The first example from this semester 's reading that expanded my understanding of intersectionality is Andrea Smith’s (2015), Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. One of the pieces of valuable information I learned during our study of Native American is that sexual violence is a tool of racism (p. 29) and that the United States government condoned abuse, rape and murder of Native Americans when they knowingly concealed guilty rapists and murders. A decision that rendered ultimately led to the offenders never being charged because “rape falls under the Major Crimes Act” tribes were unable to prosecute and were reliant on the federal government to seek justice (Smith 2015:32). Therefore, the federal government’s decision not
…show more content…
In this reading, Lorde explained that we live in a capitalist economic state which enables women to allow differences to divide them. She argues that because we live in a profit economy, it has become common practice to ignore each other’s differences out of fear. Lorde also explains that race, age, and sex are not what rule America, that proceeds supersedes all of those factors and that sexual and racial differences are not what divide us, but that sexism and racism do because they are built upon an inequity of power. She explained how racism and, sexism intersect, “racism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance. Sexism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one sex over the other and thereby the right to dominance” and challenged us not to allow fear to isolate us, but to empower us so that we can transform society’s perceptions of …show more content…
In McNeal 's blog, she expressed how this book opened her understanding to the course title and all it entails. She talked about how her first impression of the title of the course and how she thought it meant the study of African American women; however Nam’s book allowed her to understand that the class name means so much more. That “Women of Color” is a gift basket of multiple ethnic groups that consists of many different cultures with a variety of backgrounds wrapped in a large bowl of unity (McNeal
In this reading, Lorde explained that we live in a capitalist economic state which enables women to allow differences to divide them. She argues that because we live in a profit economy, it has become common practice to ignore each other’s differences out of fear. Lorde also explains that race, age, and sex are not what rule America, that proceeds supersedes all of those factors and that sexual and racial differences are not what divide us, but that sexism and racism do because they are built upon an inequity of power. She explained how racism and, sexism intersect, “racism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance. Sexism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one sex over the other and thereby the right to dominance” and challenged us not to allow fear to isolate us, but to empower us so that we can transform society’s perceptions of …show more content…
In McNeal 's blog, she expressed how this book opened her understanding to the course title and all it entails. She talked about how her first impression of the title of the course and how she thought it meant the study of African American women; however Nam’s book allowed her to understand that the class name means so much more. That “Women of Color” is a gift basket of multiple ethnic groups that consists of many different cultures with a variety of backgrounds wrapped in a large bowl of unity (McNeal