Gendered oppression

2018-09-21T17:03:25Z

ParulMathur: '''Gendered oppression''' is the systemic manner in which certain groups are privileged or disadvantaged because of their gender. Because gender is such an integral part of society, we may unconsciously subscribe to harmful and inaccurate gender stereotyp

'''Gendered oppression''' is the systemic manner in which certain groups are privileged or disadvantaged because of their gender. Because gender is such an integral part of society, we may unconsciously subscribe to harmful and inaccurate gender stereotypes. These socially constructed assumptions about gender do not describe essential characteristics of men, women, and people outside of the gender binary, yet they often claim to. This maintains the '''gendered power difference''' that allows certain groups to benefit (socially and economically) at the expense of others.

The maintenance of gendered oppression is systemic and structural. In other words, it results from everyday practices and unquestioned assumptions within society, not necessarily from a few individuals in power. The dissemination of gendered oppression can often be subtle. Popular jokes or comments can be very effective means of spreading and maintaining harmful gendered attitudes.

Gendered oppression does not act in isolation. It intersects with discrimination based on race, sexuality, ability, class, age, history of incarceration, religion, language, and citizenship status. Analysis of any one of these oppression alone is insufficient; each reinforces the other. In addition, the intersection of oppression is not simply a linear combination of the individual oppression. For example, a Black lesbian’s experience is not just the composite of a Black man’s and a white lesbian’s oppression. For these reasons, tackling gendered oppression necessarily involves exploring all other forms of oppression.

Reference
https://web.mit.edu/feminists/DiscussionGroup/articles

Black feminism

2018-09-12T17:21:05Z

ParulMathur: Created page with " Black feminism is a school of thought stating that sexism, class oppression, gender identity and racism are inextricably bound together.The way these concepts relate to each..."

Black feminism is a school of thought stating that sexism, class oppression, gender identity and racism are inextricably bound together.The way these concepts relate to each other is called intersectionality, a term first coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989.

In 1851 women’s right advocate and abolitionist Sojourner Truth gave a speech at a women’s rights convention in which challenged both racism and sexism faced by Black women when she asked “Ain’t I a Woman?” Black feminism aims to empower Black women with new and on critical ways of thinking that centered how racism and sexism worked together to create Black women’s social issues and inequalities. that arise from of mutually constructed systems of oppression 1. Women such as Sojourner Truth exemplify Black feminist activism in the nineteenth century. In 1892 another Black woman, Anna Julia Cooper published A Voice from the South, a book in which she described the importance of the voices of Black women for social change. Another exemplary Black feminist, Ida B. Wells, an activist and journalist, led a crusade against lynching during the 1890s. The work of these three and other Black women shows how Black community politics laid the foundation for social justice toward sexism from Black men, marginalization from White feminists, and disenfranchisement under White male privilege.

A significant aspect of Black feminism is intersectionality. Intersectionality refers to the way gender, race, and other social categories interact to influence an individual life outcomes.For instance, in the 1970s, a group of Black women formed the Combahee River Collective. These Black feminists saw intersectionality as integral to the distinction between their movement and that of White feminism because “the major source of difficulty in our political work is that we are not just trying to fight oppression on one front or even two, but instead to address a whole range of oppressions” 3. During the twentieth century Black women remained active in social justice movements as Black feminism and intersectionality expanded into academic and professional discourse. Women like sociologist Patricia Hill Collins, critical race scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, and writer bell hooks are just a few examples.

References:
https://www.blackfeminisms.com/black-feminism/

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Gendered oppression

Black feminism