The Collective was basically saying that both the white feminist movement and the Civil Rights movement were not addressing their particular needs as Black women and more specifically, as Black lesbians. The Collective also place an emphasis upon their own relationships to their oppression and how this shaped their identities. The CRC describes oppression as “interlocking” or happening simultaneously, thus creating new measures of oppression and inequality. In other words, Black women could not quantify their oppression only in terms of sexism or racism, or homophobia experienced by black lesbians.
Furthermore, these women built on those observations by continuing to analyze the roots of Black woman’s oppression under capitalism and arguing for the organization of society based on the collective needs of the oppressed. Understanding the particular experience of Black women as compared to white women and Black men, which also created entry points for Black women to engage in politics. In fact, through the term “identity politics,” I believe they are encouraging a politic that focuses upon the direct need to liberate Black women. If more groups took a stance and followed the movement, we would not witness women, queer cultures, and people of color being continuously oppressed and marginalized.
Hi I’tanisha, thank you for sharing. I agree with all that you wrote, especially when you said, ” black women’s oppression under capitalism and arguing for the organization of society based on the collective needs of the oppressed.”
Hello I’tanisha
I agree with your statement in regards to if more groups took a stance and followed the movement we would not see the constant oppression black women, queer culture, and people of color. This stand out to me extremely because we see things like this happen everyday and it is still normalize. Such as being quiet about subjects that we know hurt women, like abortions. There is many people that still stay quiet, especially men because they think it has nothing to do with them.
Hi I’tanisha, I completely agree with you, the article is based on how suffrage was more for white women, and they didn’t focus on anything about black women. It’s completely sad, how at that time women were trying to get their freedom, but they completely discriminated against women of color, or even because of their sexual orientation. The truth is, I feel that political identity is like another word to talk about the discrimination that existed/exists with women of color in terms of politics. For what I agree, about how if people joined the movements I feel that they would have a little more effectiveness and thus the marginalization of certain groups would not be manifested.
It doesn’t surprise me that the article catered to the white demographic the movement of that momentum either gets destroyed or was hijacked . As the previous readings told us . I think now we are starting to get a little bit of headway as far as black woman moving the needle for political correctness goes. (i don’t even know if that is a proper terminology but sure) I also agree heavily with Food that the their are strength in numbers remember the last video we saw where they had seconds to get on live camera and say one thing that would draw attention to the movement and they did it. Anything is possible in group of people that are united
I agree when you said that both the white feminist movement and the Civil Rights movement were not addressing their particular needs as Black women and more specifically, as Black lesbians. No matter how many times a black woman speaks out, they always shut it or ignore the importance of the movement. They want equality and justice for all but yet they will have black women quiet… 🙁