Laws, race and gender all have a distinctly social basis and are constantly being shaped by the society in which it operates. Our interactions and experiences are governed by our race, class and gender which are all elements used to divide, separate and categorize us. These divisions generate biases that are often reflected in our laws. In Race as Civic Felony, Wacquant describes the ingrained fear and contempt held by whites towards black people to this day. He states, “they continue to regard [Blacks] with suspicions and whose lower-class members they virtually identify with social disorder, sexual dissolution, school deterioration, welfare profiteering, neighborhood declines, economic regression and most significantly violent crime”. The
…show more content…
Women were not given the right to vote until 1920 and many were considered either property of their husbands, they could not own property, sign contracts or make wills, their lives were dependent on men and the state. Throughout most of the 19th century men could hit their wives to correct or punish misbehavior as long as the injuries weren’t serious (Barkan). Although gender discrimination is now considered a civil rights violation, there are still laws that perpetuate gender inequality. In Mapping the Margins, Crenshaw shows how feminist and antiracist politics have influenced laws that have helped to marginalize women of color. She provides the example of the Immigration Acts of 1990, which sought to cut down fraudulent marriages among immigrant women who were marrying U.S. citizens. The provisions forced those who immigrated to marry to remain properly married for two years before applying for permanent residency, at which time both spouses had to submit applications. “Under these circumstances, many immigrant women were reluctant to leave even the most abusive of partners for fear of being deported” (Crenshaw). The law was later amended to allow a waiver for hardship due to domestic violence. However, for many immigrant women the waiver us unobtainable due to limited resources, cultural and language barriers. A policy that was meant to hinder fraudulent marriages and curb immigration, inadvertently disadvantaged an entire group of battered
Women were not given the right to vote until 1920 and many were considered either property of their husbands, they could not own property, sign contracts or make wills, their lives were dependent on men and the state. Throughout most of the 19th century men could hit their wives to correct or punish misbehavior as long as the injuries weren’t serious (Barkan). Although gender discrimination is now considered a civil rights violation, there are still laws that perpetuate gender inequality. In Mapping the Margins, Crenshaw shows how feminist and antiracist politics have influenced laws that have helped to marginalize women of color. She provides the example of the Immigration Acts of 1990, which sought to cut down fraudulent marriages among immigrant women who were marrying U.S. citizens. The provisions forced those who immigrated to marry to remain properly married for two years before applying for permanent residency, at which time both spouses had to submit applications. “Under these circumstances, many immigrant women were reluctant to leave even the most abusive of partners for fear of being deported” (Crenshaw). The law was later amended to allow a waiver for hardship due to domestic violence. However, for many immigrant women the waiver us unobtainable due to limited resources, cultural and language barriers. A policy that was meant to hinder fraudulent marriages and curb immigration, inadvertently disadvantaged an entire group of battered