Police Masculinity

Question 4 The issue of police brutality is sickeningly present in America and highly controversial. Instead of being flooded with feelings of relief and safety upon seeing a member of the police force, people of color feel anxiety and fear. Will this police officer harass or question me with no valid reason? Will they attempt to search my body or violate me? Will they even try to kill me? Black individuals are the most prone to acts of unnecessary police violence. In chapter 5, they discuss the stereotypes surrounding black men. In the minds of many, they secure all the traits of hyper masculinity, which is extreme adaptation to the rules of masculinity that tend to lean more towards the intense and aggressive side, but it is enhanced. This …show more content…
In chapter 5, it talks about how black women somehow become more masculine in the eyes of others. The way that black women have been treated in history and today clash with society’s belief in females being fragile and pure. In Sojurner Truth’s speech “Ain’t I a Woman” she talks about this, and how the white woman are complaining about men feeling the need to help them all the time and not having the opportunity to take care of themselves, but no man ever helped her as a black woman. Police officers will then masculinize black women in order to justify their treatment. In order to avoid this, many black women partake in emphasized femininity, which is an amplified form of femininity. The female will go above and beyond to prove that they can be feminine and counter the stereotype that has been placed upon them. In the reading “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, Peggy McIntosh recognizes her privilege as a white woman compared to women of color. She says “I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.” Black women and men constantly have this fear that in any legal situation they get in, their race will turn something against them. This is why it is important to recognize your own privilege, and to have a large understanding of …show more content…
It is essential that they recognize that. Sure, white women are oppressed. There is a wage gap. They have less opportunity. They are not always treated with respect, they are objectified, etc. It is unnecessary to downplay their struggles; they are meaningful and valid. However, black women have all that plus their race to contend with. While they are disrespected and objectified, they also have to worry about dying because their skin is a different color. They have to worry about a police officer harassing them because they are not white. This is why intersectionality is important. Intersectionality is recognizing the different aspects of a human being. It is not just your gender, but your race and your social class. Our gender is not just one lone aspect about us a humans, but it intersects other ways in which we identify. In the reading “Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter” it talks about the importance of understanding how big a part intersectionality plays in our lives, and it isn’t about focusing on one social aspect of one another, but all of them together. It talks about changing our perception of white experiences. We must not silence our black sisters, because white women do understand oppression as a woman, but they will never understand oppression as a black woman. It is so important that people recognize intersectionality when thinking about gender studies. It should not be just talking about the