Intersectionality: Race And Gender Relations

Intersectionality-Race and Gender Relations In order to understand race, class, gender, and sexuality we must understand these ideas as individuals, and how they work as a collective. Intersectionality is using these components to discriminate against a group of people in more than one way. It’s important because it shows how a person can be discriminated against because of different factors, for example, Black women face both racism, and sexism. Understanding how intersectionality works is important because with that approach we understand different struggles. However, if we fail to take an intersectional approach, then we limit the impact of struggles on an individual. This is a way to oppress a certain group of people, like white women. …show more content…
It’s necessary to have an intersectional approach, because if we don’t then we will be ranking struggles rather than seeing how they happen hand in hand. In the Combahee River Collective, it discusses how Black women face oppression regarding both race and gender. They are oppressed mainly by White males who have been making decisions for them socially and politically. White women do advocate for women's rights, however they do not take in account that race is also an issue. Black men face racism, however they do intentionally are sexist, and believe that the main issue at hand is racism. Rather than taking an intersectional approach, both White women and Black men rank oppressions, whereas if they were too understand that a struggle can be the combination of both race and gender, they would be able to help free Black women. The CRC defines intersectionality as having a consciousness of oppression as …show more content…
According to Patricia Hill in Black Feminist Thought, Black Women have experienced oppression from both sexism and racism. Black Women are considered to be the lowest minority group there is, which then highlights the fact that they have always been like this because of society. It also discusses how Black women are have one struggle, in unique ways. This is explained by The CRC how Black women are in constant threat of physical and sexual abuse by men. This social structure was created to keep White men in power. In this process, white women were were second in “class, then Africans, however, to be more specific, it was Black men than Black women. Black men have gotten more coverage of being oppressed by the white man, but not black women. White women have also gotten more coverage of being oppressed by the White man but not black women. This brings up the question, is being anti-racism, sexist, or is being a feminist mean being racist. In the CRC is discusses a lot about Black Feminism and how it is beneficial to everyone who is oppressed. Black Feminism is inclusive, of an ever changing movement towards liberation. Black feminists have come to the conclusion that if Black women are free then everyone is free, in the terms of oppression. In CRC