arguments on the intersectionality of race and sex
The intersection is defined as the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, gender and class as they apply to a specific group, regarded as creating independent and overlapping systems of disadvantage. The main idea in the reading is to convey how black women are discriminated in society despite being in minority groups of sex and race. Although women are distinguished in the US, black women experience adverse levels of discriminations when compared to white women. This is evidenced in the case of DeGraffenreid v General Motors, when a lawsuit against black women, discrimination was dismissed as sex discrimination because the company was employing white women. In relation to race, black women also experience adverse discrimination compared to black males. Generally, the article presents arguments on the intersectionality of race and sex.
The author, Crenshaw, presents her arguments in four sections, with each section presenting a specific argument supporting the main argument of the article. The author organizes her work in this mode for easy identification of the main argument in the section. It also helps the author to be specific and to focus on a particular topic. The first section is titled “The Antidiscrimination Framework”. It presents how courts interpret cases of Black women discrimination. The court represents the political image of Black women in society. Crenshaw gives three cases, the DeGraffenreid v General Motors, Moore v Hughes Helicopters Inc and Payne v Travenol. All three case studies conclude black women are faced with a challenge of receiving justice in courts because the existence of other discriminatory conditions hinders their discrimination issues. For the case of Degraffenreid, the court denied allegations that General Motors was discriminating females as it was proved that the company employed white women.
The second section is titled “Feminism and Black women: Aint We Women?” This section argues that feminists’ theorists do not focus on the additional issues that African American females suffer. The theme of racialism is ignored when it comes to feminism affairs. The author bases her argument on the case of Sojourner Truth who spoke on the difficulties that black women experience rather than what general females experience.
The third section is named “When and Where I Enter: Integrating an Analysis of Sexism into Black Liberation Politics. This section argues that black liberationists deliberately ignore the issues Black African women experience. During the struggle for freedom for blacks, the liberalists who were most males only focused on presenting Black American residents. This cannot solve the problems experienced by Black women.
The Last section is named “Expanding Feminist Theory and Antiracist politics by Embracing the Intersection. This is the concluding section of the article. The author argues that it is essential for feminists and antiracists to present the grievances of Black women because it is the most biased group. Even when racial and gender discrimination is achieved, Black women continue to suffer if their needs are not met.
The author combines several types of evidence in her work. The first type of proof is archival sources. The author cites historical court cases involving Black women in the US. Also, the author mentions the historical Women’s Rights Conference in Akron. Archival sources are relevant because they support the author’s arguments with real happenings and not just assumptions. Second, Crenshaw bases her arguments on personal observations. She states that when they were invited to the club by her friend, Crenshaw observed that she had to go around the back door because she was a female. Observation is vital in supporting arguments as it provides accurate information regarding the issue.