Post 2

Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference

“For in order to survive, those of us for whom oppression is an american as apple pie have always had to be watchers, to become familiar with the language and manners of the oppressor, even sometimes adopting them for some illusion of protection.” This quote really stuck out to me because I know it applies to me in my own life. Being a Black gay male in 2016 is more difficult than people think. This is also when the double minority comes into play. A double minority is when an individual falls into two minority categories such as being black woman who is a lesbian, being a Hispanic woman who is a lesbian, or even an Asian woman who is in an interracial relationship and is also lesbian. If you think living your life, as a minority is difficult try to imagine falling into two or more categories. I know that when I go back home I cannot walk down the street and hold hands with my boyfriend because it may be widely accepted but it is not safe. I find myself having to put on a façade when it comes to my sexuality and my language for my safety. Furthermore, I feel like the minority (anything other than a white, heterosexual, Christian, male) is responsible for educating the majority on their culture, because our culture is either left out or pushed aside in the school system. I know that I can count on my hands the number of times where the LGBTQ culture was discussed in class. I know when it comes to African-American history I will always learn about the same four people who are MLK, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and George Washington Carver. On the other when discussing white culture I am immersed in the subject as if my entire was white. Another quote that I find interesting is “certainly there are very real differences between us of race, age and sex. But it is not those differences between us that are separating us. It is rather our refusal to recognize those differences and to examine the distortions which result from our misnaming them and their effects upon human behavior and expectation.” Yes we realize that our differences are something that makes us as humans unique, but those differences are often misunderstood or ridiculed because individuals lack the knowledge and understanding to accept them.

I can only imagine how the author of this article feels being a double minority and trying to educate the majority on issues that she faces in her personal life. She discusses white women ignoring their privilege and not being able to comprehend or acknowledge the struggles of a woman of color. So what we have is two minorities a white woman and on the other hand a woman of color. Even though these women share the same gender the woman of color is often treated differently due to their color. When in fact white women and women of color should be working together to increase their power rather than have the majority ignore the minority. “Black women who once insisted that lesbianism was a white woman’s problem now insist that Black lesbians are a threat to Black nationhood, are consorting with the enemy, are basically un-Black.” This passage shocked me when I read it, because I never thought sexuality belonged to any race in particular. The Black community thinks that lesbianism is a white problem and it has no place in the Black community. This issue displays the conflict within the Black community between Black women who are lesbians and Black heterosexual women. This article has taught me a plethora of vital information about struggles that women of color face. It is also opening a door for me to educate myself on these pressing issues.