Blogging the Theoretical

The terms by which we are recognized as human are socially articulated and changeable.  And sometimes the very terms that confer “humanness” on some individuals are those that deprive certain other individuals of the possibility of achieving that status, producing a differential between the human and the less than human. These norms have far-reaching consequences for how we understand the model of the human entitled to rights or included in the participatory sphere of political deliberation (Butler 2004, 2).

The body implies mortality, vulnerability, agency: skin and the flesh expose us to the gaze of others but also to touch and to violence. The body can be the agency and the instrument of all these as well, or the site where “doing” and “being done to” be equivocal. Although we struggle for rights over our own bodies, the very bodies for which we struggle are never quite our own. The body has its invariably public dimension; constituted as a social phenomenon in the public sphere, my body is and is not mine (Butler 2004, 21).

Knowledge is power and individuals need to begin decolonizing it in order for radical change to take place, “not just working (or waiting) for a revolution” (Mohanty 4). One aspect of Mohanty’s book is based on the marginalization of “Third World Woman”. Individuals in the West need not to classify “the production of the Third World Woman as a singular, monolithic subject” (Mohanty 17). Even when women share the same culture, they are still different in their own way, for Mohanty stress’ that “our most expansive and inclusive visions of feminism need to be attentive to borders while learning to transcend them” (Mohanty 2); hence feminism without border’s.

The presence of borders in one’s life can be both a positive and negative experience. These borders shape the way we see and experience the world around us. They can be both “exclusionary and enabling” (Mohanty 2). For example, in chapter eight Mohanty addresses the struggles she faces when she returns home when her own Hindu family dismisses her because her “nonresident Indian” status makes her unable to possibly understand the “Muslim problem”. However, that “same green card has always been viewed with suspicion by leftist and feminist friends, who demand evidence of her ongoing commitment to a socialist and democratic India” (Mohanty131). Another example involves the borders set in place for the Western woman. These borders allow the world to see her as “educated, modern, having control over their own bodies and sexualities, and the freedom to make their own decisions” (Mohanty 22). Contrary to the American women, border’s in place for the Third World Woman has allowed the world to view them as a homogeneous unit. “These women lead an essentially truncated life based on her feminine gender and her being Third World”(Mohanty 22) allowing some to be viewed as “ignorant, poor, uneducated, tradition-bound, domestic, family oriented, and victimized” (Mohanty 22). Unfortunately some of these borders are created from Western national and capitalist domination creating the assumption that the U.S corporate culture is the norm. This is especially the case in higher education and is emphasized when Mohanty critiques the methods used to analyze Third World Women by Western feminists. For example, it is common in Western scholars to identify Third World women as victims. This is why decolonizing knowledge is crucial because individuals need not to be corrupted by false generalizations and acknowledge the differences and commonalities among all women.

Decolonizing involves “profound transformations of self, community, and governance structures”(Mohanty 7) that will result in “not only the creation of new kinds of self-governance but also the creation of new men and women” (Mohanty 8).

Borders come in many disguises, for they are lines drawn through “nations, races, classes, sexualities, religions, and disabilities. Feminist with out borders must envision change and social justice to work across these lines of demarcation and division” (Mohanty 2). After all, there is a commonality of struggle for women around the world regardless of the borders that “define” them.

Alexandra Troli

Knowledge is power and individuals need to begin decolonizing it in order for radical change to take place, “not just working (or waiting) for a revolution” (Mohanty 4). One aspect of Mohanty’s novel is based on the marginalization of “Third World Woman”. Individuals in the West need not to classify “the production of the Third World Woman as a singular, monolithic subject” (Mohanty 17). Even when women share the same culture, they are still different in their own way, for Mohanty stress’ that “our most expansive and inclusive visions of feminism need to be attentive to borders while learning to transcend them” (Mohanty 2); hence feminism without border’s.

The presence of borders in one’s life can be both a positive and negative experience. These borders shape the way we see and experience the world around us. They can be both “exclusionary and enabling” (Mohanty 2). For example, in chapter eight Mohanty addresses the struggles she faces when she returns home when her own Hindu family dismisses her because her “nonresident Indian” status makes her unable to possibly understand the “Muslim problem”. However, that “same green card has always been viewed with suspicion by leftist and feminist friends, who demand evidence of her ongoing commitment to a socialist and democratic India” (Mohanty131). Another example involves the borders set in place for the Western woman. These borders allow the world to see her as “educated, modern, having control over their own bodies and sexualities, and the freedom to make their own decisions” (Mohanty 22). Contrary to the American women, border’s in place for the Third World Woman has allowed the world to view them as a homogeneous unit. “These women lead an essentially truncated life based on her feminine gender and her being Third World”(Mohanty 22) allowing some them to be viewed as “ignorant, poor, uneducated, tradition-bound, domestic, family oriented, and victimized” (Mohanty 22). Unfortunately some of these borders are created from Western national and capitalist domination creating the assumption that the U.S corporate culture is the norm. This is why decolonizing knowledge is crucial. Decolonizing involves “profound transformations of self, community, and governance structures”(Mohanty 7) that will result in “not only the creation of new kinds of self-governance but also the creation of new men and women” (Mohanty 8).

Borders come in many disguises, for they are lines drawn through “nations, races, classes, sexualities, religions, and disabilities. Feminist with out borders must envision change and social justice to work across these lines of demarcation and division” (Mohanty 2). After all, there is a commonality of struggle for women around the world regardless of the borers that “define” them.

Works Cited

Mohanty, Chandra Talapade. Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Durham: Duke University Press, 2003. Print.

Alexandra

Knowledge

White men and women are the dominant culture in society. As a result their views are considered the “norm”, for “suppressing the knowledge produced by any oppressed group makes it easier for dominant groups to rule because the seeming absence of dissent suggests that subordinate groups willingly collaborate in their own victimization” (Collins 5). In addition, “past practices such as denying literacy to slaves and relegating Black women to underfunded segregated southern schools worked to ensure that a quality education for black women remained the exception rather that the rule” (Collins 7).  Nevertheless, knowledge is not just gained in school; it is acquired through skills, observation, and experience. One does not need to know how to spell, read or write to be enlightened or knowledgeable, and African American women are a great example. For years these women have been silenced, but never silent among themselves, for they have been theorizing through out history.

Through observation and experience these women were able to make sense of the oppressor and in turn make sense of their situation. For example, “domestic work allowed African American women to see White Elites, both actual and aspiring, from perspectives largely obscured from Black men and from these groups themselves” (Collins 13).  This enabled them to gain knowledge that influenced black women’s critical social theory.

African American women also gained knowledge through living conditions; “the majority of African-American women lived in self-contained Black neighborhoods where their children attended overwhelmingly black schools, and where they themselves belonged to all-Black churches and similar community organizations” (Collins 12).  These conditions allowed them to discuss political and social issues, a long with family stories passed down from generations openly. This encouraged “African American men and women to craft distinctive oppositional knowledge’s designed to resist racial oppression” (Collins 12). Collins use of quotations from multiple voices such as intellectual Alice Walker, blues singer Aretha Franklin, to the everyday black women denies any possible view that only a few Black women can theorize emphasizing the importance of oral traditions.

Oral traditions educated black women on history and thoughts of others who were illiterate due to the political structure and social regulations imposed on them. This influenced the ideas and actions of Black women intellectuals. These intellectuals are discovering and reinterpreting the minds and talents of grandmother’s, mothers, and sisters who have been oppressed. “In my own work I write not only what I want to read- understanding fully and indelibly that if I don’t do it no one else is so vitally interested, or capable of doing it to my satisfaction- I write all the things I should have been able to read (Walker 1983, 13)” (Collins 16).  Through songs and writings one can begin to understand that among U.S Black women “all were in some way affected by intersecting oppressions of race, gender, and class” (Collins 15).

I believe that oral tradition was vital for theorizing Black women’s feminist thought. Many black women were illiterate and therefore in order to express their feelings and thoughts stories played a key role because they could be passed down through generations. Black women could gain knowledge through situations and experience’s from women who never stopped theorizing. From this they could talk about it and theorize more among each other through Black neighborhoods, schools, churches and other organizations. This created a “collective knowledge that served a similar purpose in fostering Black women’s empowerment” (Collins xi), for knowledge plays a key role in empowering the oppressed.

References

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

Alexandra

Knowledge

White men are the dominant culture in society. As a result their views are considered the “norm”, for “suppressing the knowledge produced by any oppressed group makes it easier for dominant groups to rule because the seeming absence of dissent suggests that subordinate groups willingly collaborate in their own victimization” (Collins 5). In addition, “past practices such as denying literacy to slaves and relegating Black women to underfunded segregated southern schools worked to ensure that a quality education for black women remained the exception rather that the rule” (Collins 7).  Nevertheless, knowledge is not just gained in school; it is acquired through skills, observation, and experience. One does not need to know how to spell, read or write to be enlightened or knowledgeable, and African American women are a great example. For years these women have been silenced, but never silent among themselves, for they have been theorizing through out history.

Through observation and experience these women were able to make sense of the oppressor and in turn make sense of their situation. For example, “domestic work allowed African American women to see White Elites, both actual and aspiring, from perspectives largely obscured from Black men and from these groups themselves” (Collins 13).  This enabled them to gain knowledge that influenced black women’s critical social theory.

African American women also gained knowledge through living conditions; “the majority of African-American women lived in self-contained Black neighborhoods where their children attended overwhelmingly black schools, and where they themselves belonged to all-Black churches and similar community organizations” (Collins 12).  These conditions allowed them to discuss political and social issues, a long with family stories passed down from generations openly. This encouraged “African American men and women to craft distinctive oppositional knowledge’s designed to resist racial oppression” (Collins 12). Collins use of quotations from multiple voices such as intellectual Alice Walker, blues singer Aretha Franklin, to the everyday black women denies any possible view that only a few Black women can theorize emphasizing the importance of oral traditions.

Oral traditions educated black women on history and thoughts of others who were illiterate due to the political structure and social regulations imposed on them. This influenced the ideas and actions of Black women intellectuals. These intellectuals are discovering and reinterpreting the minds and talents of grandmother’s, mothers, and sisters who have been oppressed. “In my own work I write not only what I want to read- understanding fully and indelibly that if I don’t do it no one else is so vitally interested, or capable of doing it to my satisfaction- I write all the things I should have been able to read (Walker 1983, 13)” (Collins 16).  Through songs and writings one can begin to understand that among U.S Black women “all were in some way affected by intersecting oppressions of race, gender, and class” (Collins 15).

I believe that oral tradition was vital for theorizing Black women’s feminist thought. Black women could gain knowledge through situations and experience’s from women who never stopped theorizing. From this they could talk about it and theorize more among each other through Black neighborhoods, schools, churches and other organizations. This created a “collective knowledge that served a similar purpose in fostering Black women’s empowerment” (Collins xi), for knowledge plays a key role in empowering the oppressed.

References

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