Black Womanhood Summary

When discussing the sexual politics of black womanhood, Patricia Hill Collins, addresses the topic of “intersecting oppressions.” The term refers to the oppressions a person who is a member of multiple minorities faces. “Sexuality, race, gender, and class,” (Collins 126) are all factors that play into intersecting oppressions—therefore, it is not surprising that the sexuality of black women is often used as an example of intersecting oppressions. There are, of course, many different examples of intersecting oppressions, a few include black youth, and Mipsterz. Generally, people of color, and youth, are viewed in a negative light; that being said, it is not surprising that a person who falls into both categories faces a great deal of oppression. A person who falls into this category is a victim of intersecting oppressions. The person faces not only the oppressions that come with being a person of color—a minority—in the United States, but also the oppressions that come with being a youth in a neoliberal society. Youth are viewed as “disposable,” and, as we saw in our studies of the Black Lives Matter movement, black youth has literally been disposed of, a few examples of this instance would be the deaths of Philando Castille, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner. Each of the three …show more content…
Although one could argue that Radio Raheem was not innocent, his death was not justifiable. The idea that youth is seen as disposable is also strengthen by the reaction of the owner of the pizzeria where the violence began. The owner, a white man named Sal, reacts to the youth’s death by saying, “you do what you gotta do” (Do the Right Thing 1989); the harsh words prove that, in the eyes of Sal, the boy’s existence was insignificant. This view is not surprising because of the intersecting oppressions faced by Radio