In The Combahee River Collective Statement, 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.” to me the quote means that Black women were discriminated against not only for being Black but being women too. This was part of what people seen as normal because society justified why it would not be right to free Black women as opposed to liberating white women. If they would have been free that would destroy the oppression society had imposed on all men and women, white or black. By keeping them oppressed it was easy to control Black women. I think what Combahee River Collective mean by “identity politics” is that Black women were to make their own rules and plan based on the conditions and treatment they faced because of race, gender, and sexuality. This is highlighted in “Paris is burning” with the elaborate ball runway competitions. Back when it was film in the 1980s African American, Latino, gay, and transgender were not able to express themselves without being judge so they created this ball competitions which display their individualities. African American, Latino, gay, and transgender were able to make their own rules and plan based on the treatment society placed on them. Race and gender have do a lot with capitalism because the same people who have power are the ones exploiting those who struggle. Capitalism is the focus of change in society. It can change the discrimination of different races, genders, and sexuality. In Combahee River Collective Statement it states that their belief is that the destruction of capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy is necessary for the liberation of oppressed people, and this is right Black women and men faced all this oppression due to the people of power wanting to control and capitalism only made it easier for those in power to take advantage of Black people their often the main victims of the attacks of capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. As we view the history of the oppression of African American, Latino, gay, and transgender, you can see that even after all the oppression they find ways to pursue their happiest and make a change not as an individual but as a community a fitting example if the ball held in New York to demonstrate their true colors without discrimination.    

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.

I’ve seen “Paris is Burning” referenced a lot in modern media, but this was my first time having the pleasure of watching it. The first time was with the show “Pose.” The opening line about how you need to be strong if you’re going to be a black gay male stuck out to me. You’re already at a disadvantage in the world if you’re black. But to be black and gay you have to be prepared for all the hate that will come your way. Not to mention, a majority of black people are homophobic, so you won’t get much support from your people. It may not even seem like a problem for feminists, but it is. We can’t fight for our causes unless we also fight for LGBTQ rights. As minorities, it’s important to stick together.

I think black feminism is important. In the spirit of BLM marches and fighting for black voices to be heard, women are often left out. or discredited. Black women are the face of the BLM movement, but the men don’t view us as their equals. Black women are more sexualized from a young age, yet it’s so normalized that no one bats an eye. And Hollywood never portrays us in a positive light. Hollywood continuously pushes out black struggle films with bi-racial or light-skinned women as our “representation”. So little black girls growing up don’t have people who look like them on their screens. Not to discredit those with mixed-race or fair skin, but it’s a different experience. An experience that they will never face. We don’t have any cool storylines, and we never get the guy at the end. We’re there to fill the quota. We’re there to give the fair-skinned main character or white character advice now and then. No one ever wants to know our story. On Tik Tok, I’ve seen black women uniting to try and create something that’s just for us and only us. It’s like what Malcolm X said: “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman.” No one looks out for black women, so we have to look out for ourselves. Our hair, our safety, our bodies, and our rights are constantly up for debate, and while we’ve come so far in cinematic history, our stories are never told. I think feminist movements would be good for us. At first, I was worried because many view us as angry and aggressive, and people view feminists that way. So imagine how they would view us. But it’s necessary. Our issues need to be talked about.

First, I watched the documentary Paris is Buring. I have watched this before as I am a huge fan of documentaries. Paris is burning introduces us to the world of Ball’s Where the gays and the they’s live their best fantasies and are excepted for who they are. They have in a way created their own sense of government, housing, and income. We learn about the house mothers and how they take care of their children who most have been kicked out of their homes due to their sexual orientation and their sexual identities. Many of the house mothers came from poverty and have had to fight for their lives. Learning the in’s and out of the gay community. To be a house mother is the greatest honor, it means that you have looked out for those in need and have steered the children in the right direction. They live for these balls and the competitions; it gives them a sense of purpose and value. They came from nothing and have created some of the biggest movements in dance, which was voguing. Later, we know Madonna profited off the Black and brown communities.  

Now after reading the Combahee River collective, we see how once again Black women must venture off and create their own activist communities. They go into how Black women have always faced adversities, discrimination, oppression. When it comes to Black women and if you are a queer Black person, you get the bottom of the barrel experiences. Black women have had to fight for their right to live and to be able to make a living. The fact that Black women are taught as kids to be silent, so they seem more lady-like in the eyes of the oppressor is truly heartbreaking. They have come together so that the world can realize that the liberation of Black women is just as important as the liberation of any other oppressed group. We can all agree that Black women are the ones who have created huge liberation movements and they are the only ones who can get things done within themselves. They deserve the respect, and the care other groups get. Black queer people are also oppressed, and this is a change that needs to happen. We need Black women and the importance of Black women in communities need to be valued because they are irreplaceable.  

Paris is burning and the Combahee River collective is very much the same situation, communities who have had to pave the way for themselves and who have had to fight tooth and nail for what is rightfully theirs.  

I believe that the quote from the Combahee River Collective, “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.” refers to the various systems of oppression that face black women, and the greater effect of dismantling them. As the most oppressed group, the intersections of their oppressions represent the confluence of all systems of oppression. Thus, destroying the systems that oppress them would mean liberation for all.

I have long enjoyed “Paris is Burning”, and have watched it at least a dozen times. I will say I always fail when in my attempts for deeper analysis, and I’m not sure I will succeed in this attempt either. There are concepts of identity that I’ve never been able to reconcile, concepts that perhaps elude me due to my race, privilege, or other perspectives that I am lacking. Regardless, throughout there is a huge play on the performative aspects of identity. The performative aspects of gender, wealth, heterosexuality. Sometimes these portrayals come across as aspirational, sometimes as critiques, as if to say that these various statuses are nothing more than their outward appearances. Gender, sexuality, and to some extent even wealth (or at least its outward appearance) are all just constructs. And repeatedly these children of the ball are saying that they are deserving of the status they portray, as capable as any white person or anyone else who is readily accepted within these categories of society, all the while confronting the fact that they are barred entry due to being black, gay, trans, or some intersection of those. When Combahee River Collective refer to identity politics, they refer to the politicization or pursuit of an agenda rooted in one’s own identity. I believe in “Paris is Burning” identity politics can be seen in this conflict their reality and why they are trying to portray.

Capitalism has always been reliant upon an oppressed class in its pursuit of profit. If equality truly existed, capitalism’s main profiteers (white men) would be incapable of reaping the rewards they do now. Thus it vital to capitalism’s survival to maintain and reinforce the systems of oppression to sustain an underpaid and overworked working class. Thus capitalism has actively sought to oppress people. Of course this is most notably evident in American slavery, and as America ended slavery it sought to find its next means of cheap labor in its most oppressed classes.

Many times during my journey with social justice I learned to understand  the saying “ There is no one more disrespected than a black woman” between sexism and racism black women and now black trans women have endured and suffered many injustices and dehumanization. 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” to me means that even the simple act of existence of black women threatens the structures of the systems that oppress them.  The collective liberation of black women including black  trans women enables the destruction of those systems because the foundations of these systems ground themselves in  the subjugation of black women. The combahee collective “identity politics”  explains that the most revolutionary and radical politics exist is one’s own identity. The movie paris is burning is a good example of that, mothers of the houses first take the identity of being unapologetically themselves and it strengthens and inspires other trans and queer people of color to find the strength to also be themselves and feel included and a sense of belonging in a community that celebrates those identities thus challenging and chipping away at societal pressure and structures. Their sheer existence threatens those structures. A Lot of marketing has gone into gendered products from male deodorant to women’s wipes and that’s just a small example of how capitalism benefits from  gender and  beyond that is benefits from race by the alarming numbers of black men we see in our prisons and how we benefit from their work exploitation while they are in there. Where most communities of color are located in the city , near bridges and highways. The numbers of children of color whom develop respiratory illnesses due to the location of their neighborhoods  and the funds that go into their schooling.What do race and gender have to do with capitalism they are closely related because one hand washes the other and they keep each other intact. Systems of oppression benefit from the exploitation of something. Gender benefits from exploiting men and women and confining them. Race exploits anyone who isn’t white. Capitalism exploits the poor. We need to understand that without acknowledging the experiences of the people who are hurt by these systems we wont create a world where everyone is free and that should be our am in any facet of social justice,   

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.” this means that If black women aren’t free then none of us are free. Throughout the decade black woman has been fighting for rights, peace, and freedom. Today, there has been violence and discrimination against black women, until they have peace or the freedom that everyone else has then everyone, especially feminists will have the freedom they want. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the feminism movement has risen through decades, however, most of the feminism that was fighting for rights were known to be white and black men. No women who were African American have fought for women’s rights at the time and they were “quiet” during the feminist organization. Black women have given their unique venue to be against the system and fight for others and their own freedom, this how leads to the quote “If black women are it would mean that everyone else would have to be free”

Identity Politics means a movement of people of a particular region, race, or social background, to form an exclusive political alliance moving away from a traditional broad-based political party. Identity Politics can be seen operating the documentary “Paris is burning” because it chronics the “Golden Age” and a tradition that creates a new capacity for drag queens, gays, Latino, and African Americans to be involved in a community where they create themselves a new ability for self-worth, values, joy and crucially for family. This can be related to black women fighting for their freedom because there was a scene in which both the feminist and the civil rights movement didn’t reflect the particular needs of Black women and lesbians.

Race and gender have to do with capitalism because capitalism reduces the oppression of tradition societies that impose hierarchies of gender. Capitalism drives the changes in a way in which reduces either rising or falling gender inequality to a simple of different kinds of capitalism development. It doesn’t matter what race or gender you are, capitalism changes the inequality of different race and gender, this is the reason why black woman and other races today focus on oppression and race + gender have to deal with capitalism.

Melissa Valle 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”. I think that here in the United States, black women have been at the bottom of the social hierarchy for centuries. This has given black women a unique vantage point from which to observe and analyze the system of oppression that has been imposed on them and others. It has also given them a unique platform from which to rebel against the system and fight for their own freedom and the freedom of others. When black women are free, it has been demonstrated over and over again that it causes a chain reaction which results in the liberation of others.

One of the most famous examples of a film captures the importance of black feminism is Paris Is Burning. It follows the lives of several drag queens and ballroom dancer in New York city during the 1980’s is an accurate depiction of the ways in which black feminism has shaped the feminist movement. It shows the ways in which black feminist has brought issues of race and gender to the forefront and kept them there, event when it meant disregarding some of the moderate voices of movement. Black feminism is often criticized for being too focused on the experiences of black women, rather than the experiences of all women. This is often referred to as “identity politics,” and is opposed to what is referred to as “class politics,” The Combahee River Collective argued that black women should focus on and work on behalf of the liberation of black women, and that black women should not work toward the liberation of white women and men, since these groups were also oppressors. They also argued that black women should work toward the liberation of gay and transgender men and women, who were also oppressed by the system, because black women had a stake in the system and were therefore allies in the struggle against it.

Race and gender are often connected in the world of capitalism, as those who have power over the means of production often hold a racial and gender perspective. It is therefore not surprising that many people who are the victims of capitalist oppression are often the objects of attacks by those who have power over the means of production. This is the case in this story. By focusing on the oppression of black women in the story