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Analysis Of Living A Feminist Life By Sara Ahmed

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Audrey Lorde once said “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” I use this quote to introduce my concept of intersectional feminism, Audrey Lorde captured the idea very well. My interpretation of this quote is Lorde focusing on how even women vary in race, religion, sexual orientation and this difference is a woman’s “shackles” which holds her back from being seen as equal. It focuses on how women should not ignore what makes them different, but acknowledge this difference to work together as a feminist community. This brings light to the idea of intersectionality, described as “a framework in which to understand that systems of power and oppression and social identity categories are overlapping, interconnected, and simultaneous”(Lecture Week 3). Intersectionality is using your multitudes of identities to understand both your privileges and oppressions. I am an Indian woman, so while I am a minority and oppressed as a woman, I come from a high socioeconomic status and that is …show more content…

Ahmed’s writing enunciates what feminism means to her and how it can help anyone’s life. She denotes,”Feminism is DIY: a form of self assembly” (Ahmed 25). Feminism is what you make it, whether you choose to let your personal identities and bias engulf feminism or whether you choose to reject it. Feminism is how you add to your character to become your fullest and most original self, she later states,”Becoming feminist: how we redescribe the world we are in. We begin to identify how what happens to others. We begin to identify patterns and regularities” (Ahmed 25). She describes how feminism can change an everyday life to look at the world differently and notice such nuances. This is how she encourages her readers to look at feminism through an intersectional

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The predominant ideas put forth in the piece from the Combahee River Collective were those that addressed the shortcomings of the feminist movement to include all women and to address the full range of issues that oppress individuals and groups of people in our patriarchal society. This greatly furthered my ongoing development and understanding of what intersectionality is, what its goals are, and how it can help everyone instead of the predominately white, cisgendered, heterosexual, upper middle class women that composed and continue to compose a large portion of the feminist movement. One of the biggest shortcomings that are addressed in this piece focused on the racism within the feminist movement and its limited or even minimal efforts

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Some may live through being sexually abused, live in extreme poverty, or even fall victim of being physical or verbally abused. Whatever the reason is, this book shows an outlet for these struggles. The only way we can help others fight these intersectionality issues is by knowing your privilege and using it to help the oppressed with no voice. In Brittney Cooper’s article “Feminism’s ugly internal clash: Why its future is not up to the white women” she states that “the future of feminism is not up to the white women. Not by themselves anyway”.

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She contends that these problems must be addressed in conjunction with other social and economic challenges since they are essential to establishing true gender equality. The book is divided into several chapters, each of which centers on a specific topic related to Kendall’s idea of hood feminism. She examines issues such as the criminal justice system, reproductive rights, food insecurity, and the impact of poverty on women's lives. She also explores the concept of intersectionality and how it applies to feminist activism, arguing that we cannot talk about gender inequality without also addressing racism, classism, and other forms of oppression.

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The generic feminist movement consists of “white, middle-class heterosexual women” (Tong 42). These women focus on their needs, and neglect the specific needs of many women of color, who are often of a lower socioeconomic standing. White feminists focus on liberating the oppressive “housewife role,” (Tong 214) and fail to even attempt to include minority women who may in fact dream of a life in which they were able to stay home with their children. White feminists “fail to realize that it is possible to oppress people by ignoring their differences” (Tong 214). This issue makes it difficult for many non-white women to relate to or desire to be a part of the feminist movement.

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This essay examines how intersectionality impacts Black women, examining their various levels of struggle and the tenacity that defines their path. Crenshaw contends that comprehending intersectionality allows us to see the diverse identities of minority women and better grasp how various oppressive systems interact to produce compounded discrimination. She highlights the significance of viewing race, gender, and other social categories as linked components of one's identity rather than as separate and isolated issues. Black women reside at the intersection of race and gender, which exposes them to a unique set of issues that are sometimes disregarded or misunderstood. Black women face racism and sexism in predominantly White nations, making their experiences complex.

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Write an essay that explains and illustrates the significance of taking an intersectional approach to queer studies. Intersectionality is a theory which states that people have multiple identities and therefore belong to more than one community and thus experience multiple oppressions at the same time. Those who face multiple oppressions because of their layered identities are mostly queer women of color. Taking an intersectional approach to queer studies means exposing the inequalities and disadvantages that occur when people have multiple identities in order for transformational political work to happen. People of color, especially lesbian women of color experience this layered oppression.

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1.The theory/concept of intersectionality is a theory centered around oppression, domination and discrimination through various mediums from the social and cultural elements of society. The theory can be applied in many ways toward women as well as their involvement in the criminal justice system. Some forms of discrimination that is more prevalent in perceiving the individual is using a woman's status, race, sexual orientation, ability and age, however there can be more added to this list. The wiki article said “The theory proposes that we should think of each element or trait of a person as inextricably linked with all of the other elements in order to fully understand one's identity.”

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Intersectional analysis still matter because race still matters in this generation. Intersectional analysis is a theory of discrimination with an individual identity, race, sex, age, and other characteristics. I personally think that not only women face intersectionality but men do as well. In this essay, I will argue that bell hooks’ main argument is how white people do not know what people of colour are going through and how “whiteness” has more privileges then the blacks. hooks approach is intersectional because people of colour are being treated as slaves to the “white” just because of their race and at times their gender.

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Without applying intersectionality in analysis, oppression can only be understood in general terms, which can cause forms of oppression to become undetected (Mattsson, 2014). Instead, intersectionality, demonstrates the complexity of gender, sexuality, class, and race avoiding stereotypes as a whole, rather than simplifying an individual based on one characteristic (Mattsson, 2014). For example, when I was working at a Community Centre in the Jane and Finch area, I had a conversation with my co-worker. He described the barriers and struggles he has faced because of his race and socioeconomic status. It was through this conversation that I realized the pre-conceived notions my co-worker had about me, as a white individual who did not grow-up in the same neighbourhood.

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Midterm Intersectionality: As a human being you are not bound nor placed into one single group or category. You yourself do not identify solely by gender or race. There are multiple aspects to you that make you who you are; it consists on how you see yourself and how the world perceives you. Intersectionality is the interwoven identities that make up who you are: race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, etc. They are interdependent and can be shaped by one’s own personal experiences.

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Indeed, Muslim women apply this concept of intersectionality to centre their own experiences and challenge the

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Kareen Harboyan English 1C Professor Supekar March 15, 2018 Word Count: Crenshaw’s Mapping the Margins: The Marginalization of Women of Color Analyzed Through Generalization and A Feminist Lens Crenshaw's Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color expands on the multifaceted struggles of women of color and the generalizations ingrained in society that limit women of color and keep them in a box. In this text, Crenshaw builds on the concept of intersectionality which proposes that social categorizations such as gender and race are intertwined and have great influence on one another.

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For many, feminist movement is about giving women liberty, equal opportunity and control over their own destiny. C. ISLAMIC FEMINISM In many Muslim countries, the “f” word (feminism) has sparked tensions, conjuring images of domineering, family-hating woman; similar to other labels such as “Muslim” conjuring images of subjugated woman in the mind of the West. Although these stereotypes are true in a specific historical context, these may not be so when compared to a larger reality. Thus, this does not justify the hostility that follows.

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There is a sudden need to join forces in order to promote the welfare and wellbeing of thousands of suffering women across the globe. In todays’ scenario, women are being subjected all sorts of abuse- mental, physical, sexual etc. This again, reemphasises on Feminism as a science and a tool in order to revive these women out of their shambles and empower them. Feminism has been misinterpreted or misunderstood in literature. It doesn’t talk about taking the rights from men and transferring it to women, but it only talks about providing equal rights to both men and women.

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Feminism is a movement that highlights the importance and rearranges the misguidance of critical thinking, and allowing women-and men, awareness. Through many explanations of feminism through The Huffington post, the site explains,” it’s about recognizing that women face a gender-based lack of opportunity, which manifests itself in many ways - from unequal pay to that of men, to, in some cases, great vulnerability to violence. Being a feminist is about being informed and cognizant that all women do not have access to the same advantages as men.” Over the years as society has had to deal with these women versus men debates, younger women, have been more accepting rather than rejecting of the feminism values, this is because while past women dealt with the big issues, that were well seen, and easy to take a stand on, today’s women say ,”feministic inequalities in their lives, often go unnoticed, by even themselves.” (Prabhu,) Feminism has been presented in both positive and negative lights, but the recent waves of feminism has defamed many men, and has hindered supporters from getting actively

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