ipl-logo

Critical And Intersectional Approach To Feminist Geography

2123 Words9 Pages

Feminist geography provides a critical and intersectional approach to understanding the complex ways in which gender and power shape our experiences of space and place, while also emphasizing social justice and activism to challenge systems of oppression and create more equitable and inclusive spaces.
Feminist geography is a vibrant and inclusive field that provides a unique epistemology for understanding the complex ways in which gender and power shape our experiences of space and place. As an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach, feminist geography challenges traditional ways of thinking about geography and offers a critical lens through which to analyze the social and political forces that shape our world. This epistemology emphasizes …show more content…

In her essay "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference," Lorde argues that the dominant culture constructs a mythical norm of what is considered "normal" or "acceptable," and that this norm is based on the experiences and values of white, heterosexual, middle-class men. This norm is then used to marginalize and oppress those who do not fit this ideal, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Feminist geographers have applied Lorde's concept of the mythical norm to their work, using it to analyze how dominant cultural norms shape our experiences of space and place. For example, feminist geographers might explore how urban planning decisions are made based on the needs and desires of the mythical norm while ignoring the needs of marginalized groups. They might also examine how the built environment reinforces gendered expectations and norms, such as through the design of public restrooms or the placement of streetlights.
In addition to her contributions to feminist geography, Lorde's work has also influenced other fields such as critical race theory and queer theory. Her emphasis on intersectionality and the importance of valuing difference has been central to the development of these fields, which similarly seek to understand and challenge systems of …show more content…

At its core, feminist geography seeks to uncover and challenge the ways in which gender and power shape our experiences of space and place. By entering the perspectives and experiences of marginalized groups, feminist geography offers a critical lens through which to understand and transform the world.
One of the key strengths of feminist geography is its focus on intersectionality. Rather than treating gender as a singular and universal category, feminist geography recognizes the ways in which gender intersects with other social identities, such as race, class, sexuality, and ability. This intersectional approach allows for a more nuanced and complex understanding of how power operates in different contexts. For example, a feminist geographer might explore how the experiences of black women in urban spaces are shaped by both gender and race, as well as by other factors such as class and citizenship

Show More
Related
1351 Words | 6 Pages

Audre Lorde's essay lacks explicit references to qualitative or quantitative research but establishes credibility through personal experiences and critical analysis of feminism's treatment of difference. She uses rhetorical questions and personal anecdotes to challenge biases and highlight limitations in feminist discourse. Lorde's logic points out the narrow scope of systems and calls for recognizing diversity as crucial for practical feminism. She challenges the audience to recognize the independence and mutual support that can arise from acknowledging differences, which is a logical step towards a more inclusive and effective feminist. Her essay has a significant emotional impact, as she urges the audience to confront their biases and the "terror and loathing of any difference" within themselves.

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

Moreover, Lorde states in Sister Otsider: Essays and Speeches that; “Black and Third World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity. Women are expected to educate men. Lesbians and gay men are expected to educate the heterosexual world.” (Lorde 115).

Read More
511 Words | 3 Pages

In September of 1979, Audre Lorde, poet, spoke about the impossibility of dismantling the patriarchy through oppressive means. The black feminist woman, Lorde, who has cancer at the point of this speech, uses ethos, pathos, and logos in order to guilt the audience into making a change of how black feminists are represented. Ethos is the building of the author's credibility in order to become more persuasive because people tend to believe people who they deem likable or respectable. “I agreed to take part in a New York University Institute for the Humanities conference a year ago, with the understanding that I would be commenting upon papers dealing with the role of difference within the lives of American women: difference of race, sexuality, class, and age. The absence of these considerations weakens any feminist discussion of the personal and the political.”

Read More
889 Words | 4 Pages

Confronting many challenges within the country of Brazil, Black women are taking the lead in grassroots movements against the government’s sexism, police brutality, and the wealthy elite and their gentrification programs. Keisha-Khan Perry exposes the inner working of these grassroots movements in the neighborhoods of Brazil in her book Black Women Against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justice in Brazil. Global issues of gentrification are displayed in the battles of land grabbing and urban development plans specific to Brazil, highlighting the courageous women fighting the battle. Perry gives an example of the courage and determination to the women in Brazil in Chapter One of her book, showing a group of women standing in front of a

Read More
1772 Words | 8 Pages

As stated in Sabrina Alimahomed’s article, “ Thinking Outside The Rainbow: Women of Color Redefining Queer Politics and Identity,” queer Latinas and Asian/Pacific Islander women experience marginality within the mainstream LGBT movement and their racial and ethnic communities. For queer Latinas and Asian/Pacific Islander women, race creates another layer of oppression, while white women use their race as a form of power and privilege. As stated in Audre Lorde’s article, “ Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” women of color are regarded as others and not important when it comes to white feminism. White women ignore their privilege of being white, and instead of focusing on how women are oppressed based on differences of race, sexuality, class, and age, they just focus on being oppressed as women (Lorde 3) . They fail to understand or even want to comprehend the struggles of women of

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

As with all theories, this feminist approach to Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” does not come without its flaws. While it can be argued that this poem criticizes the performativity of feminine gender roles in a patriarchal society, this cannot be proven definitively without knowing the author’s original intentions. Furthermore, the poem does not give its readers enough information to conclude that the society the women live in is in fact a patriarchal society. This becomes evident, as there is no reference to any masculine figure – so any assumptions about the masculine-dominant culture are purely speculative. It is possible that Halfe wrote this poem in an attempt to challenge the gender binary, however one stands to question how successfully she is in doing so.

Read More
664 Words | 3 Pages

Divisions within feminism through differences are demobilizing the necessary movement required to create change. In Audre Lorde’s piece, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”, Lorde uses her experience at NYU’s Humanities conference to address how racism and homophobia are present in feminism. Furthermore, she believes not all women of a particular identity share the same experiences, so to change the patriarchy, feminists must work together and use their differences as a uniting factor rather than something to categorize and separate women. Through the reference to metaphor- the master house and the master’s tools- and the use of pathos, Lorde ensures to stress that differences between people need to be used as empowerment

Read More
2798 Words | 12 Pages

Bibliography - Susan J. Ferguson. ' Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class.' Dimensions of Inequality and Identity, SAGE Publications, 7/16/2015 - Jamila Osman. ' Navigating Intersectionality: How Race, Class, and Gender Overlap.'

Read More
401 Words | 2 Pages

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.”

Read More
558 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1305 Words | 6 Pages

Growing up, we were taught to look at the world in juxtaposition. This outlook forces us to order things such as race, sex, and socioeconomic status in categorical or hierarchical terms. In order to be on top, someone has to be beneath you, so those who are oppressors focus on maintaining their positions while still keeping the oppressed under their thumb. In the reading, Lorde speaking more on feminism but I feel like this is inclusive of men as well, but to me, this passage gives a sense of connectivity between various issues and how none of them can truly be addressed without acknowledging the others. This quote shows how oppression is largely universal while demonstrating how uncomfortable topics should not be avoided for fear of said discomfort.

Read More
538 Words | 3 Pages

Intersectionality is described by Davis as “the interaction between gender, race, and other categories of difference in individual lives, social practices, institutional arrangements and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these interactions in terms of power”(p. 456, Davis). In relation to inequality and intersectionality, Browne and Misra discuss the anti-categorical approach which explains how by placing people in categories of race, class, and gender, we are only perpetuating inequality by continuing to acknowledge our differences. These categories are inherently intersectional, with race being gendered and “classed”, and gender being “raced” and classed”. (p. 468, Browne, Misra) In conclusion, race, gender, and intersectionality play a major role in understanding inequality.

Read More
1376 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

Comparing Boys and Girls and Emma Watson’s speech for her HeForShe campaign Gender is not referred “to sex, but to this set of prescribed behavior,” as said by Marlene Goldman’s “Penning in the Bodies” (Goldman). There are many rules set upon an individual as to what is acceptable and what is not. The short story Boys and Girls by Alice Munro focuses on the implications the narrator had to endure on her journey to womanhood by reason of gender stereotypes. Emma Watson’s speech for the HeForShe campaign targets on abolishing gender inequality. Despite inequity, there is a myriad of comparable traits that are shared by humans which portrays our personality.

Read More
1363 Words | 6 Pages

The ‘third sphere’…is a space of transit precisely because the women within those spaces define the spaces, as opposed to being defined by

Read More

More about Critical And Intersectional Approach To Feminist Geography

Related Topics

Open Document