Why Black Women have not Found Their Voice
African American women continue to suffer in the hands of a racist and sexist society. They face the aspect of double discrimination because of their race and gender and often strive for the same authority that is advanced by their male counterparts. However, in spite of the recent surge in feminist ideas, African American women are still lacking in appropriate discourses that enable them to air their views because of the cultural and political circumstances surrounding them and their socioeconomic position in the society.
While women long for an opportunity to speak and voice their concerns, the situation in which most of them are is not always permissive to the same. Women of color are especially lacking in the ability to become feminist ambassadors and speak up when they feel oppressed because of their lifestyles. For instance, many women of color are burdened by aspects such as poverty, the lack of education and skills, have numerous responsibilities that they cannot carry on their own. Such reasons explain why black women are susceptible to the aspect of domestic violence, where they continually face the aspect of domestic violence but do not have a voice to make it stop. Women of color are more likely to be abused by a man than any other race because of the circumstances surrounding them that make it difficult for them to assert themselves. A poverty-stricken woman would stay in an abusive relationship because of the lack of any viable options, something that limits their freedom to speak up and defend themselves. An article by Javona Tylor tells the story of three black women who were murdered by their significant others, All of these women were shot by their boyfriends and husbands, and were said to have been physically abused at an earlier onset. The most important aspect to note in this article is that women of color are more vulnerable to domestic abuse because of their socioeconomic status. Their place in the society limits their ability to talk, assert their needs, or walk away from relationships that are abusive in nature. The article acquire data from the violence center of the FBI that indicated the connection between low-income earnings and domestic violence. Hence, the same explains the story of Nya Hammond who was gunned down by her boyfriend and father of her child and murdered. The narrative is the same for most of these women who cannot speak or exercise the same right as everybody else because they are stifled by the circumstances in their lives.
Even though the society today claims to have moved from aspects that regard racism, research indicates that black women are among the people who face both cultural and political marginalization the most. For starters, their needs are hardly met in budgets that are predominantly geared towards their white upper and middle-class counterparts. Take, for instance, the issue of counseling in rape centers. Most of the budget that is allocated towards this endeavor is most reflective of the needs of white women as opposed to black women who have been through the same traumatic experience. There is often a lack of means through which African-American women can The marginalization is felt in all facets of the lives of African-American women, such as education, employment, development projects, and representation in positions of power. In retrospect, black women still face the same discrimination that all women did in the early and middle 19th century. An article by Joyce Tsai illustrates as much through an analysis of the popular film, “Hidden Figures.” The film showcases the extreme talent of black women and the struggles even the most brilliant of them faced in the 19th century. The article talks of black women accounting for a mere 1% of individuals employed in leading companies such as Google and Facebook. The interesting aspect to note in this case is that most of these companies increased the number of women who worked for them. However, black women still maintain the bottom of the employment percentile in spite of these developments, thus showing apparent marginalization.
Hence, it is quite difficult for women to have discourses that are aimed at addressing the needs they have. The disparities that exist in the races that represent women are far too big to ignore. For this reason, they cannot come together in feminist groups that are targeted at addressing women’s needs in general. White women can never understand the struggles of black women, and would not, therefore, represent the same in different discourses. In as much as most want to advance the strife of women in general, it is not possible for the same because some races still suffer from aspects of sexism and racism and have not found the voice they require to organize such movements. The situation is different from men with color who often have identical issues and are not faced with the same challenges as their female counterparts since they are the authority. Hence, there are many male-dominated black movements when compared to ones that articulate the specific needs for women as well.
More so, the aspects that black men and women often complain about are stifled by racism and politicization. More often than not, the media presents a picture of black women as aggressive, while their male counterparts are depicted as violent. The politics attached to these labels make it difficult for individuals in this cohort to air their views and express concerns about oppression. The article by Kali Gross illustrates the story of Marissa Alexander, who was arrested for firing shots at her boyfriend. She contends that Merissa was justified in this act but the media would not present the story from this angle. The article showcases how women are overly represented in prisons because of such stereotypes that present them as violent individuals because the media and politics in general has refused to understand their narrative.
All in all, there is need for the society to address the underlying issues that make it difficult for women of color to assert themselves. They would be in a better position to voice their concerns if issues regarding their socioeconomic status and cultural or political affiliations are addressed. Equality begins with the most underlying issues.
Hyperlinks
https://www.thetrace.org/2016/12/black-women-more-likely-fatally-shot-by-man-than-white-women/