Hi all,
In case you haven't heard of or don't have access to Patricia Hill Scott's text, Black Feminist Thought (whichI would encourage you all to take a look at), here is a website that has excerpts from her text particularly about the Matrix of Domination. Please take a look at sections of this reading before our next class on Thursday, April 10.
Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
After reading the excerpt from this book, I was particularly interested in the idea that the author brings up when she speaks of marked individuals as subordinates. In this sense, she has created a hierarchy that resembles that of military rank with white, male, Christians placed at the highest rank with all others falling as their subordinates. Coming shortly after this idea of subordinates, the author speaks of minorities also being equated to animals and nature. If these individuals are equated to animals, this depersonalizes the marked individuals.
The section discussing Multiple Levels of Domination particularly stood out to me. The Author, Patricia Hill Scott, mentions how “Each individual has a unique personal biography made up of concrete experiences, values, motivations, and emotions. No two individuals occupy the same social space…” This made me think more deeply about the Matrix of Domination. There are many people in our society who fall under all of the exact same categories, whether they are marked or unmarked or a combination of the two. Although on the chart they appear to be identical, in reality these are two different people who may have very different lives. It is important to understand and to realize that a chart, or some way of categorizing an individual does not mean that they are just like everyone else in that same category. Everyone has different experiences and different lives “where new knowledge can generate change”.
I really enjoyed this excerpt because it talked about a lot of things that I can relate to. It talked about the realities of women of African descent in a candid and analytical way that for some reason, is often over looked. The whole notion of black families and black families headed by women is often times seen as being unnatural/ inferior and in many instances, has been cited by others as reasons as to why people of African decent, particularly in America, are doing so poorly. They always say, "It starts at home", as if there is something wrong with black women, or the way many of them raise their families. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with having only your mother to raise you, or communal mothers; this is just different from the American idealic form of family. I also agreed with the idea that controlling knowledge of a subjugated group’s history is a form of dominance. Knowledge is power and if one has no idea of where they have come from, they can be easily deceived and facts can be manipulated to reflect a dominant ideology.
I also liked what Micheal said about two people in the same categories having different lives. i think this is a very intersting reality that is often overlooked because ppl have such a tendancy to compartmentalize and make generalizations about everything.
This is really harmful because strips ppl of their indentity.
Post a Comment