Race, Class, Gender

First I would like to say sorry for being a little late and not being so thorough. I have the flu and have had it since Saturday so I’m not all “here.”

In this article, Collins discusses oppression and how people classify themselves and also relate themselves to other social groups. Collins also talks about how people identify with certain types of oppression and how the view other group’s oppression. I find this article very interesting and one reason is because I can identify myself with an oppressed group since I am a woman. I like the part where Collins’ states, “White feminists routinely point with confidence to their oppression as women but resist seeing how much their white skin privileges them.” I like this statement a lot because this kind of stuff happens every day.


People are so worried about what type of oppression they identify with that they don’t see the brighter side of things; that some people actually have it worse off than they do. Life was not created to be a giant pity party. Sexism, Racism, Discrimination. These are very real and they will never go away. The problem with our society is that so many people focus so much on it and can’t give it a rest so it continues. It’s a never ending cycle. Every person on this earth is a part of the human race. It shouldn’t matter if we have dark skin, or light skin, or a penis, or a vagina, or a million dollars, or twenty dollars. What matters is that we all need education, we all came from a family (good or bad), we all need jobs, we all want happiness, etc. Most people feel that if they identify with the dominant group, they live a way better life than anyone who identifies with the subordinate group; I don’t believe this to be true. I believe that life is what you make of it, not matter what group you identify with. This may be because I haven’t had to deal with as many hardships because my skin is white and my parents are well off but I personally don’t think that matters. My mother was extremely high up in her company and was the 2nd person with seniority in her office, but she got laid off while a bunch of men, under her, kept their jobs. Anyone from the outside would realize that it was complete bullshit and sexist, but that’s life. I hate to say this but women will never have it as easy as men, the poor will never have it as easy as the rich, and blacks will never have it as easy as whites. White men are the least oppressed group while black women are the most oppressed group. Although it is bullshit, it’s been this way for many years.
I also like where Collins states, “Adhering to a stance for comparing and ranking oppressions—the proverbial, “I’m more oppressed than you”—locks us all into a dangerous dance of competing for attention, resources, and theoretical supremacy.” I would really like to know why people even waste their time stating things like that. Dwelling on it isn’t going to get them anywhere. If anything, it’s going to get people to stereotype and have prejudice against them even more. Life’s everyday experiences are what make people different and who they are. It’s pathetic that people focus so much on someone’s skin color, hair color, private parts, etc. There are a hell of a lot more important things to worry about then that. There will always be the rich and the poor, there will always be the whites and the blacks, and there will always be men and women. But one thing we all have in common is that we are all human beings. We go through many different experiences daily, but that’s what makes us unique. Life isn’t fair and it will never be fair, to anyone. I’m going to finish this with the quote by Nikki Giovanni in Collins’ article because I feel like she makes a great point. “We’ve got to live in the real world. If we don’t like the world we’re living in, change it. And if we can’t change it, we change ourselves. We can do something.”