“There is no hierarchy of oppression,” made me consider how some groups benefit from oppression. First, I’d like to point out that Lorde states that she is a black woman in the first two lines of the article, then goes on to say, “I am trying to become the strongest person I can become to live the life I have been given and to help effect change toward a liveable future for this earth and for my children.” That, I believe, is part of the problem. Black women shouldn’t have to be strong. In black heterosexual relationships, we quite often see in society that the black woman has to hold everything together. The black woman is expected to run the household, support her husband, and do so much more. And, while everyone is required to do so, it’s a lot different when the men of your race don’t respect you. We’re supposed to cater to black men who truly hate us. This isn’t just in heterosexual relationships, as I’ve noticed. The trope of the strong black woman is everywhere. I’ve noticed that white women can be delicate and fragile, whereas black women must be strong. Most importantly, it is important for black women to be strong for black men. I think this is a taboo subject because black women are not allowed to talk about their feelings; instead, they are expected to bottle it all up and deal with whatever life throws at them. This, I think, plays a huge role in why so many black people suffer for years with untreated mental illnesses.

I agree with Lorde when she says that oppression and intolerance of difference come in a variety of shapes and forms. They can be very homophobic and transphobic in the black community. Despite our own oppression, many black people believe it is acceptable to target and discriminate against LGBTQ people. As a result, when I read “Oh, but being Black is NORMAL!” says a voice from the Black community, I wasn’t surprised. It made me think about how unfair they can be to LGBTQ people, despite the fact that they are both minorities. While these issues are vastly different, they go hand in hand, which is why I agree that an attack on the LGBTQ community should be treated as a black issue, just as an attack on black people should be treated as an LGBTQ issue.

lThis week’s readings have only confirmed what I have always felt in my heart and have experienced first-hand. The fact that men have the freedom that we as women who create life and nurture the future leaders of this world do not, we are considered disposable because some man in office decided we are not worthy of equal opportunities. Men have no business being in office having so much power to control women and people of color. We deserve equal rights and opportunities. We have the right to fight for the change that has been long awaited. This system was made to keep you stuck and in low spirits. we must continue to break down these systems and built it back up to actually help everyone in need and to encourage those who mentally need it the most. A system where women are underpaid and degraded is not a system I want to be a part of. I hope to live long even to see the change. 

In this week’s reading, it seems that they talk more about oppressions and patriarchy, in the reading of Audre Lorde’s “There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions” this article explains living as an African American woman who is a lesbian and she is trying to be a stronger person. While reading this article this is impressive to read because Lorde states “Within the lesbian community I am black, and within the black community I am a lesbian, any attacks against black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and thousands of other black women are part of the lesbian community.” (Paragraph 5) she then continues on to say “Any attack against lesbians and gays is a black issue because thousands of lesbians and gay are black.” (Paragraph 5) She speaks about oppression coming in all shapes and sexuality when I believe that we are just people trying to leave our lives. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you identify nobody should be treated cruelly or persecuted.

In the article from Allan Johnson “Patriarchy: the system”, he talks about stereotypes when it comes to world patriarchy, according to the article when some males hear the word patriarchy some of the times males can be defensive because since they identify with patriarchy and its values and they do not want to face the consequences they also confront. He clarifies that society needs to understand the system to create and to create a different system of socialization and to change itself.

This week’s reading is Patriarchy, the System An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us by Allan G. Johnson really did it for me. As the weeks go by and we read different pieces that in some way connect to each other change my view on oppression and privilege. Allan G. Johnson argues the misconception and stereotypes people have when identifying the term patriarchy. Johnson argues that people tend to generalize and bind the term patriarchy with men and that why women feel free to blame men for the oppression we face. As well as this he considers people confuse the difference between patriarchy as a system and the individual. To emphasize he does an excellent job by placing the blame on society in how it shapes us and how we shape it instead of placing the blame on each other for oppression. 

I praise Audre Lorde’s, “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” because it describes the overlap of the types of oppression one faces when they are part of multiple groups that are being discriminated. For me it was the way she never picked one group over the other just because they might get less discrimination than the other, both these groups make her who she is. Lorde let it be known that she was going to fight whether it destroy her, that dedication and writing spoke volumes to me because it describes how society tries to change someone just to fit the norms but there are people who refuse to let themselves hide who they are. 

Allan Johnson’s, “Patriarchy: The system” definitely gave me a lot to think about. Mostly about the things we don’t do when we see or hear the things that maintain this system in place. I wonder how much of a difference it would make if both men and women, but specifically men, spoke out against sexist comments or views with their own peers. Johnson made a great point, when we call someone out on something, it makes the person take a moment to reflect the next time they want to say something like that again. If we had men taking a step back before making certain comments, and holding each other accountable for those things, how much change would that generate?

Audre Lord’s, “There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions” was also a piece that made me reflect, and it goes hand in hand with the Buzzfeed video. People can be oppressed in some many ways than one and we don’t even realize it, but that doesn’t mean one is less important than another. Our experiences may be different but we are still on the same boat. We should be trying to help uplift one another instead to bring real change into the world.

In the readings of this week, we read about “there is no hierarchy of oppression” by Audre Lorde. In this reading, Audre Lorde speaks about “oppression, and the intolerance of difference come in all shapes and sexes and colors and sexualities.” She wants you to know that to be free from oppression, you need to tackle all the forms of oppression as one. The readings touch on intersectionality, which I did not understand, but once I read more about it, I understood that there is an overlapping factor of discrimination or disadvantage. Audre lord explains that she can’t be entirely okay with the one side of her identity being oppressed and the other side of her identity benefiting from it.
In the Allan Johnson reading, “Patriarchy: the system,” he speaks about the misconceptions and stereotypes of the word patriarchy. The understanding is that the word patriarchy is related to men because it identifies that all men are automatically oppressive. Johnsons bring up a point that people are confused about how they cannot separate the patriarchy as a system and as an individual. We need to see this from a sociological perspective to understand better the individual and why things like gender oppression arise. We need to see the social construction and participate in it without being aware. We need to understand the rotation that this effect can have by identifying the patriarchy as men who want to oppress women. We need to eliminate the thought we automatically have when we think about the word so it doesn’t continue to be used in a context that does not have the true meaning.

In the reading “Patriarchy, The System ” by Allan G. Johnson, what I understood from it is that we have the power to shape society but we  also have the power to be shaped by  the same society that shapes us. That while we reinforce beliefs that contribute to the upholding of the structure we continue to be weighed down by it. We were not responsible for creating  these systems, we are responsible in one way or another  for contributing to them and it is not the individual that is to blame but the system itself and collectively working to understand its functions so we can work to dismantle and undo its harmful effects.

I am in deep awe and reverence of Audre Lorde. I’m obsessed with her way with words and perception of oppression.  she is a black queer woman who is just a power house in literature and social justice,  in reading  “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” she  points out intersectionality and  the aspects of identity and those identities  can overlap. Parts of our identity can be more powerful  in an environment. All aspects of our identity are always a part of us and we can never cut off any aspects of our identity and what  I took from that was that while we might experience oppression as a woman does not mean that we fully understand the experience of women in different cultures and races. I always admired her for being unapologetically herself and encouraging other people to be the same. 

The first reading clarified what patriarchy is, and why it is important to acknowledge that it is a whole system. It is a system everyone is part of, and we contribute to it consciously or unconsciously. It is not necessary to be a cis-gender man to participate in it, even though we consider ourselves of another gender that isn’t male, we probably do things that contribute to the patriarchy. For example, some women blame the other women when their male partner decides to cheat on them. Then, a derogatory term like “homewrecker” is used to describe this woman, when the guilty one is the man because he was part of the relationship. Another example probably is the belief that women posting pictures showing their bodies is empowering. It is important to feel confident about your body, but when a woman posts pictures with little to no clothes it contributes to her sexualization and objectification. And it’s very annoying because supposedly you are deciding to post that picture because you feel confident about yourself and you feel “empowered”. To a certain extent there is pretty privilege, and having a great body could make men give you more opportunities, but for the wrong reasons, women are more than just their bodies. To eliminate the patriarchy from its roots we have to look to the system as a whole change it. This could be done by modifying laws that promote the patriarchy and adding new ones that are not based on sex or gender. Clearly, this wouldn’t be easy at all.

This week’s reading, “Patriarchy, The System” by Allan G. Johnson very much echoed C. Wright Mills’ “Sociological Imagination” which I’ve recently read in my Sociology class. The idea that we simultaneously are shaped by and shape society. I feel it gives context to greater societal issues, the way we interact with them, and our ability to affect change. That while we did not create these systems, our existence perpetuates them, and none of us are capable of operating outside of them. One other point that I appreciated of Johnson’s was that it’s not just the way we divide things into a binary, but the value we place upon one side, and the inconsistency that exists in valuing certain qualities when they are shared by both sides. The way we have elevated men, their accomplishments, and their prescribed traits above those of women, but then disparage women who dare tread in their territory.

I also appreciated Audre Lorde’s “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” for highlighting the ways in which aspects of identity can overlap. How while one aspect of our identity can be more dominant in an environment. We aren’t capable of shedding aspects of our identity, and I especially appreciated her point that no part of us would benefit from attempting to do so. I saw these sentiments echoed in the LGBTQ+ community during the Black Lives Matter protests. That we needed to stand in support of all members of our community, and that we could not place our oppression above the oppression of others.