Personal Narrative: Western Feminism In Canada

Superior Essays
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. After all, since their beginnings in the 19th century, Western feminisms, which are in and of themselves noble causes, have discounted the experiences and lived realities of women of colour; instead, the oppressions of Third World Women have been moulded under the guise of Western feminisms, as if the struggles of white, middle class women universally apply to all women (Mohanty 2). The concept of intersectionality, coined by black scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, aims to depose this exclusionary feminist philosophy. Indeed, it is a framework that analyzes the interlocking and structural nature of oppressions and privileges that a specific individual or group experiences. In truth, as an Arab …show more content…
When I apply to part-time jobs, I am thankful that my name does not sound particularly Arabic or Islamic so as to not face discrimination before I even meet my potential employer. Nevertheless, Canada, a country built on immigration, is both my country and my home. Unfortunately, however, my race, gender, and religious affinity, which form to create my identity, are increasing and exacerbating my experiences with systemic racism, and are even leading to fuelled surveillance. In reality, my religious identity is both racialized and sexualized, because I am an Arab woman, but also because my hijab visibly illustrates that I have not “assimilated” to Western society’s …show more content…
Because I am heterosexual, which is natural in Western society, I am entrenched with institutionalized values and beliefs that are oppressive to people in the queer community, who are then ostracised because they are labelled as “different” and “other.” I myself am also regarded this way, but in a different context. Thus, in order to become agents of change, we, as feminists, must address society’s structural problems by addressing power relations and our “common context of struggle” (Mohanty 7). Indeed, only under the guise of intersectionality can feminism hope to make a

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