Race gender and class

Race, Gender, and Class In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins:  Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduces the term “ Intersectionality. ” The arguments and research in the article offers an insightful and probing look into the current racial and gender climate of our culture. It tells about how various categories such as gender, race, and class interact on similar levels and leading to the cause of social inequality. It also holds several forms of social oppression in our society and thus creating multiple distinct types of discrimination. She also explains how race and gender oppression interact through Black women’s lives. Through her article, Kimberle Williams illustrates her main point that women of color experience both their race and gender together in a way that is not mutually exclusive. Moreover, this socially constructed identity interacts to create differentiation between people and a social hierarchy within the society. For example, a woman being discriminated in a sexist society is vague about her personal experience, and instead, knowing her race, class, and attitude towards each of these is also essential. However, some may argue race is simply based on physical appearance, I argue race is strongly shaped by gender and class because all points of identity are socially constructed and overlap. Through Crenshaw’s very thorough research and her carefully pieced argument about the violence against color women, which clearly shows while we have been discussing race and gender, we completely missed the discussion of race with gender. Crenshaw has an excess of information and examples to cite which show how race with gender has been entirely neglected in some certain cases. The author further contains the overall argument into speaking strictly in terms of violence against women, and how violence against women of color is treated and viewed as being the same as violence against women in general, completely ignoring the different social structures which affect only color women but white women. Racist and stereotyping of color people cause many very unfair treatments to them. There are many kinds of racism and prejudiced; neither of them is fair. Unintentionally, people make difficult situations to different races. However, no one would like to be discriminated from others. Thus, everyone should learn the difference between different cultures, countries and religions. No one should be discriminated by their races, religions, or appearances such as skin colors. Again, Crenshaw brings so much evidence to her point, “ the separate and distinct plights of women of color are not recognized by any other vocal group as being anything noteworthy. ” Through Crenshaw’s attitude, she further perpetuates this belief of their own negligible experiences in the minds of those similar color women. In addition to the violence against color women, Crenshaw also shows the strong connection of race between gender and class by differentiating structural and political intersectionality. In her article, Crenshaw shows that structural intersectionality discloses the ways in which an individual’s legal status or social needs isolate them such as the convergence of identity statuses. Crenshaw cites the example of rape counseling for women of color, noting that the specific convergence of socioeconomic status, race, and gender makes it less likely that poor women of color will receive the assistance they need if resources are allocated according to the standards of need of racially and economically privileged women. On the other hand, political intersectionality highlights the different and possibly conflicting needs and goals from which an individual draws his identity. Crenshaw uses the example of Black women whose political energies are often split between social action agendas based on race and on gender. Neither alone may effectively address the specific concerns or most pressing needs of Black women themselves. Crenshaw’s analysis reminds us that the nature of the experience varies. Her analysis also highlights the fact that the individual’s experience of intersecting identities must be distinguished from the ways that intersection is shown in our larger culture. In Hector Silva’s pencil drawing, My Homeboys Rudy and Frank, shows a powerful force that interconnects race, gender and class. The picture lovingly depicts two Latino men, one of whom displays his admiration for the other, while that other is recognizably enjoying this admiration. It helps stimulating and challenging the observers to connect intersectionality with the picture. Although the two muscular Latino men are aware of being gazed upon they face straightforwardly towards the rest of the world with an extreme positive attitude and confidence. Through her drawings, Silva shows power, breaking silences about homosexuality with Latino homeboy culture. It also liberates and redefines Latino male masculinity by depicting love and tenderness among queer people such as color people. Moreover, the daises in the foreground that relies on the other is just as Rudy’s dependence on Frank, which enhance the homeboy aesthetic. In addition to that, the independent daisy robustly standing in the back shows their confidence and independence in which they do not care about what others think about them. By painstakingly observing the two Latino men, the man in the back with unshaved beard wears an Adidas jersey and a gold necklace tells us about his fashion sense as well as the way he acts towards his life: brave, beauty, luxurious, unique, and individualistic. On the other hand, the man in the front wears an open shirt that shows his chest symbolizing his openness to his life. These two Latino gay male figure completely redefine the image we used to have and connects race, gender, and class in a total different way. As an Asian female, I also sometimes feel that I am marginalized in the group or society but not often so far. It is considered that my country, Taiwan, is some kind male-centric culture. Men always have to be a breadwinner in the family and that may the reason of those culture. I personally have seen many men who could not accept independent woman or successful women in the social status or financially. This male-centric culture has been changed slowly in the country during decades. However the weird part is when it moves to the multiracial country like U. S. A., it is getting worse. I’ve heard many stories how their parents are conservative and how many discrimination happens between men and women in the Asian-American society. It may be caused that during Asian men have tried to be recognized their masculinity and overcome the racism. Moreover, I found Crenshaw’s essay to be extremely culturally important and incredibly relevant. Any effective kind of identity politic must be informed by all aspects of a person’s identity; not just race, and not just gender but a combination of all the various intricacies that creates a person’s identity. To separate one out makes a person no less of the other, and the only way to truly address them is to do so in a way that accommodates how they all come together to form their own separate and unique experience. However, through all of this seeming social desire to focus so much on gender and race, the fact that the two can also intersect and create a whole new array of complicated issues for a person and a culture seems to have been totally missed. We all have intersectional identities that are shaped through systems of power relations, and through experiences of oppression.  Intersectionality helps us to understand how gender, class, race, and other factors in our experience fit together.