Women's Rights In America

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.

She challenges both antiracist and feminist theories since they fail and neglect to focus on the issue of intersection of gender and race. The theories are inadequate and cannot address the oppression experienced by the black women. White women, especially from the middle class are treated as emotional and delicate compared to men with special need for protection according to the feminist theorists. However, the situation is worse among the black women since they are subjected to racist abuses that are common in the society (Beauvoir 2). This implies they are more delicate than the white women with a need for more protection. On the contrary, black women are seen as “mules” and are expected to perform heavy cleaning chores of the fact that they are fragile and passive. Crenshaw argues that black women are forced to look for jobs instead of taking care for their children. They are pressured to use depo provera, norplant and other family planning drugs that are common with white women. This is an illustration of intersectionality of race, gender and

Although the text, Women: Images and Realities a Multicultural Anthology, has done a wonderful job of showcasing the diversity of women’s experiences, I find Beverly Daniel Tatum’s work “Defining Racism: “Can We Talk?”” to be the most striking. In the essay, Tatum describes how she (and many other feminists) define racism and who can and cannot be racist. Tatum argues that there are important distinctions between prejudice and racism, wherein racism is defined as a ‘system of advantage based on race” or more precisely “prejudice plus power” (388). Through multiple examples Tatum illustrates that if one accepts and uses her definition of racism then only White people (the group of people who ‘dominate’ society) are racist because “people of

Whiteness and racism comes from the oppression, colonization and systems of dominance over black people and their feelings. In this case, an intersectional feminist analysis matters because women who are able bodied, cis-gendered, privileged and white are only being considered whereas bell hooks argue that men, women and trans people who oppressed should be fought for. And Peggy McIntosh adds onto this but a white woman who addresses and recognizes her privilege to help other white individuals understand what they have and blacks do not.

Women’s rights in America in late 1800’s women’s right to vote women in medicine and the equal rights for women are the 3 main points that were big in the 1800’s.

By expressing this with the African American society of women who are continuously torched by the demanding words of men, McLune appeals strongly to all American women’s intellect of equality and respect. Women should not have to be judged by men and expect to be treated as if they owe anyone something, let alone have to be mistreated and belittled, if that were to be the case then men should be treated the same, therefore McLune’s audience, should understand that that is not how you define a black woman in any terms.

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.

For centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term “Intersectionality.” Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminations interact thus, goes hand in hand with Judith Butler, in her article titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” which expresses the term “gender acts” and helps decipher a probable cause of the many discriminations faced in contemporary society. Since both gender inequality and racial inequality share a common thread, I believe that what intersectionality represents will help understand Judith Butler’s view on gender classification and the dynamic it’s caused on our social and political formation.

Reforms, they once spread across the growing America and tried to change things that people deemed wrong, or outdated. Reforms were movements, typically radical ones in nature, that aimed to create new rights for people that did not currently have any. They spanned centuries and many came into effect. Women's suffrage, the labor reform, and the immigration reform are three movements that still affect people today and have tremendously changed America from what it could have been.

And for most American women who have never viewed the experiences of outsiders as anything other than a disruption to their own, their inability to contemplate the racial context of modern American politics “reflects the extent of [their own] . . . victimization” (hooks, 119). Simply put, the socialization of (white) American women shields them from “confronting the reality of racism, and not just racism as a general evil but the race hatred they might harbor in their psyches” (hooks, 122), creating an “us vs them” dichotomy that is maintained through “the right to assume the role of oppressor in relationship to black women and black men” (hooks, 123) that is granted by the (white) patriarchy that in turn, oppress them through their feminine roles in society. So ingrained is this ideology that several of the women jurors rationalized the murder of an unarmed black child by assuming that the victim was just as responsible for the tragedy as the perpetrator, that Martin was “suspect”, and therefore it was his fault that he allowed himself to be profiled in a threatening way that would result in a (defensive)

The Women’s Rights Movement inspires me to write because it was a very memorable part of history that effected a large portion of the population. I feel very passionate that we have the partial equality now and even though this event happened from1848 to 1920 we are still struggling with some of the same equalities and stereotypes in today’s age. Not many people believe that even in the 21st century there are still women who only believe the women’s job is to cook and clean for the husband all day but they are. Since America has a lot of immigrants many of these women come to America and barley know anything of the culture here. When women can be independent from their husbands they learn that they do not need to remain in a loveless marriage

The women’s rights movement was about making equal rights for both men and women. Starting in 1848 and ending 1920, allowing women to vote. Even though women are able to vote, we still don't have full equal rights, meaning men are still superior to us women. For example, people see women as weak figures and think we need help from men. Many women  protested in order for us to have equal rights.

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.

Throughout history mistakes are made, tragic events occur, and wars arise. As a result, people document these events, write stories, or simply express their emotions. In particular, this can be seen in many American movements such as Romanticism in which people believed logic and reason can only get one so far. As time passed these movements became a thing of the past and are seen irrelevant in today 's modern age. However, one movement that is still relevant today is the advancement or support of women 's rights socially, economically, and politically. For instance, three texts that still tie with Feminism today is April Showers, A Journey, and Fullness of Life. In April Showers, the author illustrates the many difficulties a woman undergoes attempting to support her family by being a writer. Furthermore, in A Journey, it depicts the hardships a woman encounters when she is forced to accept the unknown. Lastly, in the story Fullness of Life, it displays a woman meeting her destined partner in the afterlife, which leads her to realize that what she wanted is not what she needed and as a result, she decides to wait for her husband leaving her destined partner. Overall these works still demonstrate the cruelties and unfairness that females endure in America today. Therefore the most relevant American author today is Edith Wharton because her work still reflects women 's oppression in the workplace, their struggle to be completely independent and be thoroughly understood by

Often times, oppressors can be in one’s own movement. Groups can be so focused on changing white racism, sexism, and oppression, that they are blind to the issues plaguing their own group. Even when her own culture attacked her, she found strength to keep writing. Meridan, another book by Walker, is considered the best novel of the Civil Rights movement for the women’s perspective. This perspective is largely overlooked, even in today’s culture. We talk of racial oppression and how that affects the race and family, but the women’s perspective is often seen as distracting or disloyal to the cause. Our society’s gender roles place women after the man. Society’s pressure on men can breed hostility inside him. This domino effect falls onto the black women and children. The white oppress the white women and the white family then oppresses the black man and the black man then oppresses the black