). By setting up her analysis in this way, Davis is making it clear very early in her paper that the creation of the “black male as rapist myth” came about from an intersection of politics and racism, rather than just one or the other.

Until now, black women are still viewed lower than any other women with other color. Fortunately, nowadays men over dominating women with their sexuality is counted as rape and is followed with consequences. It could be seen that just by holding slavery was not powerful enough to take full control of black men and women. They indeed used sexuality to hurt their dignity and identity and lowered them in the society. Slavery changed the definitions of factors that make up society: sexuality, race, and gender (Peiss, 78).

In her book, Sexuality & the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective, Kelly Brown Douglass makes a powerful supposition when she said, “The violation of Black sexuality by White culture is about nothing less than preserving White power in an interlocking system of racist, classist, sexist, and heterosexual oppression“(Douglass, p. 12). In Dr. Renita Weems, class Women, Faith and Leadership class, she described this experience as an act that is applied to mistreat an individual or group based on race, class and gender, referenced as Intersectionality (Weems, 2014). This is not a unique concept for since 1619, black men and women have been subjected to ignorant and superficial sexual characterizations.

In history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. Women had had to endure years of sexism and struggle to get to where we are today. The struggle was even more difficult for women of color because not only were they dealing with issues of sexism, but also racism. Many movements have helped black women during the past centuries to overcome sexism, racism, and adversities that were set against them. History tells us that movements such as the Feminist Movement helped empower all women, but this fact is not totally true. In this paper, I will discuss feminism, the movements, and its "minimal" affects on black women.

In order to understand the meaning of what Patricia Hill Collins calls the matrix of domination it is necessary to consider how identity politics; such as civil rights, feminism, and the LGBT movement could be considered a response to domination. Domination are forms of power evident in control, exclusion, and discrimination. Patricia Hill Collins ‘ideas of intersectionality and the matrix of domination are important because they present an analysis claiming that systems of race, social class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nation, and age form mutually constructing features of social organization, which shape Black women’s experiences and, in turn, are shaped by Black women” (Collins, 2000). Collins focuses on the influences of intersectionality of Black women.

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:

At the Dark End of the Street is the first book to connect black women’s long struggle against rape and other sexual violence to the very roots of the modern civil rights movement. By refusing to cower in shame and remain silent because they had been raped, black women struck a powerful blow to southern apartheid. According to McGuire, “Between 1940 and 1975, sexual violence and interracial rape became one crucial battleground upon which African Americans sought to destroy white supremacy and gain personal and political autonomy.” Even though the white community responded with a virulent campaign of sexual terror, slander against black women and fervent calls against miscegenation, black women’s protests and resistance helped knock the doctrine

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).” In reality, this 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, most notably during the Suffrage movement. And even when feminism began looking at other social injustices, such as racism and class issues, 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: who’s experiences are valued, how do black women take their voice back, and how can they center feminist thinking on their own unique standpoint?

Black feminist thought has gained popularity in recent years and remains a noteworthy matter in view of the fact that in the United States black women form an oppressed group. Inequality entails a complex situation, in which oppression cannot be identified as one type, for example, race, gender, class or sexual preference. In this particular situation, we will acknowledge the challenges from the standpoint of black feminists. Patricia Hill Collins educates us through the four tenets of black epistemology, in addition to the contradictions against the scientific methods of social science; positivistic knowledge. Beyond the characteristics of epistemology, there are several key implications for black feminist thought.

The history of eugenics shows the ugly turn which genetics can take.  The most prevalent example is that of the Nazi regime and its policy of killing off Jews and Gypsies, who were thought to be inferior (Saetz, 1985).  Nazi and US compulsory sterilization laws, which sterilized the feeble minded, schizophrenic, epileptic, depressed, etc., is also another example (Saetz, 1985).  410,600 people were sterilized in Nazi Germany alone (Saetz, 1985).  The birth control movement also embodied a sense of eugenics, making it a privilege for the rich and a duty for the poor.  Marget Sanger, a birth control activist, was quoted saying, "The chief issue of birth control

Black Feminism argues that sexism, class oppression and racism are linked together. Mainstream feminism that more than often benefits white women, strives to overcome class and gender oppression, however they do not recognise that race can discriminate against women also. Activist, Alice Walker states that black women experience a different kind of oppression when compared to their white counterparts. Professor of Sociology and social activist, Patricia Hill Collins summarises that Black feminism is ‘a process of self-conscious struggle that empowers women and men to actualise a humanist vision of community.’ Her quote welcomes individuals of any gender, whom understands black women’s struggle to fight with them. [Collins, 1991:39]

Imagine being socialized into a perfect life with perfect values and heightened morals; your parents treat you well, you are viewed as morally innocent, you are able to have an education, eat healthy foods, participate in sports, and your only struggle in finding a job is deciding where to apply out of the dozens of opportunities to decide from. Did you visualize a white family or a black family? It is no surprise if you thought white, because we subconsciously picture suburban white folks when we describe people who live “higher class” lives. You can describe this as internalized racism. When we combine the stigma of rape culture, these ideas are parallel when discussing the systematic and internalized oppression towards people of colour, specifically black women. Roxane Gay’s memoir Hunger is a remarkable read that exhibits all three of these intersectional issues, with the focal point being rape.

The idea of a sexually ‘pure’ Cleopatra reinforces that idea that sex and a woman’s sexuality is immoral, a concept that has been proliferated within modern political discussion of black sexuality and its repercussions. These discussions often point towards black sexuality as the culprit of many social problems instead of a result of inequality, exemplifying the hypocritical and destructive rhetoric of the public sphere utilizes to use black communities as the scapegoat for the social problems for which they themselves are the largest victims. As political scientist Cathy Cohen described, “…race leaders, media voices, and policy makers eschew more complicated analysis of structural