Short Post 2/10/11

Lorde and McIntosh both brought up an issue that has baffled and frustrated me for quite some time. This issue is the idea of oppressed groups oppressing other groups. Perhaps this is a product of a fear of an unstable position in society. I can see how there is a need to subjugate another group below yours so that no matter what, you know that you will never reach the bottom of society. This may be an unconscious wish that people write off as simply being in contact with the correct people. Lorde makes a very strong point in saying that one should make the effort to become educated rather than hiding behind ignorance. It is tempting to claim that in the women’s movement we must first achieve equality for women and then it will be time to worry about race and sexual orientation. This sounds dangerously similar to the way that women’s issues were eventually excluded from the civil rights movement. If women saw this setback in our own battle, then how can we with good conscious turn around and commit the same offense. Women of color and lesbians are women and when we are saying that this is a battle for women’s right they are automatically included. This is not something that can just be said, but it must also be acted upon. A genuine effort must be made to include their voices in the main argument and not be kept to the periphery.
Lorde’s list of the unearned advantages gained simply by the color of my skin was certainly eye opening. This list was so powerful because as she expected many of the things she listed I never even think about. The two on the list that I identified the most with were points number seventeen and twenty. These two points are very relatable to the things I have experienced as woman. They express the basic idea that when a person of color does something positive or negative it is seen as reflective of their entire race. She used the example of chewing with your mouth open, but for women I feel as though there are different things attributed to our gender. This example made me think of the times when a woman will start to talk about something that is bothering her and she will be immediately written off as being dramatic or catty. In my experience with men they can get just as frustrated with their friends or situations, but when they want to talk about it they are never called dramatic. By calling women dramatic it immediately discredits their concerns and puts them in a place where they feel unheard and alone. The insight I gained from these articles is that any movement against oppression would be infinitely stronger if it would unite with other oppressed groups rather than putting them down.