By the 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.” the author means that since black women experience multiple kinds of historic oppression, their liberation would benefit both of the minorities they belong to. Black women are very disadvantaged in a society where a racist and structural system exists. They experience discrimination because of their sex, and are expected to serve men, be in charge of children, do the house chores, experience sexualization, objectification, etc. Even though there is a movement against sexism, and feminism, the majority of women in this movement are white women, and even though they also experience sexism, they are not stigmatized because of their race, as black women are. Also, feminists are not very concerned about race issues, but these are extremely relevant for black women. The Civil Rights movement and other anti-racist movements look for the end of racism, but once again, the priority are not the issues that affect black women but they are very relevant to them. Black women are also victims of a capitalist system since the majority of them are of the lower classes and are exploited so the richest people become even richer. Therefore, if black feminists are able to cause a revolution, it would not be a win exclusively for black women, but also for every woman and every black person.
What the Combahee River collective means by “identity politics” is recognizing the parts of ourselves that make us oppressed like sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, etc., and using them to support a social justice cause that combats that oppression, and try to change the politics around it. This is represented in Paris is Burning because people that identify as people of color and part of the LGBTQ+ community, took pride in their marginalized position and created the “ball culture”. In the balls, there are multiple categories where people can participate, and often they are about the high social classes. Many queer people of color participate in these categories, dressing, and acting as accurately as possible as a white person that actually dresses and acts like that in the real world. I think this is identity politics because to a certain extent the balls are a protest saying “We also can play your role but you took away our opportunities” to the oppressors. Race and gender are extremely related to capitalism because it is a system in which the higher classes exploit the lower classes to their benefit. Those lower classes are more often women and people of color and capitalism doesn’t give them equal opportunities and exploits them.
Hello Catherine, You are absolutely right when you say the higher class exploits the lower class. I wish people would just get to know others without having issues. The LGBTQ community are the most unproblematic people in my opinion.
Reading your post just made me think of something. You draw attention to the way the subjects in “Paris is Burning” obsess over the details that define various white identities, through clothing, accessories, and mannerisms. But of course, ultimately, by society’s eyes they fail because they can’t overcome or disguise their race. They will always be denied the status they are trying to emulate. In a slightly different context it makes me think of Anna Delvey. One of the things that stuck me about her story was the way she almost got away with it. That she likely would have gotten away with it were she a man. That many white men do probably perpetrate the same alleged fraud that she did and get away with it. But if Anna Delvey had been a black woman, she would probably never have been able to get as far as she did. I don’t know, maybe that’s slightly off base, but “Paris is Burning” always makes me think of the way we shape our identities, what we are capable or incapable of portraying or hiding, and what these various markers of status, class, etc actually mean. I look at the competitors in the balls and what they are trying to emulate and think of the ways society, I guess particularly with the use of fashion, creates ways of signaling who belongs and doesn’t. Sometimes these signals aim to distinguish people, sometimes their aim is conformity, but what does it mean for those, who no fault of their own, are unable to conform.
Hi Catherine, thanks for sharing. I agree with you on the exploitation of the lower class groups. There is always something special that comes out of the hardships one faces during poverty and despair. People don’t identify with anyone, and when they see a certain someone or group to that they can relate, events can lead to stricter outcomes because of the circumstances they have to face.
HI Catherine, I like they way you articulated your point it was well stated and I agree with the fact the higher class exploits the lower class keeping the lower class down is very beneficial to those making profit off keeping minorities stagnant