Women suffering from oppression

p Racism , Race and Gender 8

The oppression of women of color

the intersection of Racism and Sexism Race and gender are important identities for women of color . The intersection of race and gender can have important ramifications for individual identity and self-identification while racism and sexism can also have repercussions in a variety of social spheres . American society has a shameful legacy of slavery and is a country stratified by race , gender and class . For some , like renowned African American author scholar and social activist , bell hooks , the United States is

a country with a strong tradition of institutionalized racism which permeates all aspects of modern America society (see hooks ' Ain 't I a Woman : Black Women and Feminism , 1981 . For many in America , racism is an ever-present aspect of the social condition and is built upon a rigid social code , a white /black binary which has its roots in early American settlement and the shameful tradition of slavery in the New World . In addition to the white /black binary , another binary exists . The sexual binary , which is heavily engrained in our society and has been responsible for persistent inequality between the sexes as well as the historical division of labor , coexists alongside the racial binary in modern American society . When the racial binary meets the sexual binary and the two meet , what are the implications ? Why is it important to analyze race and gender together and not separately ? What is the impact of racism and sexism on the lives...