In her essay, Engendering Racial Difference, author Kathleen Brown argues that “early definitions of racial difference and the accompanying discriminatory practices resulted ultimately in a race-specific concept of womanhood.” Such a ‘race-specific concept of womanhood’ was eventually ingrained in the laws of Virginia which expedited the perpetual enslavement of the African people and their children. The initial legal ambiguity in Virginia laws regarding slaves facilitated either the exploitation of slaves by their masters or servitude and their eventual release subject to the “good-will of their masters.” As more slaves (who were mostly African) started arriving in Virginia, however, a need for a slave code soon developed. Because many of…
The article Intersecting Oppressions by Patricia Hill Collins was very interested. After reading this article I feel that there is some problem when it comes to your gender, race and your social class. I don’t feel like everyone has the same advantaged in education as most kids have. When it comes down to your gender you may not be given the same opportunities as the other race meaning male to female. When it comes to race I feel like everyone would be classified by the color of your skin and that really not face so you will not be given the opportunity as some of a different race.…
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a black scholar, who coined the term “intersectionality” in her essay from 1989, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics”, in which she attests that black women are the most oppressed people in American society. A black woman might be discriminated in ways that neither fit into legal categories of “sexism” nor “racism”. She explains that sadly the legislation has generally defined sexism constructed on an assumed position to the injustices confronted by all females (including white), while defining racism to advocate to those confronted by all Blacks (including men). This failure within the legislation captures Black…
“Engendering Racial Difference,” published in Kathleen M. Brown’s 1996 book Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, & Anxious Patriarchs: Gender, Race, and Power in Colonial Virginia, provides the reader with an understanding of how the race-specific role of women came to exist during the mid-seventeenth century in colonial Virginia. Brown’s thesis is the early implications of racial difference and discriminatory measures taken against African women resulted in this race-specific role of women. In the early seventeenth century, the English viewed other races as inferior. Therefore, they tried to assert “desires for domination” over other races, including Africans. For example, the English taxed all Africans in the colonies, as by English standards, both…
The article explains how the U.S. is is messed up because one group "whites" have most of the power which in turn gives more privilege. From a white persons point of view, it gives examples of how white privilege takes…
Terri, as a black male I felt so uncomfortable in my gut reading how black men have oppressed black females. Some of the reading was so difficult emotionally to read I felt a little sick to my stomach. The reading describing what happened on slave ships to children angered me to point of wanting to ask God why was this necessary. I began to wish I could go back in time and "wipe out" every slave owner and crew prior to picking up the first slave.…
Privilege is obtained by a person and everyone has an inherent privilege. Peggy McIntosh however believed some benefit from their privilege more, particularly men and whites. She believes that there is an unrecognized white privilege and those who benefit from it need to acknowledge it. She goes deeply in defining this privilege so everyone who is reading has a very clear understanding of what white privilege is. It is necessary for her to convince us to believe that white privilege is an unearned power for white people that exists and it is a product of our society.…
In result, it is difficult for them to see the struggles of non-white people. McIntosh acknowledges this fact and was able to isolate herself from the community in order to look closely at the gap between the white people and the non-white people. Her tone was very neutral, she was not trying to be in favor to neither groups. I also appreciate the fact that she mentioned how she would forget these inequalities if she did not record them down in writing. It shows that she actually performed an observation to to be able to perceive the actual problems in the community, not making up a fake information to support her claims. In addition, her struggle to memorize the white privilege also support her earlier statement about the white people's inability to distinguish the intangible…
The article “Understanding Whiteness,” conveys the understanding of white privilege and advantages that are commonly experienced. American culture allows those who are white the privilege of not thinking about race in most situations or gatherings they encounter, as they are the majority. It is much easier to see the advantages of being White, when you are the minority or a person of color consistently regulated by white middle class…
Peggy McIntosh is an American feminist and she is also an anti-racist activist of The United States of America. Peggy McIntosh is also the associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, a speaker and the founder and co-director of the National S.E.E.D. Project on Inclusive Curriculum which is basically the seeking of educational equity and diversity. Peggy McIntosh’s area of expertise is feminism and racism. She deals with equality in society and political world for women. She fights for the equal rights of women as the same rights as men. She also expertizes in the field of racism. According to Peggy McIntosh, whites are taught not to recognize the white privileges and that is why she started to ask what it was like to have these white privileges in life and then she started to write this article on her personal observations and experiences. The article, “White privilege and male privilege” is based on Peggy McIntosh’s daily experience within a particular circumstance.…
When I first became knowledgeable about intersectionality, I thought of the phrase “white privilege”. I thought about how, in modern time, most individuals truly do not think about how their race, religion, gender, language, and other aspects of their identities impact their daily lives. While I have experienced brief moments in my life where my identities came to light, I never considered how these “labels” benefit me or even make me vulnerable. All of my identities inform my worldview, and just looking through one may not identify my true privilege or vulnerability. Through my identities, I am influenced in the way I see the world.…
Each and every single white person in western society, regardless of class, gender, or sexual orientation, benefits from institutional racism. This unfortunate truth is due to a concept known as white privilege. White privilege is an innately invisible aspect of life that grants white people certain advantages in life that are not given to people of color. Often seemingly innocuous details many would not consider important, white privilege elevates one race above the rest through societal catering to said race. This societal privilege specifically discriminates against people of color, leading to a racial imbalance and unfairness that has been historically present dating back to well before the colonization of the hemisphere.…
In South Carolina there is of White Privilege within the low country . White Privileges are given outside of South Carolina but this is what effects me the most . The education program as well are even divided for students to have certain privileges. Every year we have this big celebration called Pig Pickin and the funds are donated to the private school to enhance their learning program . I went to public school which no the funds are donated to and our school really needs the funds. My high school barely has any resources such as technology, books and even educators. The private school which is placed in a white area has more than enough funding. They get out at 2o clock and they have a direct link in with one the top PWI in low country South Carolina which forwards them more than a full ride but the program .…
their sex and gender has shown to promote stereotypes as well as inequalities, which hinder the…
Gender discrimination in the workplace was observed in all around the world. An American economist,…