Goodkind And Lorde Analysis

Goodkind’s literature resonated with one of my favorite quotes by Audre Lorde: “There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issues lives." Goodkind and Lorde argue that individuals can hold multiple oppressions which intersect to produce varied experiences of discrimination or disempowering relations, and as a society, our issues intersect. I agree with the primary argument presented by author Goodkind. For example, the discrimination of black women in the workplace for looking “unprofessional” with natural hair is a result of the policing of a woman’s appearance layered with the equation of professionalism with whiteness. However, the view of this issue as simply issues of race overlook the power dynamic within
racial communities, themselves. Race-specific policies that aim to address this issue, without the lens of intersectionality, excludes the experiences of mixed-women of color, transgender women, and light-skinned women of color.
I agree with Goodkind, policies that seek to attain social change should not reflect only the louder voices and narratives. Feminist social work and legislations must acknowledge that there is diversity in the ways individuals experience privilege or oppression. Moreover, without an emphasis on interdependence and intersectional framework, our
assistance cannot truly be anti-oppressive but rather temporary solutions to intergenerational inequality, crises, and social injustices. Responses to “delinquent” girls’ acts, rather than to the root causes, do little to address the underlying problem or youths’ needs. Likewise, responding with strategies solely or primarily with reference to their gender is doomed to failure.
As a society, we acknowledge historical and childhood experiences of adversity and its implications. We acknowledge that the problems and risks facing women are interrelated and complex. Professionals, across discipline, agree that changing maladaptive schema and defense mechanisms developed during those historical and childhood experiences is no easy thing. Yet, all too often society expects “delinquent” girls or women, with the help of their individualized support-team, to change, be better humans, or make better choices after a brief treatment duration. This assumption neglects the notion that decisions or the experiences of life are not made in a vacuum and that outside of the treatment settings, individuals must independently and persistently battle systemic issues. The combination of macro- and micro level interventions impact the epidemic of generational adversity at a population level, and thus permanently reduce the many disparities that exist. This application allows social workers to intervene within the person-in-environment modality or mindset. To me, PIE allows professionals to help the individual and society as a whole rather than separate acting
entities. For class discussion, I would love to explore the following concepts: the importance of an intersectional approach in social research and health disparities intersection with gender-specific programs. Can we engage all child-serving systems and look at the whole child without the creation of burnout cascade and influx in the juvenile justice system and child welfare?