ICA #9 Group Questions 8 ------Judith Butler Rosario Lorenzo Eljaly Booboo
1. What does Judith Butler say about performing our roles in society?
"Gender reality is performative which means, quite simply, that it is real only to the extent that it is performed"—Judith Butler. In other words, gender only exists as long as it is performed. It is not inherent but constructed. Gender roles are imposed on us by normative heterosexuality. She questions the extent to which our acts are determined for us versus produced by us. Identity is created in action, action is not a product of identity. We are limited in our actions/roles/genders by taboos; a realm of action and ideas that are uninhabitable by the actor. These peripheral taboos confine the actor into their role.
2. How does Ester Newton describe drag?
Esther Newton describes drag as an enactment of the very structure of impersonation by which any gender is assumed. It is not an imitation or a copy of some prior and true gender. Drag constitutes the mundane way in which genders are appropriated, theatricalized, worn and done. She also goes on to clarify and say that drag is NOT the putting on of a gender that belongs properly to some other group, masculine belongs to male and feminine belongs to female.
3. What is performativity?
Performativity: to perform a type of being.
4. Why is heterosexuality at risk according to Butler?
“Repetition is the way in which power works to construct the illusion of the seamless heterosexual identity”. Heterosexuality is at risk of losing its powerful hold as non-hetero sexual identities break through this cycle of repetition. Heterosexually is at risk as the subjects at hand begin to chose, freely, their gender and roles based on the situation at hand and no longer based on repetition of heterosexual norms.
ICA #9 Group #2 Motefi Kele Asante “The Afrocentic Idea” (Lemert p. 500) Code Words: Herman Charger Yddet Arsenal
1. What is afrology?
Afrology is the Afrocentric study of African concepts, issues, and behaviors; which includes research on African themes in the Americas and the West Indies, as well as the African continent.
2. What are the 3 fundamental existential postures? Describe the differences for these postures for Europeans and Africans?
The 3 fundamental existential postures are: feeling, knowing, and acting. • Europeans call these by different names: affective, congnitive, conative. The difference for these postures for Europeans and Africans is that in Afrology, the study of objects or ideas is best done when all three components are interrelated rather than separate.
3. What is an orature? How does this affect discourse?
An orature is an oral transmission of narrative and customs. It is known as the oral analogue of literature. It corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature. It covers oral traditions such as folk epics, folklore, and folksong. Due to the fact that there is such an emphasis on oral tradition and creative storytelling, public discourse is able to produce complex relationships and invoke the needs of the viewers because of the impression of the image it portrays.
4. What is the difference between the way Europeans and Afroncans see things?
Europeans see speech as something that is alive and moving in all of its aspects so that separation of the members becomes impossible, because the creative production is “an experience” or a happening occurring within and outside the speaker’s soul. The Africans on the other hand seek the totality of an experience, concept, or system. Traditional African society looked for unity of the whole rather than specifics of the whole. Such an analysis contributed to community stability.
5. What is the African speaker? What are the characteristics of the Afrocan speaker?
The African speaker means to be a poet, not lecturer. The characteristics of the Afrocan speaker are: convincing, spiritual, creative, powerful, and master of proverbs.
ICA #9 from Group # 3 Author: Trinh T. Minh-ha (1989)
Code Names: STAMINA OLAJ Other Member Names: Janita Williams Cyndi Thomas
1. What is the standpoint that Minh-ha advocates?
Minh-ha's standpoint was that we are all one and that we cannot separate our identities. She believes that all of our identities overlap and blend. There is no possible way to distinguish between our identities because we use them all to maneuver through our everyday lives. Her standpoint relates to Mead's idea of the "I" and the "Me." The I is the actions that we perform, and the Me is the object of how we see ourselves in the future. We cannot separate the two, as Minh'ha advocates we cannot be separated.
2. What is the significance of I, we, you, and me?
The significance of I, we, you, and me is that they are inseparable and they all overlap. Although we try to separate I, we, you, and me, they are all one. I, we, you, and me overlap to fit the different situations we find ourselves in. We all play each of these roles, and according to Minh'ha cannot be separated from each other.
3. Why is the statement "third world women" problematic
In westerners view, the term “Third World” carries a negative connotation. It is viewed as a ranking system and for women, they are considered underprivileged. The idea of “Third World Women” also creates a reaction of revulsion among whites. Almost all the time a sense of annoyance, irritation, and vexation is the reaction that whites obtain when questioned about “third world women.” This is also problematic because it causes what is considered “third world women” to take the white dominant perspective as a point of reference.
It also forces them to adopt the belief that they are literally in "third place" in the world. Not a healthy mentality and very deceptive. It conceals the reason they endure their circumstances, which are largely the result of the "dominant", white peoples of the world (America, England, etc.).
ICA #9 from Group # 3 Author: Trinh T. Minh-ha (1989)
Code Names: STAMINA OLAJ STEMSWAG AYITI
1. What is the standpoint that Minh-ha advocates?
Minh-ha's standpoint was that we are all one and that we cannot separate our identities. She believes that all of our identities overlap and blend. There is no possible way to distinguish between our identities because we use them all to maneuver through our everyday lives. Her standpoint relates to Mead's idea of the "I" and the "Me." The I is the actions that we perform, and the Me is the object of how we see ourselves in the future. We cannot separate the two, as Minh'ha advocates we cannot be separated.
2. What is the significance of I, we, you, and me?
The significance of I, we, you, and me is that they are inseparable and they all overlap. Although we try to separate I, we, you, and me, they are all one. I, we, you, and me overlap to fit the different situations we find ourselves in. We all play each of these roles, and according to Minh'ha cannot be separated from each other.
3. Why is the statement "third world women" problematic
In westerners view, the term “Third World” carries a negative connotation. It is viewed as a ranking system and for women, they are considered underprivileged. The idea of “Third World Women” also creates a reaction of revulsion among whites. Almost all the time a sense of annoyance, irritation, and vexation is the reaction that whites obtain when questioned about “third world women.” This is also problematic because it causes what is considered “third world women” to take the white dominant perspective as a point of reference.
ICA#9 Group Work Question #8 Judith Butler "Imitation and Gender Insubordination" Members: Jennifer Felipe and Yanelis Zamora
1. What does Judith Butler say about performing our roles in society?
According to Butler, performing roles in society is a matter of imitation with no origin. Roles are played in society as a repetitive and reassuring performance. Heterosexuality is seen as the norm and these gender roles are enforced on us (defined by ideals). Butler states, “Gender reality is performative which means, quite simply, that it is real only to the extent that it is performed”. If a person does not “perform” gender, then gender will be non-existent. Rather than regarding gender or sex as innate, Butler states that “gender identity appears primarily to be the internalization of a prohibition that proves to be formative of identity” showing that actors are confined to their roles because of taboos that exist around the performance and actions.
2. How does Ester Newton describe drag?
Newton refuses the notion that drag is an imitation of a proper gender but rather argues that it consists of the same structure of impersonation which all genders are appropriated by.
3. What is performativity?
Performativity as defined by Butler refers to the fact that there is no original for what genders imitate and the performance is an imitation that is both the notion of an original as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself; constitutes as an effect the very subject it appears to express.
4. Why is heterosexuality at risk according to Butler?
Heterosexuality is at risk, according to Butler, because it can lose the power it has in society as the norm. This occurs because heterosexuality needs repetition. Heterosexuality is compelled to repeat itself in order to establish the illusion of its own uniformity and identity. Butler states, “this is an identity permanently at risk, for what if it fails to repeat, or if the very exercise of repetition is redeployed for a very different performative purpose”. If people begin to choose their gender roles not based on the idea of repetition of heterosexuality and the norms associated with it, then heterosexuality will be at risk of losing the power it currently has in society.
What if it is at risk? Do we believe that's a negative? I can imagine a society in which sexuality is never assumed and there is little need to perpetuate a sexual standard. I don't see that as particualrly problematic, just progressive.
ICA #9 from Group #4 Gayatri Chakavorty Spivak “Can the Subaltern Speak?” Codenames: Ayitidou and Whale
1. What would be the content of “subaltern studies’? The content is the study that is done by western cultures of foreign cultures. It is the efforts of western cultures to speak for the “subaltern” and not really taking their opinions seriously. The intellectuals attempt to explain a foreign culture according to the standards of their own culture.
2. Why ask “Can the subaltern speak?” The subaltern itself is a heterogeneous group but holds a subordinate position that is always in relation to but stands outside of the central locus of power. Because professionals have gotten so accustomed to speaking on the behalf of the “subaltern”, it is easy for them to forget that the ‘subaltern’ can speak on their own if given a chance. They do not always need others to speak on their behalf; they have their own voice. We can learn so more about the ‘subaltern’ when we actually listen to them instead of comparing them to different standards.
3. What is the relationship of western feminism to third world women? Western feminists and antisexist women of third world countries are both silenced, alike. In both situations women have put standing up for their rights on the forefront of their agendas but both have struggled due to masculine radicalism. Women of the western world are considered hysteric, while women of third world countries are considered sensual in a derogatory way, in both cases women aren’t respected and need to be protected by a man. “White men are saving brown women from brown men.”
ICA #9 Codenames: lochan and faith Gayatri Chakavorty Spivak “Can the Subaltem Speak?” (Lemert p.536) 1. What would be the content of “subaltern studies”? The overall meaning of subaltern means the exploited section of a society. It can refer by gender (women), race, and class. In this study, subaltern was associated with India in the ancient time and with the history of other countries. Hence the content mainly explained that there is a lower or exploited class that was neglected from reality by what the history writes (history writers), and the government. Basically there should be some writing on the viewpoints of the exploited or lower class. 2. Why ask “Can the subaltern speak?” It was asked “can the subaltern speak” because the issue is that the exploited or lower class viewpoints could never be heard by the society easily. So the question asks if it is ever possible for the exploited to speak and be heard. 3. What is the relationship of western feminism to third world women? I believe the relationship between the two is that they both are being protected by the superior though what is being protected shouldn’t have a need for protection. Therefore, this is like a crime that has been redefined in a way to not appear as illegal so that the lower class or exploited class can be hidden.
ICA #9 Group #6. Gloria Anzaldùa “the new Mestiza” (Lemert p.552) code words: watever1, pmanning18, neMo1213, juzgar
1.How does the “history” of the borderland affect the “biography” of the “new Mestiza” 2. What is the standpoint Anzaldùa advocates?
1. The history of the borderland affect the “biography of the “new mestiza” in a number of ways. Her history has created a viewpoint on how she see’s things but it has also created a viewpoint of how she does not want to surcome to the ways of her culture. The history and traditions passed down in her culture have created the woman whom she is now, telling the story. Our histories help create and recreate our story.
2. The standpoint of Anzaldùa advocates that she loves her culture because it has helped shape who she is but also know the weakness of her culture that she does not want to fall stereotyped into. Her experiences have created a past and present and have created a women of her own mind.
ICA #9 Group #6. Gloria Anzaldùa “the new Mestiza” (Lemert p.552) code words: watever1, pmanning18, neMo1213, juzgar
1.How does the “history” of the borderland affect the “biography” of the “new Mestiza” 2. What is the standpoint Anzaldùa advocates?
1. The history of the borderland affect the “biography of the “new mestiza” in a number of ways. Her history has created a viewpoint on how she see’s things but it has also created a viewpoint of how she does not want to surcome to the ways of her culture. The history and traditions passed down in her culture have created the woman whom she is now, telling the story. Our histories help create and recreate our story.
2. The standpoint of Anzaldùa advocates that she loves her culture because it has helped shape who she is but also know the weakness of her culture that she does not want to fall stereotyped into. Her experiences have created a past and present and have created a women of her own mind.
Nancy Hartsock “Foucault on Power: A Theory for Women?” (Lemert page 495)
1. What does she mean when she says that issues of difference that divide men from women can also unite them? Examples. Hartsock states that, “Issues of difference reminds us as well that many of the factors which divide women also unite some women with men—factors such as racial or cultural differences.” In other words, Hartsock is saying that while men and women are undoubtedly divided because of their biological sex (and socialized gender implications) they can be united through other factors such as race and culture. Examples of this in action include the various racial organizations on campus, such as the Institute of Black Culture, or La Casita or men and women joining together for a Filipino Pride Parade. In these cases, the dividing issue of sex is not nearly as prominent as the uniting issues of race or culture.
2. What are the five epistemologies that need to be understood to create a theory for women? What are the critical steps? In order to create a theory for women, one must first understand that, rather than getting rid of subjectivity or notions of the subject, we need to engage in the historical, political, and theoretical process of constituting ourselves as subjects as well as objects of history. Second, work must be done on an epistemological base that indicates that knowledge is, in fact, possible—not just conversation or a discourse on how it is that power relations work. Third, a theory of power is needed that recognizes that women’s practical daily activity contains an understanding of the world. Fourth, women’s understanding of power needs to recognize the difficulty of creating alternatives. Lastly, a theory of power for women, for the oppressed, is not one that leads to a turning away from engagement but rather one that is a call for change and participation in altering power relations. The critical steps to achieving this are first, using what we know about our lives as a basis for critique of the dominant culture, and second, creating alternatives.
ICA 9# Group 1James S Coleman FANCYTEX sunshine 1. Some of the differences are centered on the structure. Nation states are comprised of people and are generally organized through a constitution or constitution like doctrine thus these people have a common purpose usually with aim at opposition to the current primordial basis. Multinational corporations govern positions rather than people. They are corporate entities acting to capitalize or maximize functions such as profit or efficiency. 2. The conflict in means of competition and domination of the form of productivity. Being that there are different needs there are different perspectives and systems. 3.Characteristics of the new social science include a change from primordial to puposive structural form, invalidity of the idea that legistlatures can design a replacement for the social structure that has shifted from household economies to a single interdependent economy.
ICA 9 Question Group 1 Codenames: devaio, holmes, tenorsax, schmady
1) Nation-States are premodern entities typically are evolved from ethnically homogeneous people. They take responsibility for and claim authority of the people as a whole. This authority comes from an explicit contract from individuals joining together for a common goal. Multinational corporations are modern entities, comprised of positions, with people being merely occupants of the positions and viewed as simply as a means to achieve an objective goal such as increase profit or size. 2) The two bodies in are conflict over a dominance of form, over the organizing of a global social system. They are in conflict because the multinational corporations lack of regard for national borders in terms of achieving their objective goals threatens the nation-states monopoly over legitimate coercive power with their borders 3) The new social science consists of both applied research and theory. It crosses the traditional bounds of the disciplines within which knowledge is ordered, because society has changed how these disciplines are connected.
ICA #9 Group #1 Codenames: devaio, holmes, tenorsax, schmady.
1) Nation-States are premodern entities typically evolved from people that are ethnically homogeneous. They take responsibility for and claim authority of the people as a whole. This authority comes from an explicit contract from individuals joining together for a common goal. Multinational corporations are modern entities, comprised of positions, with people that merely occupy them (positions) and are viewed simply as a means to achieve an objective goal, such increasing profit margins or size of the organization/business.
2) The two bodies are in conflict over dominance of form; over the organizing of a global social system. They are in conflict because the multinational corporations lack some degree of regard for national borders in their of effort to achieve said "objective" goals. Therefore, they threaten the nation-states monopoly over legitimate and coercive power with their borders.
3) The new social science consists of both applied research and theory. It crosses the traditional boundaries of the disciplines within which knowledge is ordered. It does this because society has changed how these disciplines are connected.
ICA #9 Group #5 Codewords: boston, stussy o Patricia hill Collins “black feminist though in the matrix of domination” lemert p 541
§ 1. What is the contribution of black feminist thought
Collins saw that black women had knowledge, experience, and insight that could be useful in feminist politics as it demonstrates black women emerging as agents of knowledge. She felt that new knowledge was essential for change in society. Black feminist thought fosters a paradigm shift in how oppression is viewed. Also, it addresses many debates within feminist theory on the idea of "truth," allowing for new knowledge to be empowering and to help subordinate groups define their own reality.
§ 2. What does it mean to say that the matrix of domination is arranged alone several axes and across multiple levels?
The matrix of Domination is structured along many axes such as race, gender, and social class. Thus, the domination exists for rich white males in these axes, as opposed to poor black female. In essence, the example given shows that the rich white males have the most domination and privileges in society, while the poor black women have the least of all the aspects. On top of these axes, the matrix domination also is structured on several levels identified by Patricia Hill Collins as: level of personal biography, the group or community level of the cultural context created by race, class, and gender; and the systemic level of social institutions. Personal biography is an intimate and individualistic level of experience. No two people have the same personal biography. The next is group or community level of the cultural context. This level is how an individual’s personal biography is rooted into a gender, class, religion, etc. The last level is the social institution level. Groups in this level either resist or dominate based on schools, churches, the media, etc. In every axis and level, a hierarchal system exists and allows people to dominate or force people to feel oppressed.
§ 3. What is the black feminist “standpoint?”
Black feminist standpoint is based on the theoretical understanding of Black women’s everyday experiences. It argues that that knowledge is always mediated by myriad factors which are related to the individual or a group’s particular position in society. Moreover, it states that members of oppressed groups, such as Black women, have special kinds of knowledge due to their marginalized status in society. From knowledge gained via their particular standpoint, Black women can best embark for political empowerment which would raise group consciousness. This theory aims to empower the oppressed in hopes to improve their situation. Therefore, this theory is very responsive towards change of the current social and political conditions.
Please Grade this update version including all the group member codewords. Thanks
ICA #9 Group #5 Codewords: boston, stussy, tina2012, cinserge Patricia hill Collins “Black feminist thought in the matrix of domination” - Lemert p 541
1. What is the contribution of black feminist thought?
Collins saw that black women had knowledge, experience, and insight that could be useful in feminist politics as it demonstrates black women emerging as agents of knowledge. She felt that new knowledge was essential for change in society and understood that it's important to make connections with knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Black feminist thought fosters a paradigm shift in how oppression is viewed by embracing race, class, and gender as interlocking systems that could be used to reconceptualize the social relations of domination and resistance. Also, it addresses many debates within feminist theory and sociology of knowledge on the idea of "truth," allowing for new knowledge to be empowering and to help subordinate groups define their own reality.
2. What does it mean to say that the matrix of domination is arranged alone several axes and across multiple levels?
The matrix of Domination is structured along many axes such as race, gender, and social class. Thus, the domination exists for rich white males in these axes, as opposed to poor black female. In essence, the example given shows that the rich white males have the most domination and privileges in society, while the poor black women have the least of all the aspects. On top of these axes, the matrix domination also is structured on several levels identified by Patricia Hill Collins as: level of personal biography, the group or community level of the cultural context created by race, class, and gender; and the systemic level of social institutions. Personal biography is an intimate and individualistic level of experience, emotions, motivations, and values. No two people have the same personal biography. The next is group or community level of the cultural context. This level is how an individual’s personal biography is rooted into a gender, class, religion, etc. The last level is the social institution level. Groups in this level either resist or dominate based on schools, churches, the media, etc. In every axis and level, a hierarchal system exists and allows people to dominate or force people to feel oppressed.
3. What is the black feminist “standpoint?”
Black feminist standpoint is based on the theoretical understanding of Black women’s everyday experiences. A Black women’s standpoint and that of other oppressed groups is embedded in a context and in a situation characterized by overarching domination. It argues that knowledge is always mediated by a myriad of factors, which are related to the individual or a group’s particular position in society. The black feminist standpoint is one angle of vision that forms a partial perspective from which to view the matrix of domination. From knowledge gained via their particular standpoint, Black women can best campaign for political empowerment which would raise group consciousness. This theory aims to empower the oppressed in hopes to improve their situation and marginalized status. Therefore, this theory is very responsive towards change of the current social and political conditions.
ICA #9 Group #7 Author: Nancy Chodorow Zac Carrera DeMario Hardmon-Fort Sadie Finkel
1. Chodorow argues that motherhood is not innate in woman, but is a feature of social structure. She agrees that women are physically and psychologically fit for motherhood. But she disagrees that the role of primary caregiver is ineveitable for women. She posits that it's a product of socialization that has lead to division between genders within the family. While this division may have seemed rational and efficient, the social structure only places constraints on women, and men, and it has resulted in a cycle that is perpetuated by women who raised daughters, who later become mothers themselves. (DeMario)
2. She reinterprets this theory through the use of the Oedipus complex. Stating that the different structure of the feminine and masculine oedipal triangle and process of oedipal experience that results from women's mother contributes further to gender personality differentiation and the reproduction of women's mothering. Making the way women define themselves and experiences rationally, making their heterosexuality triangular and "requiring" a third person to finish the triangle--a child. (Sadie)
3. One consequence of women's mothering is that it produces psychological self-definition and capacities appropriate to mothering in women, while inhibiting these capacities in men. The early childhood experiences produce structure expectations in both men and women. These expectations are then generalized so that it is assumed women naturally take care of children. Ultimately, this reproduction of women's mothering is the basis for reproducing women's location and domestic responsibility. THis is required for the formation of the sex-gender system, male dominance, and the hierarchy of gender within society. (Zac)
#2 Molefi Kete Asante “The Afrocentric Idea” (Lemert p. 500)
1. What is Afrology? Afrology is defined by our text as a Theory of Social Change, that “denotes the Afrocentric study of African concepts, issues, and behaviors. It includes research on African themes in the Americas and the West Indies, as well as the African continent. Most of the relevant research involves the systematic exploration of relationships, social codes, cultural and commercial customs, and oral traditions and proverbs, although interpretation of communicative behaviors, as expressed in discourse, spoken or written, and techniques found in jazz studies and urban street-vernacular signifying, is also included.”
2. What are the 3 fundamental existential postures? Describe the differences for these postures for Europeans and Africans. - feeling, knowing, and acting - European call them affective, cognitive, and conative Afrology recognizes these three stances to be interrelated, not separate.
3. What is an orature? How does this affect discourse? Orature is the term used to refer to the sum total of oral tradition, which includes vocality, drumming, storytelling, praise singing, and naming. This affects discourse because expression, therefore, is not the captive of the written word; it is the word revealed in life. Since form and content are activity, force unifies what is called form and content in creative expression. The speech is meant to be alive and moving in all of its aspects so that separation of the members becomes impossible, because the creative production is “an experience” or a happening occurring within and outside the speaker’s soul. When a speaker possesses visionary ecstasy, vivid but controlled, his audiences’ participation is more assured than if he exercised only syllogistic reasoning. It does not preclude the materials of composition, or the arrangement and structure of those materials; it simply expresses belief that when images are arranged according to their power and chosen because of their power, the speaker’s ability to convince is greater than if he attempted to employ a formal logic.
4. What is the difference between the way Europeans and Afrocans see things? Unlike the Euro-American, the African seeks the totality of an experience, concept, or system. Traditional African society looked for unity in the whole rather than specifics of the whole; such as a concentration, which also emphasized synthesis more than analysis, contributed to community stability because considerations in the whole mere more productive than considerations in detail.
5. What is the African speaker? What are the characteristics of the Afrocan speaker? The African speaker is a public speaker who follows the orature The speaker has the power to fascinate the audience and generate creative energy. The African speaker is a poet instead of a lecturer. The African speaker is a master of proverbs and invokes tradition. The speaker’s power comes from the experience of the “orality” and spirituality of the presentation. The African speaker shares the myths that they are raised to learn.
ON TIME Ica #9 group question #5 Patricia Hill Collins Jessica Jordan Azania Stewart Jason Traylor Lanita Bartley
1.Black feminist thought shifts how we view oppression by exposing the matrix of domination and addresses ways in sociology of assessing truth, as well as addressing people’s experiences of truth.
2.The matrix of domination is arranged across several axes, meaning there are many systems of oppression, which may affect an individual, such as race, gender, and class. There are multiple levels of domination by which people experience and resist oppression. These levels vary in their sociological size from micro to macro: they are the level of personal biography; the community level of the cultural context, which is created by race, class, and gender; and the systematic level of social institutions.
3. Black women have special kinds of knowledge in virtue of their marginalised status in society. They can best embark upon political empowerment achieved through a raised group consciousness.
At the top of each post you must list the following information: 1. Your Codeword 2. Title of the news article you choose (see suggestions below) 3. Author of the news article 4. Source of the news article 5. Date of the news article 6. Link (url) to the news article
Those six lines should be followed by your reflection from the perspective of the social theorist you choose from the list of options for each due date. A reflection is not a summary. Instead, what you are expected to do is to thoroughly read the news article of your choice and reflect on it from the perspective of one of the assigned Social Theorists. Note that your reflection may include a bit of summary, but it must not consist entirely of summarizing the article. Good reflections will analyze the issue discussed in the article from the perspective of one of the assigned Social Theorists; outstanding posts will even take the voice (write in the tone and style of) the Social Theorist. Reflections should be a minimum of one paragraph. They must be posted no later than 4pm on the due date below and the article you choose must have been published within two weeks of the due date. There are 3 points possible of Extra Credit for each post.
ICA #9 Group Questions 8 ------Judith Butler
ReplyDeleteRosario
Lorenzo
Eljaly
Booboo
1. What does Judith Butler say about performing our roles in society?
"Gender reality is performative which means, quite simply, that it is real only to the extent that it is performed"—Judith Butler.
In other words, gender only exists as long as it is performed. It is not inherent but constructed. Gender roles are imposed on us by normative heterosexuality. She questions the extent to which our acts are determined for us versus produced by us. Identity is created in action, action is not a product of identity.
We are limited in our actions/roles/genders by taboos; a realm of action and ideas that are uninhabitable by the actor. These peripheral taboos confine the actor into their role.
2. How does Ester Newton describe drag?
Esther Newton describes drag as an enactment of the very structure of impersonation by which any gender is assumed.
It is not an imitation or a copy of some prior and true gender. Drag constitutes the mundane way in which genders are appropriated, theatricalized, worn and done. She also goes on to clarify and say that drag is NOT the putting on of a gender that belongs properly to some other group, masculine belongs to male and feminine belongs to female.
3. What is performativity?
Performativity: to perform a type of being.
4. Why is heterosexuality at risk according to Butler?
“Repetition is the way in which power works to construct the illusion of the seamless heterosexual identity”. Heterosexuality is at risk of losing its powerful hold as non-hetero sexual identities break through this cycle of repetition. Heterosexually is at risk as the subjects at hand begin to chose, freely, their gender and roles based on the situation at hand and no longer based on repetition of heterosexual norms.
ICA #9
ReplyDeleteGroup #2 Motefi Kele Asante “The Afrocentic Idea” (Lemert p. 500)
Code Words:
Herman
Charger
Yddet
Arsenal
1. What is afrology?
Afrology is the Afrocentric study of African concepts, issues, and behaviors; which includes research on African themes in the Americas and the West Indies, as well as the African continent.
2. What are the 3 fundamental existential postures? Describe the differences for these postures for Europeans and Africans?
The 3 fundamental existential postures are: feeling, knowing, and acting.
• Europeans call these by different names: affective, congnitive, conative. The difference for these postures for Europeans and Africans is that in Afrology, the study of objects or ideas is best done when all three components are interrelated rather than separate.
3. What is an orature? How does this affect discourse?
An orature is an oral transmission of narrative and customs. It is known as the oral analogue of literature. It corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature. It covers oral traditions such as folk epics, folklore, and folksong. Due to the fact that there is such an emphasis on oral tradition and creative storytelling, public discourse is able to produce complex relationships and invoke the needs of the viewers because of the impression of the image it portrays.
4. What is the difference between the way Europeans and Afroncans see things?
Europeans see speech as something that is alive and moving in all of its aspects so that separation of the members becomes impossible, because the creative production is “an experience” or a happening occurring within and outside the speaker’s soul. The Africans on the other hand seek the totality of an experience, concept, or system. Traditional African society looked for unity of the whole rather than specifics of the whole. Such an analysis contributed to community stability.
5. What is the African speaker? What are the characteristics of the Afrocan speaker?
The African speaker means to be a poet, not lecturer. The characteristics of the Afrocan speaker are: convincing, spiritual, creative, powerful, and master of proverbs.
ICA #9 from Group # 3
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Trinh T. Minh-ha (1989)
Code Names:
STAMINA
OLAJ
Other Member Names:
Janita Williams
Cyndi Thomas
1. What is the standpoint that Minh-ha advocates?
Minh-ha's standpoint was that we are all one and that we cannot separate our identities. She believes that all of our identities overlap and blend. There is no possible way to distinguish between our identities because we use them all to maneuver through our everyday lives. Her standpoint relates to Mead's idea of the "I" and the "Me." The I is the actions that we perform, and the Me is the object of how we see ourselves in the future. We cannot separate the two, as Minh'ha advocates we cannot be separated.
2. What is the significance of I, we, you, and me?
The significance of I, we, you, and me is that they are inseparable and they all overlap. Although we try to separate I, we, you, and me, they are all one. I, we, you, and me overlap to fit the different situations we find ourselves in. We all play each of these roles, and according to Minh'ha cannot be separated from each other.
3. Why is the statement "third world women" problematic
In westerners view, the term “Third World” carries a negative connotation. It is viewed as a ranking system and for women, they are considered underprivileged. The idea of “Third World Women” also creates a reaction of revulsion among whites. Almost all the time a sense of annoyance, irritation, and vexation is the reaction that whites obtain when questioned about “third world women.” This is also problematic because it causes what is considered “third world women” to take the white dominant perspective as a point of reference.
It also forces them to adopt the belief that they are literally in "third place" in the world. Not a healthy mentality and very deceptive. It conceals the reason they endure their circumstances, which are largely the result of the "dominant", white peoples of the world (America, England, etc.).
DeleteICA #9 from Group # 3
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Trinh T. Minh-ha (1989)
Code Names:
STAMINA
OLAJ
STEMSWAG
AYITI
1. What is the standpoint that Minh-ha advocates?
Minh-ha's standpoint was that we are all one and that we cannot separate our identities. She believes that all of our identities overlap and blend. There is no possible way to distinguish between our identities because we use them all to maneuver through our everyday lives. Her standpoint relates to Mead's idea of the "I" and the "Me." The I is the actions that we perform, and the Me is the object of how we see ourselves in the future. We cannot separate the two, as Minh'ha advocates we cannot be separated.
2. What is the significance of I, we, you, and me?
The significance of I, we, you, and me is that they are inseparable and they all overlap. Although we try to separate I, we, you, and me, they are all one. I, we, you, and me overlap to fit the different situations we find ourselves in. We all play each of these roles, and according to Minh'ha cannot be separated from each other.
3. Why is the statement "third world women" problematic
In westerners view, the term “Third World” carries a negative connotation. It is viewed as a ranking system and for women, they are considered underprivileged. The idea of “Third World Women” also creates a reaction of revulsion among whites. Almost all the time a sense of annoyance, irritation, and vexation is the reaction that whites obtain when questioned about “third world women.” This is also problematic because it causes what is considered “third world women” to take the white dominant perspective as a point of reference.
ICA#9
ReplyDeleteGroup Work Question #8
Judith Butler "Imitation and Gender Insubordination"
Members: Jennifer Felipe and Yanelis Zamora
1. What does Judith Butler say about performing our roles in society?
According to Butler, performing roles in society is a matter of imitation with no origin. Roles are played in society as a repetitive and reassuring performance. Heterosexuality is seen as the norm and these gender roles are enforced on us (defined by ideals). Butler states, “Gender reality is performative which means, quite simply, that it is real only to the extent that it is performed”. If a person does not “perform” gender, then gender will be non-existent. Rather than regarding gender or sex as innate, Butler states that “gender identity appears primarily to be the internalization of a prohibition that proves to be formative of identity” showing that actors are confined to their roles because of taboos that exist around the performance and actions.
2. How does Ester Newton describe drag?
Newton refuses the notion that drag is an imitation of a proper gender but rather argues that it consists of the same structure of impersonation which all genders are appropriated by.
3. What is performativity?
Performativity as defined by Butler refers to the fact that there is no original for what genders imitate and the performance is an imitation that is both the notion of an original as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself; constitutes as an effect the very subject it appears to express.
4. Why is heterosexuality at risk according to Butler?
Heterosexuality is at risk, according to Butler, because it can lose the power it has in society as the norm. This occurs because heterosexuality needs repetition. Heterosexuality is compelled to repeat itself in order to establish the illusion of its own uniformity and identity. Butler states, “this is an identity permanently at risk, for what if it fails to repeat, or if the very exercise of repetition is redeployed for a very different performative purpose”. If people begin to choose their gender roles not based on the idea of repetition of heterosexuality and the norms associated with it, then heterosexuality will be at risk of losing the power it currently has in society.
What if it is at risk? Do we believe that's a negative? I can imagine a society in which sexuality is never assumed and there is little need to perpetuate a sexual standard. I don't see that as particualrly problematic, just progressive.
DeleteICA #9 from Group #4
ReplyDeleteGayatri Chakavorty Spivak “Can the Subaltern Speak?”
Codenames: Ayitidou and Whale
1. What would be the content of “subaltern studies’?
The content is the study that is done by western cultures of foreign cultures. It is the efforts of western cultures to speak for the “subaltern” and not really taking their opinions seriously. The intellectuals attempt to explain a foreign culture according to the standards of their own culture.
2. Why ask “Can the subaltern speak?”
The subaltern itself is a heterogeneous group but holds a subordinate position that is always in relation to but stands outside of the central locus of power. Because professionals have gotten so accustomed to speaking on the behalf of the “subaltern”, it is easy for them to forget that the ‘subaltern’ can speak on their own if given a chance. They do not always need others to speak on their behalf; they have their own voice. We can learn so more about the ‘subaltern’ when we actually listen to them instead of comparing them to different standards.
3. What is the relationship of western feminism to third world women?
Western feminists and antisexist women of third world countries are both silenced, alike. In both situations women have put standing up for their rights on the forefront of their agendas but both have struggled due to masculine radicalism. Women of the western world are considered hysteric, while women of third world countries are considered sensual in a derogatory way, in both cases women aren’t respected and need to be protected by a man. “White men are saving brown women from brown men.”
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DeleteICA #9
DeleteCodenames: lochan and faith
Gayatri Chakavorty Spivak “Can the Subaltem Speak?” (Lemert p.536)
1. What would be the content of “subaltern studies”?
The overall meaning of subaltern means the exploited section of a society. It can refer by gender (women), race, and class. In this study, subaltern was associated with India in the ancient time and with the history of other countries. Hence the content mainly explained that there is a lower or exploited class that was neglected from reality by what the history writes (history writers), and the government. Basically there should be some writing on the viewpoints of the exploited or lower class.
2. Why ask “Can the subaltern speak?”
It was asked “can the subaltern speak” because the issue is that the exploited or lower class viewpoints could never be heard by the society easily. So the question asks if it is ever possible for the exploited to speak and be heard.
3. What is the relationship of western feminism to third world women?
I believe the relationship between the two is that they both are being protected by the superior though what is being protected shouldn’t have a need for protection. Therefore, this is like a crime that has been redefined in a way to not appear as illegal so that the lower class or exploited class can be hidden.
ICA #9
ReplyDeleteGroup #6. Gloria Anzaldùa “the new Mestiza” (Lemert p.552)
code words: watever1, pmanning18, neMo1213, juzgar
1.How does the “history” of the borderland affect the “biography” of the “new Mestiza”
2. What is the standpoint Anzaldùa advocates?
1. The history of the borderland affect the “biography of the “new mestiza” in a number of ways. Her history has created a viewpoint on how she see’s things but it has also created a viewpoint of how she does not want to surcome to the ways of her culture. The history and traditions passed down in her culture have created the woman whom she is now, telling the story. Our histories help create and recreate our story.
2. The standpoint of Anzaldùa advocates that she loves her culture because it has helped shape who she is but also know the weakness of her culture that she does not want to fall stereotyped into. Her experiences have created a past and present and have created a women of her own mind.
ICA #9
ReplyDeleteGroup #6. Gloria Anzaldùa “the new Mestiza” (Lemert p.552)
code words: watever1, pmanning18, neMo1213, juzgar
1.How does the “history” of the borderland affect the “biography” of the “new Mestiza”
2. What is the standpoint Anzaldùa advocates?
1. The history of the borderland affect the “biography of the “new mestiza” in a number of ways. Her history has created a viewpoint on how she see’s things but it has also created a viewpoint of how she does not want to surcome to the ways of her culture. The history and traditions passed down in her culture have created the woman whom she is now, telling the story. Our histories help create and recreate our story.
2. The standpoint of Anzaldùa advocates that she loves her culture because it has helped shape who she is but also know the weakness of her culture that she does not want to fall stereotyped into. Her experiences have created a past and present and have created a women of her own mind.
I'd argue against the idea that their are "weaknesses" in her culture. I'd state instead that her culture has been overrun by that of the dominant's.
DeleteICA #9
ReplyDeleteGroup 9: dalila and Baciarsi
Nancy Hartsock “Foucault on Power: A Theory for Women?” (Lemert page 495)
1. What does she mean when she says that issues of difference that divide men from women can also unite them? Examples.
Hartsock states that, “Issues of difference reminds us as well that many of the factors which divide women also unite some women with men—factors such as racial or cultural differences.” In other words, Hartsock is saying that while men and women are undoubtedly divided because of their biological sex (and socialized gender implications) they can be united through other factors such as race and culture. Examples of this in action include the various racial organizations on campus, such as the Institute of Black Culture, or La Casita or men and women joining together for a Filipino Pride Parade. In these cases, the dividing issue of sex is not nearly as prominent as the uniting issues of race or culture.
2. What are the five epistemologies that need to be understood to create a theory for women? What are the critical steps?
In order to create a theory for women, one must first understand that, rather than getting rid of subjectivity or notions of the subject, we need to engage in the historical, political, and theoretical process of constituting ourselves as subjects as well as objects of history. Second, work must be done on an epistemological base that indicates that knowledge is, in fact, possible—not just conversation or a discourse on how it is that power relations work. Third, a theory of power is needed that recognizes that women’s practical daily activity contains an understanding of the world. Fourth, women’s understanding of power needs to recognize the difficulty of creating alternatives. Lastly, a theory of power for women, for the oppressed, is not one that leads to a turning away from engagement but rather one that is a call for change and participation in altering power relations.
The critical steps to achieving this are first, using what we know about our lives as a basis for critique of the dominant culture, and second, creating alternatives.
ICA 9#
ReplyDeleteGroup 1James S Coleman
FANCYTEX
sunshine
1. Some of the differences are centered on the structure. Nation states are comprised of people and are generally organized through a constitution or constitution like doctrine thus these people have a common purpose usually with aim at opposition to the current primordial basis. Multinational corporations govern positions rather than people. They are corporate entities acting to capitalize or maximize functions such as profit or efficiency.
2. The conflict in means of competition and domination of the form of productivity. Being that there are different needs there are different perspectives and systems.
3.Characteristics of the new social science include a change from primordial to puposive structural form, invalidity of the idea that legistlatures can design a replacement for the social structure that has shifted from household economies to a single interdependent economy.
ICA 9
ReplyDeleteQuestion Group 1
Codenames: devaio, holmes, tenorsax, schmady
1) Nation-States are premodern entities typically are evolved from ethnically homogeneous
people. They take responsibility for and claim authority of the people as a whole. This
authority comes from an explicit contract from individuals joining together for a common goal.
Multinational corporations are modern entities, comprised of positions, with people being
merely occupants of the positions and viewed as simply as a means to achieve an objective goal
such as increase profit or size.
2) The two bodies in are conflict over a dominance of form, over the organizing of a global social
system. They are in conflict because the multinational corporations lack of regard for national
borders in terms of achieving their objective goals threatens the nation-states monopoly over
legitimate coercive power with their borders
3) The new social science consists of both applied research and theory. It crosses the traditional
bounds of the disciplines within which knowledge is ordered, because society has changed how
these disciplines are connected.
Please, grade the second set of responses/answers below. There are a few confusing typos, etc. in this one. Thank you.
Delete-Holmes
ICA #9
ReplyDeleteGroup #1
Codenames: devaio, holmes, tenorsax, schmady.
1) Nation-States are premodern entities typically evolved from people that are ethnically homogeneous. They take responsibility for and claim authority of the people as a whole. This authority comes from an explicit contract from individuals joining together for a common goal.
Multinational corporations are modern entities, comprised of positions, with people that merely occupy them (positions) and are viewed simply as a means to achieve an objective goal, such increasing profit margins or size of the organization/business.
2) The two bodies are in conflict over dominance of form; over the organizing of a global social system. They are in conflict because the multinational corporations lack some degree of regard for national
borders in their of effort to achieve said "objective" goals. Therefore, they threaten the nation-states monopoly over
legitimate and coercive power with their borders.
3) The new social science consists of both applied research and theory. It crosses the traditional boundaries of the disciplines within which knowledge is ordered. It does this because society has changed how
these disciplines are connected.
Please, grade this one for our group. Thank you.
DeleteICA #9
ReplyDeleteGroup #5
Codewords: boston, stussy
o Patricia hill Collins “black feminist though in the matrix of domination” lemert p 541
§ 1. What is the contribution of black feminist thought
Collins saw that black women had knowledge, experience, and insight that could be useful in feminist politics as it demonstrates black women emerging as agents of knowledge. She felt that new knowledge was essential for change in society. Black feminist thought fosters a paradigm shift in how oppression is viewed. Also, it addresses many debates within feminist theory on the idea of "truth," allowing for new knowledge to be empowering and to help subordinate groups define their own reality.
§ 2. What does it mean to say that the matrix of domination is arranged alone several axes and across multiple levels?
The matrix of Domination is structured along many axes such as race, gender, and social class. Thus, the domination exists for rich white males in these axes, as opposed to poor black female. In essence, the example given shows that the rich white males have the most domination and privileges in society, while the poor black women have the least of all the aspects. On top of these axes, the matrix domination also is structured on several levels identified by Patricia Hill Collins as: level of personal biography, the group or community level of the cultural context created by race, class, and gender; and the systemic level of social institutions. Personal biography is an intimate and individualistic level of experience. No two people have the same personal biography. The next is group or community level of the cultural context. This level is how an individual’s personal biography is rooted into a gender, class, religion, etc. The last level is the social institution level. Groups in this level either resist or dominate based on schools, churches, the media, etc. In every axis and level, a hierarchal system exists and allows people to dominate or force people to feel oppressed.
§ 3. What is the black feminist “standpoint?”
Black feminist standpoint is based on the theoretical understanding of Black women’s everyday experiences. It argues that that knowledge is always mediated by myriad factors which are related to the individual or a group’s particular position in society. Moreover, it states that members of oppressed groups, such as Black women, have special kinds of knowledge due to their marginalized status in society. From knowledge gained via their particular standpoint, Black women can best embark for political empowerment which would raise group consciousness. This theory aims to empower the oppressed in hopes to improve their situation. Therefore, this theory is very responsive towards change of the current social and political conditions.
Please Grade this update version including all the group member codewords. Thanks
DeleteICA #9
Group #5
Codewords: boston, stussy, tina2012, cinserge
Patricia hill Collins “Black feminist thought in the matrix of domination” - Lemert p 541
1. What is the contribution of black feminist thought?
Collins saw that black women had knowledge, experience, and insight that could be useful in feminist politics as it demonstrates black women emerging as agents of knowledge. She felt that new knowledge was essential for change in society and understood that it's important to make connections with knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Black feminist thought fosters a paradigm shift in how oppression is viewed by embracing race, class, and gender as interlocking systems that could be used to reconceptualize the social relations of domination and resistance. Also, it addresses many debates within feminist theory and sociology of knowledge on the idea of "truth," allowing for new knowledge to be empowering and to help subordinate groups define their own reality.
2. What does it mean to say that the matrix of domination is arranged alone several axes and across multiple levels?
The matrix of Domination is structured along many axes such as race, gender, and social class. Thus, the domination exists for rich white males in these axes, as opposed to poor black female. In essence, the example given shows that the rich white males have the most domination and privileges in society, while the poor black women have the least of all the aspects. On top of these axes, the matrix domination also is structured on several levels identified by Patricia Hill Collins as: level of personal biography, the group or community level of the cultural context created by race, class, and gender; and the systemic level of social institutions. Personal biography is an intimate and individualistic level of experience, emotions, motivations, and values. No two people have the same personal biography. The next is group or community level of the cultural context. This level is how an individual’s personal biography is rooted into a gender, class, religion, etc. The last level is the social institution level. Groups in this level either resist or dominate based on schools, churches, the media, etc. In every axis and level, a hierarchal system exists and allows people to dominate or force people to feel oppressed.
3. What is the black feminist “standpoint?”
Black feminist standpoint is based on the theoretical understanding of Black women’s everyday experiences. A Black women’s standpoint and that of other oppressed groups is embedded in a context and in a situation characterized by overarching domination. It argues that knowledge is always mediated by a myriad of factors, which are related to the individual or a group’s particular position in society. The black feminist standpoint is one angle of vision that forms a partial perspective from which to view the matrix of domination. From knowledge gained via their particular standpoint, Black women can best campaign for political empowerment which would raise group consciousness. This theory aims to empower the oppressed in hopes to improve their situation and marginalized status. Therefore, this theory is very responsive towards change of the current social and political conditions.
ICA #9 Group #7
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Nancy Chodorow
Zac Carrera
DeMario Hardmon-Fort
Sadie Finkel
1. Chodorow argues that motherhood is not innate in woman, but is a feature of social structure. She agrees that women are physically and psychologically fit for motherhood. But she disagrees that the role of primary caregiver is ineveitable for women. She posits that it's a product of socialization that has lead to division between genders within the family. While this division may have seemed rational and efficient, the social structure only places constraints on women, and men, and it has resulted in a cycle that is perpetuated by women who raised daughters, who later become mothers themselves. (DeMario)
2. She reinterprets this theory through the use of the Oedipus complex. Stating that the different structure of the feminine and masculine oedipal triangle and process of oedipal experience that results from women's mother contributes further to gender personality differentiation and the reproduction of women's mothering. Making the way women define themselves and experiences rationally, making their heterosexuality triangular and "requiring" a third person to finish the triangle--a child. (Sadie)
3. One consequence of women's mothering is that it produces psychological self-definition and capacities appropriate to mothering in women, while inhibiting these capacities in men. The early childhood experiences produce structure expectations in both men and women. These expectations are then generalized so that it is assumed women naturally take care of children. Ultimately, this reproduction of women's mothering is the basis for reproducing women's location and domestic responsibility. THis is required for the formation of the sex-gender system, male dominance, and the hierarchy of gender within society. (Zac)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteON TIME
ReplyDeleteAdayboog
Beebis
Mezanmi
Eiffel
#2 Molefi Kete Asante “The Afrocentric Idea” (Lemert p. 500)
1. What is Afrology?
Afrology is defined by our text as a Theory of Social Change, that “denotes the Afrocentric study of African concepts, issues, and behaviors. It includes research on African themes in the Americas and the West Indies, as well as the African continent. Most of the relevant research involves the systematic exploration of relationships, social codes, cultural and commercial customs, and oral traditions and proverbs, although interpretation of communicative behaviors, as expressed in discourse, spoken or written, and techniques found in jazz studies and urban street-vernacular signifying, is also included.”
2. What are the 3 fundamental existential postures? Describe the differences for these postures for Europeans and Africans.
- feeling, knowing, and acting
- European call them affective, cognitive, and conative
Afrology recognizes these three stances to be interrelated, not separate.
3. What is an orature? How does this affect discourse?
Orature is the term used to refer to the sum total of oral tradition, which includes vocality, drumming, storytelling, praise singing, and naming. This affects discourse because expression, therefore, is not the captive of the written word; it is the word revealed in life. Since form and content are activity, force unifies what is called form and content in creative expression. The speech is meant to be alive and moving in all of its aspects so that separation of the members becomes impossible, because the creative production is “an experience” or a happening occurring within and outside the speaker’s soul. When a speaker possesses visionary ecstasy, vivid but controlled, his audiences’ participation is more assured than if he exercised only syllogistic reasoning. It does not preclude the materials of composition, or the arrangement and structure of those materials; it simply expresses belief that when images are arranged according to their power and chosen because of their power, the speaker’s ability to convince is greater than if he attempted to employ a formal logic.
4. What is the difference between the way Europeans and Afrocans see things?
Unlike the Euro-American, the African seeks the totality of an experience, concept, or system. Traditional African society looked for unity in the whole rather than specifics of the whole; such as a concentration, which also emphasized synthesis more than analysis, contributed to community stability because considerations in the whole mere more productive than considerations in detail.
5. What is the African speaker? What are the characteristics of the Afrocan speaker?
The African speaker is a public speaker who follows the orature The speaker has the power to fascinate the audience and generate creative energy. The African speaker is a poet instead of a lecturer. The African speaker is a master of proverbs and invokes tradition. The speaker’s power comes from the experience of the “orality” and spirituality of the presentation. The African speaker shares the myths that they are raised to learn.
ON TIME
ReplyDeleteIca #9 group question #5 Patricia Hill Collins
Jessica Jordan
Azania Stewart
Jason Traylor
Lanita Bartley
1.Black feminist thought shifts how we view oppression by exposing the matrix of domination and addresses ways in sociology of assessing truth, as well as addressing people’s experiences of truth.
2.The matrix of domination is arranged across several axes, meaning there are many systems of oppression, which may affect an individual, such as race, gender, and class. There are multiple levels of domination by which people experience and resist oppression. These levels vary in their sociological size from micro to macro: they are the level of personal biography; the community level of the cultural context, which is created by race, class, and gender; and the systematic level of social institutions.
3. Black women have special kinds of knowledge in virtue of their marginalised status in society. They can best embark upon political empowerment achieved through a raised group consciousness.