Blogging the Theoretical

As a result, the “I” that I am finds itself at once constituted by norms and dependent on them but also endeavors to live in ways that maintain a critical and transformative relation to them. This is not easy, because the “I” becomes, to a certain extent unknowable, threatened with unviability, with becoming undone altogether, when it no longer incorporates the norm in such a way that makes this “I” fully recognizable. There is a certain departure from the human that takes place in order to start the process of remaking the human (Butler 2004, 3-4).

Bodies still must be apprehended as given over. Part of understanding the oppression of lives is precisely to understand that there is no way to argue away this condition of primary vulnerability of being given over to the touch of the other, even if, or precisely when, there is no other there, and no support for our lives. To counter oppression requires that one understand that lives are supported and maintained differentially, that there are radically different ways in which human physical vulnerability is distributed across the globe.  Certain lives will be highly protected, and the abrogation of their claims to sanctity will be sufficient to mobilize the forces of war. And other lives will not find such fast and furious support and will not even qualify as “grievable” (Butler 2004, 24).

Jillian Shults

Blog Rough Draft 2

In the book Feminism Without Borders written by Chandra Mohanty, she analyzes the image of the Third World Women that has been created and is constantly reinforced by Western feminist. The solution for Mohanty is she believes that we need to step outside of the Western view and look to feminist who are and are apart of the Third World. “This is turns calls for assuming the responsibility for the politics of voice as it is institutionalized in the academy’s “liberal” response to the very way questions feminism and other oppositional discourses have raised” (Mohanty, pp 197).

The way in which Third World women are represented is by the capital Women and that becomes highly problematic when talking about the everyday women. The capital Women is a created universal logic that has been reproduced and relies on the construction of the ideas of the West; this ideology says that all Third World women are the same. As we read in Feminism Without Borders, Mohanty says that in order to redefine the image of the Third World women feminist need to look across borders and through the perception of others. “Uncovering and reclaiming subjugated knowledges is one way to lay claim to alternative histories” (Mohanty, pp 196).

Another issue that was addressed in Feminism Without Borders was the Third World women workers. Mohanty states, “The common interests of homeworkers are acknowledged in terms of their daily lives as workers and as women – there is no artificial separation of the “worker” and the “homemaker” or the “housewife” in this context” (Mohanty, pp 165).  The Third World women are not looked at as having an additional occupation outside the home; the additional work that they do is viewed as supplementary and apart of the everyday chores. Mohanty says that feminist need to focus on common interest of the Third World women in order to being redefining their identity as women and as women workers. “The transition to identifying common needs and desires of the Third World women workers, which leads potentially to the construction of the identity of Third World workers, is what remains a challenge” (Mohanty, pp167).

When feminist look across borders for scholarship and don’t just rely on already constructed identities about Third World women, they can begin to reconstruct the identity of the Third World women. “The only way to get a little measure of power over your own life is to do it collectively, with the support of others who share your needs” (Mohanty, pp 168). Mohanty is saying that this is the time for Third World women to stand up for themselves and being to redefine their own identities.

According to Patricia Hill Collins, any oppressed group such as black women have a common goal they want empowerment. In order to achieve their solution black women must rethink feminism as a social justice project with a complex notion of empowerment through the use of knowledge.  Hill Collins notes that there is no clear answer to the issue regarding black women’s oppression. In Black Feminist Thought, Collins states that our society keeps reinforcing and reaffirming highly problematic ideologies that we soon come to see them as natural. She believes that through self-definition and recognition, black women can begin deconstruct the normative ideologies that can then spark change within social institutions. “Historically, U.S. Black women’s activism demonstrates that becoming empowered requires more than changing the consciousness of the individual black women via black community development strategies” (Collins p 291).  In saying this Collins believes that empowerment is not enough to evoke change. Since we are all multipli- positioned it is crucial that black women redefine themselves and challenge unjust social practices.

“As each individual African-American woman changes her ideas and actions, so does the overall shape of power itself change. In the absence of Black feminist thought and other comparable oppositional knowledges, these micro-changes may remain invisible to individual women. Yet collectively, they can have a profound impact” (Collins, 293). As we read in Black Feminist Thought, black women need to focus on individual change before they can change as a whole. The only way in which an oppressed group can change is through collective action but in order for collection action to happen, individual empowerment must occur first. As noted by Hill Collins, when black women focus on the individual change it helps to shape change on a collective front. “Dialectic approaches emphasize the significance of knowledge in developing self-defined, group-based standpoints that, in turn, can foster group solidarity necessary for resisting oppressions” (Collins 293). Without resistance black women will be forced to remain at the bottom of the hegemonic domain. The way in which black women can become empowered is through new knowledge about their experiences (Collins p 292).  In Black Feminist Thought, Hill Collins believes that if black women do not understand the history of their experiences how can they expect to move forward. Change ultimately can only come from a unified front, but that front has to start with individual empowerment.

Reference:

Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought. New York: Routledge Classics, 2009.

According to Patricia Hill Collins, any oppressed group such as black women have a common goal they want empowerment. In order to achieve this goal black women must rethink feminism as a social justice project with a complex notion of empowerment. As discussed in Black Feminist Thought, this can be accomplished by analyzing the domains of power.

The four domains of power include, structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal. “Structural domain of power encompasses how social institutions are organized to reproduce Black women’s subordination over time” (Collins p 295). These institutions have become conditioned to oppress black women for decades; everyday ideologies are taking for granted because we believe they are natural. Hill Collins states, “structural forms of injustice that permeate the entire society yield only grudgingly to change” (Collins p 296).  What she means by this is even though black women have made many advancements, discrimination and oppression has not gone away just the face of it has change with the time. The second domain of power is disciplinary which manages within organizations. As we read in Black Feminist Thought, “disciplinary domain of power has increased in importance with the growing significance of bureaucracy as a mode of modern social organization” (Collins p 299). This form of power allows for the institutions to reproduce oppressions as well as mask their effects. According to Collins, she believes that resistance from black women within these bureaucracies is the main strategy for changing this domain (Collins p 300).  Hegemonic power is the third domain covered in Black Feminist Thought. “Hegemonic domain of power deals with ideologies, culture, and consciousness” (Collins p 302). In order for the dominant groups to remain in power they create social stereotypes and ideologies about an oppressed group, which are then reinforced by popular media and help to legitimize the dominant groups rule. Hill Collins states that black women need to focus on self-definition and reclaiming the “power of the mind” as an important way of demonstrating their resistance (Collins p 304). The fourth and final power of domain is the interpersonal. Interpersonal domain of power gives into the dominant groups hegemonic ideologies and makes the oppressed groups forget their own culture and ways of knowing (Collins p 306). As we read in Black Feminist Thought, black women and oppressed groups need to focus on individual change before they can change as a whole. The only way in which an oppressed group can change is through collective action but in order for collection action to happen, individual empowerment must occur first.