Race, Class, And Gender Still Matter By Margaret L, Andersen And Patricia Hill Collins

Margaret L, Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, in their article, (Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter, published in Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, addresses the topic of race, class and gender and argues that their relevance is due to the fact that they continue to structure society in ways that value some lives more than others. They supports this claim by using the matrix of domination in relation to gender, race and class, then advise the reader to look at an issue through a broad perspective- realizing both the oppressor and the oppressed, and finally distinguish between recognizing and understanding diversity and not just acknowledging it. Andersen and Collins’ purpose is to have students think about race, class and gender
as systems of power, how the three categories matter in shaping everyone lived experiences, and to understand race, class, and gender are linked experiences. Furthermore, Anderson and Collins adopt an unbiased, and assertive yet friendly tone for his/her audience, the readers and others interested in the topic of race, class and gender. By doing this, the readers can relate to the struggles that the issues bring up however the authors can still get their point or message across clearly.
One of the strengths of the authors’ argument posits that “diversity created by race, class, and gender constitutes cosmetic differences of style , not structural opportunities” (Anderson and Collins 9).
This states that diversity should not be something that limits one group and privileges another. Acknowledging the fact that there is a system of oppressor and oppressed within class systems is a factor I feel my other sources do not mention greatly. However, one of the weaknesses I found in the argument came about when there are questions as to what's or who’s privileged and why. The authors greatly detail the importance of intersectionality in diversity and are direct in getting their point across that in order to understand race, class and gender. While I agree that intersectionality should be considered greatly when dealing with issues of gender race and class however, I feel that the author focuses more on covering diversity up with this term than stating certain issues that should be acknowledged. Also, the text doesn't directly say much about the issues of race or gender in relation to class and does not specify in detail the relations between the three however it states that the three should be connected. The text overall, is general and is more informative than it is
personal.
The authors state that “dominant forms of knowledge have been constructed largely from the experiences of the most powerful” (Andersen and Collins 2). Therefore, systems of power define the norm of how gender, class or race are perceived. In Aladdin, The Sultan is constantly trying to find a suitor for Princess Jasmine to marry. Because of the Arabian law, she must find someone to marry before her next birthday so that he can become the sultan. This along with other moments within the film indicate that a woman is not capable of taking care of herself and must depend on the man to provide for her. Here, the law, or the upmost system of power, develops an inclusive perspective on woman and that they should not be given power. Because the law dictates what happens within society, the misconception of woman being submissive or subservient may commonly occur. To further this point the authors satirically point out “... as if race, class, and gender were benign categories that foster diverse experiences instead of systems of power that produce social inequalities” (Anderson and Collins 8). The authors stress that the overarching systems of power may negatively impact the standard of race, class, and gender. Institutional power like schools, government, the economy, media, religions and family/culture all infiltrate what a society knows to be normal or what is expected from a certain class, race or gender.