Matrix Of Domination Analysis

The Matrix of Domination as described by Patricia Hill Collins, is the interlocking system of oppression based on race, class, gender, and sexuality. The Matrix of Domination was initiated as a concept to represent the truth that in order to actually understand oppression we must understand its counter position of privilege. Moving beyond the decades old tradition of focusing only on the oppressed (African Americans, women, the poor, LGBTQ), the notion of the Matrix of Domination forces us to face that oppression is developed by privilege and that we all occupy some statuses of privilege, regardless of our statuses as oppressed. Providing a structure for understanding oppression as a result of privilege forces us to inspect the role that individual actors and institutions play in both creating oppression and benefiting from it.

Collins says that race, class, and gender comprise interlocking systems of oppression or a matrix of domination. It is not that women have been controlled and submissive to men, but women of color and poor people are also subservient by others. While domination and subordination is distinct, it forms part of the “one overarching structure of domination.” Instead than describing the experiences of one …show more content…
For example, only 25% of all Americans earn a college education. Hence, a college student who is a racial/ethnic minority, a woman, LGBTQ, or who grew up in poverty holds at least one status of privilege, education. Also, she/he likely holds others, including being able-bodied and being a citizen of the richest country in the world. The concept of the matrix of domination lies in its capacity to take off the blinders and reveal the problems of power, privilege, and oppression as it operates in individual lives, in institutionalized plans and practices, and in the formation of hegemonic