Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex

Capitalism, Race, and Gender
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Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex
* Crenshaw begins by explaining how she came to realize that feminism's emphasis on women's equality had been limited by its failure to address issues like race, class, sexuality, and ability.
* The reason for feminist theory was that it offered a way for feminists to examine their positions within society as well as those of others, in short, it gave her more power over her own life than she had before.
* The theory discusses three types of oppression in society: structural where people are oppressed because they are powerless in a system, personal where people are oppressed because they have certain characteristics, and interpersonal where people are oppressed because they interact with others she concluded that the structural oppression is the most pervasive type of oppression among them all.
* According to Kimberle Crenshaw's book, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex (1995), the main idea is that race and sex are not mutually exclusive categories.
* Consequently, she argues that the anti-discrimination concept has been used as a tool to oppress black women and allows them to claim victimhood when they are oppressed.
* Crenshaw's argument is based on her discrimination experience as a black woman at different times in her life.
* Feminist theory is used to support that women have been oppressed both by white and black men in history.
* Historical evidence supports the argument as it explains how the doctrine was invented during the slavery time; black people were perceived as property and not humans with rights.
* Demonstration of the concept has continued into the present day where many people still believe that all races should be treated equally but fail to recognize how some groups have been historically disadv...