The Supreme Court has revealed a draft majority opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts that would find in Mississippi’s favor in the case involving Mississippi’s effort to outlaw most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Alito’s draft opinion rejects Roe and Casey’s choices to either regulate or outlaw abortion. The Combahee River Collective used the term “identity politics” to describe the understanding and analysis of oppression and liberation based on the intersecting identities and experiences of marginalized groups. Capitalism is deeply shaped by power dynamics, including those related to race and gender. Exploitation and labor practices have served to reinforce and perpetuate economic inequalities along racial and gender lines, while unequal access to resources and consumerism and market segmentation reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes and norms related to race and gender. It is important to understand and address the intersections of race, gender, and capitalism to challenge and transform systemic inequalities and injustices.

Collectively, when I consider where we are in the world now, I automatically include people of color. This is primarily because people of color have been taken advantage of for what they could offer, rather than just because they have been dealt a harsh life. “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action.  If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression,” women of color come to the forefront of my mind because of the very real and very corrupt struggle that oppression causes. Our culture is based on people of color, and women of color have been subjected to the worst of it, so this oppression affects us all collectively. Because it originates from a real area of corruption, this problem is far bigger than we realize. Therein, capitalism exists, and race and gender are linked to and have an impact on multiple notions. The pay for women of color and the products that are promoted to us, like the beauty business, which generates billions off of our very fears, are examples of this. The mismatch between our identities and our experiences in the day-to-day is profited from and made worse by capitalism, which very literally feeds off of us. The system was created so that only those that are not of color could succeed and thrive, with the intention of keeping people of color in a position of a a stagnant place. 

• What is meant by the following quote?: “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action.  If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.”

My interpretation of the quote suggests that we must take action to address the economic marginalization, racial oppression, and gender oppression that black women face, which puts them at a disadvantage in all areas. This action would eliminate all forms of structural racism, systemic oppression, and domination by white men at all levels. Black women, regardless of their individual traits, deserve representation at all levels to put an end to male dominance, stereotypes, and various forms of oppression, including prejudice against black men.

• What does the Combahee River collective mean by “identity politics”? How do you see this operating in Paris is Burning?

Identity politics pertains to how individuals identify themselves. However, this often results in a battle. When societal politics oppose one’s sexual, racial, or class identity, it becomes necessary to fight back. Black families use this concept to combat oppression and social injustice. Women who identify differently, such as binary trans or by skin color, have encountered similar struggles. They have had the courage to share their experiences, as seen in the Paris burning. They have expressed their desire for an equal society where women can thrive, but recognize that unity is required to achieve this goal. Together, they are confident in their ability to fight for freedom.

• What do race and gender have to do with capitalism?

Capitalism is an economic and political system where people of different genders and races control a nation’s trade and industry. However, institutional racism within this system leads to unfair situations for black people who are forced to work in unfavorable conditions while being regarded as tokens. This results in unequal power, rights, and exploitation of marginalized groups. The male supremacy within capitalism also contributes to women being relegated to lower level positions. To end systematic oppression, it is necessary to address the problems of capitalism, patriarchy, and imperialism which are all interconnected.

• What is meant by the following quote?: “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action.  If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.”

I think what she mean by this quote is that we are the only one that can stand up for ourselves and since not many people like us we should rely on each other to make our fight and do whatever necessary to change the norms of the way society see us. “We exists as women who are Black who are feminists, each stranded for the moment, working independently because there is not yet an environment in this society remotely congenial to our struggle because, being on the bottom, we would have to do what no one else has done: we would have to fight the world.” [2]

• What does the Combahee River collective mean by “identity politics”? How do you see this operating in Paris is Burning?

the political analysis and practice that we women use to struggle against our oppression. The fact that racial politics and indeed racism are pervasive factors in our lives did not allow us, and still does not allow most Black women, to look more deeply into our own experiences and, from that sharing and growing consciousness, to build a politics that will change our lives and inevitably end our oppression. Our development must also be tied to the contemporary economic and political position of Black people.

• What do race and gender have to do with capitalism?

We know that expressions of gender, race and class are often expressed in forms that are not only intersectional but mutually constitutive. We know that in most parts of the world that the greatest burdens of exploitation and expropriation are born by women of color whom also bear the, often unacknowledged, brunt of movements of resistance.

Kat Gawin 

Prof. Hollis Glaser

GWS 100

Discussion 10

There are variations in feminist movements. Black feminism involved this particular way because a group of people with fundamental needs was omitted. The Black women didn’t have a representation showing THEIR problems. Like the issues didn’t exist, and a basic common sense would not know how much struggle black woman is going through! Besides being pushed aside, Black women were inspired by national liberation and significant changes in recent history. They supported black men’s struggle for justice, but they didn’t get that much help back. Today we know more about that personal pain, and we must retell the history.

•  This quote””We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action. If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.”

 Shows that If we help the most oppressed and move the standards higher for a more civil understanding of who we are, we will also help this group and everyone above. If the person who experiences the most significant discomfort succeeds, their kids will do better. Someone’s future will change and their future. If one group would never free, the new generations would not move forward. The Combahee River Collective shows how black a white women did not understand women. Angela Davis points out of important role black women represented in the history of feminism. She points out complicated sexual identity combined with their racial identity that effective the political lives of so many. There must be so many stories expressing injustice we can only imagine! We can only talk about history if we include everyone! 

• What does the Combahee River pool mean by “identity politics”? How do you see this operation in Paris is Burning?=

I loved the movie “Paris is Burning”!! It shows the strength of identity, how people couldn’t express themselves before, and how they perceive themself. The gender-based social structure is described inside a community life, psychology, and specific behavior creates identity -self-expression. The characters talk about their feelings and the reality they must live or hide. The movie is stunning and personal. It’s very authentic. The film portrays a balloon culture and an underground LGBT community that must hide to perform. People cound express themself in a fascist world where rules don’t apply to them. The ballroom world is the only place they can be who they are because outside, nothing is accepted!

• What do race and gender have to do with capitalism?

Capitalism explores people for profit. The easiest way to make a lot of money is to use the weak people that depend on the little income they produce. Women must fit in small, physically paid jobs because they have the emotional responsibility to care for children, so they must take any job they can. Women also have smaller self-esteem and often accept jobs with smaller incomes. Capitalism also explores people of color- slavery is the clearest example. If people have no benefits and good working conditions that let them grow and build a safe future, they are being explored.

Ivan De Los Santos

Prof. Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

Discussion 10

What is meant by the following quote?: “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action.  If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.”

What I think there’s falling quote means is that for there to be changed or if these different struggles of Oppression, black woman women especially should take action, whether that is protesting and doing everything they can to stop these oppressions because if they fight for what they want, they will destroy the social norms the racism the oppression that they have gotten for years and has been caused due to white men in society also women want to be treated as equal. They still haven’t gotten it today, so they should take action.

What does the Combahee River pool mean by “identity politics”? How do you see this operating in Paris is Burning?

Identity politics has to do with how somebody identifies themselves, but because of that, they must go to war. However, if the politics of society, for example, they have to fight against your sexual identity, your racial identity, your class identity, this concept is what black families use to help them combat The oppression they face and the social injustice. Women who identify as different things, such as binary trans, even the color of their skin, have experienced These struggles and have had the strength to explain those experiences in Paris burning.  They expressed how they want Society to be and how they see women living in society as equal but that they needed Unity to do it, but it showed that they are confident if they are together to fight for freedom. 

What do race and gender have to do with capitalism?

Race and gender have a lot to do with capitalism. For example, in history, capitalism was built on exploiting different groups based on race and gender, so that was the blueprint from the start. And if you want to go further into that, capitalism has to do with money, right? So by the expectation of black people back in the day when slavery was happening, the wealth of white people was built on that based on what I know from High School. Additionally, the gender pay Gap is a big thing in capitalism because it is all about exploitation, so that they would exploit these women for specific jobs. Still, they wouldn’t get paid as much as the men, devaluing women’s labor.

The quote is from the Combahee River Collective’s statement, which was a Black feminist statement written in 1977. The statement argues that black women, who are at the bottom of society in terms of power and privilege, can use their position to take revolutionary action that would benefit everyone. By fighting for their own liberation, they would also be challenging and dismantling all systems of oppression.

“Identity politics” is a term used to describe a political approach that focuses on the experiences and perspectives of people from particular identity groups, such as women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others who have been marginalized and oppressed. The Combahee River Collective’s statement was an early example of identity politics, as it focused specifically on the experiences and struggles of Black women.

Paris is Burning is a documentary film that explores the ball culture of New York City’s Black and Latino LGBTQ+ communities in the 1980s. The film shows how these communities created their own spaces and subcultures in response to the discrimination and violence they faced in the larger society. This can be seen as a form of identity politics, as the ball culture provided a space for marginalized individuals to express themselves and assert their identities.

Race and gender are intertwined with capitalism because capitalism has historically relied on the exploitation and oppression of marginalized groups, including people of color and women. The economic system is built on the extraction of surplus value from the labor of workers, many of whom are paid low wages and denied basic rights and protections. This has disproportionately affected marginalized communities, who are often relegated to the lowest-paying and most precarious jobs. Additionally, capitalism has historically relied on the exploitation of natural resources and the dispossession of Indigenous communities. The struggles against racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression are therefore connected to the struggle against capitalism.

What is meant by the following quote?: “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action.  If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.”

According to how I interpret the quote, action is needed to combat the economic marginalization, racial oppression, and gender oppression that black women face, which places them at a low level in all respects. Then, this action would destroy all types of structural racism, systematic oppression, and oppression that aided in the domination of white men at all levels. Regardless of their personality, black women want to be represented at all levels so that male supremacy, stereotypes, and oppression—including prejudice towards black men—can be ended.

What does the Combahee River collective mean by “identity politics”? How do you see this operating in Paris is Burning?

Black feminist battle against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression was made clear by “identification politics.” “Identity, politics” is a concept that personifies the black feminist drive for social injustice. Black, queer, trans, and gender nonconforming persons share their struggles, prejudice, and rejection in “Paris is Burning.” By establishing a group they call “ball” where they may acquire confidence, flaunt their talents, and express how they want to be viewed in society, they show that they are resilient. It reveals how identities that are crossed strongly affect and mold one another and revolve around the fight for freedom and survival.

What do race and gender have to do with capitalism?

Black people are forced to work while others are temporarily viewed as doubly valuable tokens at the white-collar and corporate level due to institutional racism because capitalism is an economic and political system in which people of different genders and races control a nation’s trade and industry (CRC.). In the capitalist system, uneven rights, power, masculine superiority, and exploitation of the weak are created. The marginalized group strives to escape capitalism as long as men may still advance to positions of power in the workplace and women are more likely to hold low-level employment. The system is repressive and interrelated, and addressing the issues with capitalism, patriarchy, and other systems is the only way to end systematic oppression.