This Bridge Called My Back Analysis

This Bridge Called My Back – Writings by Radical Women of Color is a collection of poems, essays, speeches, and various other documents written by women of color in order to explore their ideas and opinions on feminism, sexism, and racism. The authors put forth several ideas that are still relevant today, over thirty years after the book was originally published. One concept, created by Cherrie Moraga, is “theory in the flesh.” Moraga wanted to look at women’s real-life experiences, bring these women together to form a powerful group, and actively confront contradictions associated with women of color feminism. Bridge uses this concept by presenting women of color’s personal experiences, deep thoughts, and untouched feelings, even if they contradict …show more content…
She asks the reader: “what are the ways [people of color] hold out our wrists to be shackled?” (Anzaldua 207). In other words, women of color cannot automatically blame racism on white people without examining their own racial biases. Anzaldua believes that women of color are not oppressors, but “accomplices to oppression” when they pass on white ideologies to their friends and family (Anzaldua 207). It is assumed by many people that racism is exclusive to white people and nothing can change that fact. Anzaldua’s passage shows just one example of how the writings in Bridge present new ways of looking at oppression by looking deeper into their own biases and prejudices. Canaan agrees with Anzaldua’s idea when she states that “part of [people of color’s] victimization is self-oppression” (Canaan 232). People of color frequently accept the stereotypes white people place upon them and use these stereotypes and insults for jokes; these jokes, in turn, unconsciously teach children that brown is bad. Young women end up feeling powerless as they internalize the idea that white people are superior to them in some