As
a white heterosexual, middle-class women, I am not forced
to think about the intersectionality of race, class, and
gender in anything more than abstract terms. But when I
do think about the interlocking systems of oppression that
exist in our culture it makes me frustrated. I feel frustrated
because I see the blatant injustice. I feel frustrated because
I cannot control what is going on. I feel frustrated because
life is so unfair. I have the luxury of not thinking about
these injustices if I don’t want to ; a luxury that not
many other people can claim.
I really related to Rosario Morales’
article "We’re All in the Same Boat." I think that this
article touched on the major issues of segmentation and
how it benefits those that are already in power. It is impossible
to discuss this article without mentioning Audre Lorde’s
piece. Both works discuss how nothing can change without
everything changing. We can’t simply think of ourselves
in terms of labels, we are people. We are individuals, but
we comprise the human race. Morales discusses that the individualization
of western society has separated our community into factions
that exclude, discriminate, and perpetuate the cycle of
our demise. How she puts it, it almost feels as though the
"individualistic tendencies" that pervade our behavior,
in fact, are a part of the reason that very little progress
is ever made. By dividing us into segmented groups, the
powers that be are destroying their competition. As the
saying goes, "divide and conquer." I think that Morales
is very wise in saying that we all have racist, sexist,
and classist ideas, but the important thing is to keep battling
them and not let them create who we are. Ignoring that they
exist only leads us into perpetuating the stagnant ideas
that need to be changed.
Lorde also makes good point in that
we cannot look at a person as one, mutually exclusive entity.
Everyone is made up of countless identities and thinking
of a person as one of those identities is to not really
see that person. It is unfair to be put in the position
to be forced to rank your identities in descending order.
I can’t separate my experiences as a heterosexual woman
from my experiences as a white student. Everything that
has happened to me has happened to me as a whole. This corresponds
with how Sharon Henderson is completely offended at racist
remarks, even though only her mother is African-American.
Experiences cannot be divided between your traits. It is
impossible to separate yourself into the "affected" and
"non-affected" regions. To ask this of a person is ludicrous
and cruel.
All the readings this week gave
me a heightened awareness of how interlocking systems of
oppression take hold of real people’s lives. I feel fortunate
that I only have to directly deal with sexism; I would prefer
not to, but at the present time it exists so I fight it.
I do feel connected to the fight against all indirect and
direct forms of oppression. Just because I’m not as seriously
affected as other people doesn’t mean that I should ignore
the problem and sit back while it continues. So, like Rosario
Morales encourages, I will "struggle endlessly to think
and be and act differently" so I can make things a little
more tolerable for everyone around me, including myself.
