African American Women In Society Compared To White

The main problem being discussed in this reading is the effect of social conflict and the distinctive differences of minorities in society. This reading particularly points out the struggles that African American men and women face in society compared to Whites. The author’s reason for writing this is to exemplify how it is challenging for African-Americans to fuse their subculture with their overall American identity. The author also points out black feminism and how feminism as a whole is associated to various issues such as race and class and how the power of African-Americans, women in particular, are looked down upon. This is important to sociology because it brings a different perspective into the lives of African-Americans that some
people may have never understood. One of the main arguments made by W.E.B DuBois was the effects of double-consciousness. This concept exemplified how African Americans lived in a society that completely degraded them as individuals. However, the African American culture encouraged equality and self-respect. This conflict is labeled as double consciousness which pressures them to look at themselves from the eyes of others, which in return makes it complex for them to unify their own subculture with their American identity. Similarly to this concept, Black Feminism embodies how black women as a group suffer from inequality and oppression. Black women have always had a negative stigma placed on their names that Whites would support. Both of the concepts of double-consciousness and Black Feminism endorse the critical social theory of improving the lives of minorities, African-Americans particularly, and changing society as a whole. These arguments contrast however when it comes to the gender. W.E.B. DuBois concept was aimed towards black men and women. Whereas, Black Feminism relates to the struggles of black women solely. Black Feminism alongside of double-consciousness are both sociologically relevant because there is still not complete equality for men vs women, black women vs white women, black men vs white men, etc. There still is still a gap between gender and race. These concepts are relatively important due to the fact that there is still injustice in today’s society. This aligns with ideas I am aware of such as sexism, class oppression and racism are all connected in one way or another. In this society, it can kind of be a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that the more you hear negative comments about your race, the more you’ll become it or start to believe it; making African Americans view themselves as outsiders.