Critical Reflection 4: Liberation and Un-Othering
In today’s society, we are regularly asked about our identity, whether it’s through a survey, the census, our classmates, etc.. Although I would like to think that my values, beliefs, and culture define my identity, in reality, it is how others perceive me that ultimately determines who I am and where I stand in this world.
In the article, “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” Beverly Tatum speaks of how people are commonly classified based on their “race or ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and physical or mental ability” (Tatum). On the same basis for each category described earlier, a person suffers from a form of oppression associated with it, such as “racism, religious oppression/anti-semitism, heterosexism, classism, ageism, and ableism” (Tatum). Depending on where a person stands in each category is whether society places them in a dominant or subordinate group. Tatum defines a dominant group as someone who is “systematically advantaged by society because of group membership” (Tatum). Today Caucasian, wealthy, males are typically associated with the dominant group. The subordinate group is generally composed of systematically disadvantaged individuals, such as colored individuals, females, people with disabilities, etc.
Between the dominant and subordinate categories, the dominant group tends to “set the parameters within which subordinates operate” (Tatum). In other words, people in dominate groups hold power to determine acceptable behaviors in society. Consequently, this power imbalance makes people in subordinate groups concerned about their survival.
However, in the article “Perspective-Taking as a Tool for Building Democratic Societies,” Jose Calderon explains, “how through perspective-taking a person can change the dominant-subordinate dynamic. The Calderon uses the anecdote of how one of his teachers sought to create a similarity with him by asking him to teach her Spanish. Thus, creating a “teacher-student and student-teacher relationship.” The author highlights how “if the teacher had not fostered equitable environment, if she had not sought to see the world through [his], he would not be a professor at Pitzer College today” (Calderon). This example shows dominant groups can liberate and empower subordinate groups to a dominant position. By giving the author the confidence and trust that he was as valuable as her, she pushed him forward until he became a professor himself. However, it does not always happen as Calderon’s case. Some intersectionalities create more barriers that further oppress and marginalize community members.
Intersectionalities can either empower or further marginalize community members. Imagine that two roads represent the structural issue in place in relation to race, gender, social-economic status, immigration status, etc. A person who suffers from two of the structural issues (example racism and sexism) then finds themselves at an intersection where the two roads overlap. This overlap then creates within itself a complex problem for the person in the middle as outsiders only see one road and cannot understand the intersection. Most people disregard this intersection and view it as one road or one structural issue when it could be a combination of many.
In the TED Talk, The Urgency of Intersectionality, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw shares an example of an African American woman who filed a lawsuit against a car manufacturer plant for workplace discrimination. However, the lawsuit was dismissed because the company proved to hire African American employees and female employees. However, when critically examining these two points, the company usually hired African American men for industrial jobs and white women to fulfill front office work. The African American woman who filed the lawsuit did not meet the criteria of being either African American men or a White woman. The judge only identified the woman with one identity; either they discriminated because she was African American or because she was a woman, but it could not both (Crenshaw).
In another article titled, “My Class Didn’t Trump My Race,” DiAngelo provides another example of intersectionality as she is both white and poor. She explained how this intersectionality placed her in a complicated place as many of her white peers oppressed her because she did not meet the economic standards. However, she also explained how this intersectionality empowered as “regardless of one’s other locations, White people know on some level that being White in this society is “better” than being a person of color, and this along with the very real doors whiteness opens, server to mediate the oppression experienced in those other social locations” (DiAngelo). In other words, being at a crossroads gave her the advantage because of her race. Within people of color, her white privilege always prevailed, and therefore she had more power and agency.
With the 2020 Census fast approaching, the intersectionalities that our community members face in the Canal create an additional barrier to participation. Some of the intersectionalities that our community face is limited English proficiency, lack of technological skills, fearful and distrustful relationship with the government. Canal Alliance is working to address these complexities through advocacy, resources, and education on the importance of participating in the 2020 Census. However, it is a challenging position as it needs to address most of the intersectionalities to create a direct impact. Although most times, these intersectionalities marginalize and oppress our community, they can also serve to empower others. Though a focus group interview, I was able to identify members of the community who are well-educated on the census. Their knowledge of the census and the strong relationship they built within the community places them in a dominant position where they empower others and create agency: the choice to participate in the 2020 Census.
By: Karla Hernandez Navarro
Calderon, Jose. “Perspective-Taking as a Tool for Building Democratic Societies.” Diversity & Democracy 14- 1(2010): 5–7.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé, director. The Urgency of Intersectionality. YouTube, TED Talk, 7 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=akOe5-UsQ2o.
DiAngelo, Robin J. “My Class Didn’t Trump My Race.” Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, 4th edition. Eds. Maurianne Adams, et al, 138–146. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Tatum, Beverly. “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Sexism, Anti-Semitism, Heterosexism Classism, and Ableism. Ed. Maurianne Adams, 9–14. New York: Routledge, 2000.
