å Sunday, April 2nd, 2017

Outsiders contribute to our understanding of society and culture through a perspective only possible when one is given access to somewhere, all parties involved understand, you don’t belong. Sociologically, outsiders maintain an objective impossible for someone personally invested and because the outsider is not usually considered a potential threat they are often granted a different kind of confidence, with a clear view of insider privilege. When specifically looking at the Black woman’s perspective we also consider the myriad of stereotypes associated with Black women, both positive and negative, and remember that all Black women are aware of these images every day of their lives. Arguing that all people are stereotyped would downplay the dehumanizing effect of the Black woman stereotypes and the efforts she must engage in to achieve self-value when surrounded by people who might easily replace you with another ‘other’. The act of self-definition is as much of a rejection of the status quo as it is a necessary assertion of human autonomy that anchors the Black female survival.

The stigma attached to Black femaleness provides a direct line to inescapable oppressive attitudes. Collectively self-redefining the values of Black women’s culture provides a creative multilayer expression of class, race and gender in the face of oppression. The importance of the interpersonal relationships of Black women with each other, their children and community work are examples of social and cultural structures that assist in relieving some of the pressure of oppression. The activism in the form of daily behavior encouragingly rejecting objectification is significant and provides an analytical response to perceptions of political and economic choice that seem out of reach for reasons outside of your control. In the field of Sociology this translates into an ability to see ‘normal’ for the anomaly it is and provides more meaningful and critical observations for social theory regarding generalizations.

In her essay, “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought,” Patricia Hill Collins argues that, “Black women’s experiences highlight the tension experienced by any group of less powerful outsiders encountering the paradigmatic thought of a more powerful insider community.” She attempts to explain this by exploring the sociological significance of three characteristic themes. She explores the themes of Black women’s self-definition and self-valuation; the interlocking nature of oppression; and the importance of Afro-American women’s culture. I shall be discussing the themes of Black women’s self-definition and self-valuation. Black women’s attempts at self-definition have led to many stereotypical views of them. Collins in her text says that Black women’s assertiveness in resisting oppression has been a threat to the status quo. In doing this, Black women have been attributed with externally defining negative traits meant to control assertive Black female behavior. The “crazy Black woman” stereotype is an example of this. These stereotypes of Black women come from distorted renderings of Black female behavior seen as most frightening to white patriarchy. Collins states that aggressive Afro-American women are feared because they challenge the white patriarchal created stereotype of femininity. Feminine traits are ways of behaving that our culture usually associates with being a girl or woman. Some words commonly used to describe femininity are dependent, emotional, passive, sensitive, quiet, graceful, innocent, weak, flirtatious, nurturing, self-critical, soft, sexually submissive, or accepting. With many black women these kinds of traits are not at all correct and masculine traits are more commonly used to describe them. Some of these would be independent, aggressive, tough-skinned, competitive, strong, self-confident, and rebellious. This way of acting in African American women scares white supremacists as it goes against the stigma for women they have created. To combat this they draw attention to the negative aspects of this outspokenness to paint African American women in a bad light, leading to the many stereotypes attributed to them that we know of today.

Thanks to the previous ways of racial domesticity, many african american women have had poignant ways of looking at white life and household realities. Working extremely closely, and sometimes living with white families while still not being part of the family was cause for an understanding that could have only come from black women of the time. Many black women were responsible for their employer’s domestic duties around the home such as cooking and cleaning, and were often considered second mothers to the white children they had such significant parts in raising. However, regardless of their hard work and importance in these households, black women were often disrespected, ignored and discriminated against, and therefore left to feel a harsh distinction between themselves and their employers. This dichotomy of physically being a firsthand witness into the daily home lives of these families, while still not being accepted and held to the same regard as white society gave black women very important and unique sociological insight on this insider/outsider way of life. It was this very up-close and personal position that made it clear to black women that blacks and whites were not separated due to intellect, intelligence, class, or anything having to do with merit. The separation was solidified as pure racism, discrimination and oppression. This not only gave african american women grounds to reject the status quo, but granted many a much stronger sense of inner strength and self-value.

This particular insight is incredibly important to the way scholars and contemporaries of modern times look back on this time period of racism because of the time period’s strong favoring of white, male ideals and interests. Both women and black people of the time were so often silenced, oppressed and denied of their voices. Therefore, this exclusive insight was crucial in the further liberation of black women.

Black women that worked for white households were able to see the differences that separated the “insiders” and the “outsiders” since they would do domestic work such as cleaning, cooking, and even taking care of the white families’ children. However, they were never considered part of the family and sometimes even ignored which made them “outsiders”. Since they were able to experience both of these worlds, it allowed black women to look at the oppression they were experiencing objectively. This lead to black women setting their own ideas about who they were and being able to see what was really oppressing them and how, which is important so that other black women could identify with something that they could relate too, such as a culture, that wasn’t seen as completely negative. These ideas helped contribute to sociology and our understanding of culture because this objective standpoint black women had allowed them to pinpoint what were actual problems that that were oppressing them in society. For example, Sojourner Truth pointed out that even if black men get their rights, black women would still be oppressed by the black men if they don’t also get theirs. Black women have a better understanding of oppression because they experience it from multiple sides instead of contradictory sides. They experience being oppressed as a woman and being oppressed as a black person,  whereas a black man might only experience being oppressed as a black person since men in general are still seen as superior. This also questions things that might not have been brought up or talked about as much such as the “white male insiderism” which fits a lot of people, including black women, into a society where the world, cultures, and how certain people and genders should act, are viewed through a white male standpoint, instead of one that represents multiple races, genders, and classes.

Black women face the issue of marginalization in ways of both race and gender. They were, and still are, dehumanized and forced into a subordinate role that makes them subject to both black and white males. Black women in the workforce were frequently placed into a domestic setting. In a white household, Black women were contributing to keeping the white family together, but were considered to be outsiders. This position led to Black feminist thought and the rejection of the stereotypes and roles that Black women were forced into by the White patriarchy.

Collins outlines 2 principles of black feminist theory: self-definition and self-valuation. Self-definition is the concept of challenging political knowledge that has lead to the discrimination and oppression of Black women. Black feminists acknowledge the stereotypes that are present in their everyday lives and in the political realm. According to the Black feminist Mae King, these stereotypes represented in images contribute to the exploitation of Black women’s labor. Black women’s labor was frequently devalued; more than White women’s, which was more commonly discussed. Black women and White women in the workforce were both mistreated; Black women were considered to be complete outsiders, while White women could belong to the family, but be considered as less equal. An important concept noted by Collins was the image and stereotype of the assertive Black female — this is still commonly shown today. The stereotype of the “angry black woman” became a frequent character due to the threat that White people (specifically men) felt of their power. Black women who spoke out against their oppression received this label and had their opinions ignored. Self-valuation is a concept that validates the content of Black women’s own self-definition and allows Black female images to be present. These images are meant to empower Black women, allowing them to define their image for themselves, breaking stereotypes placed on them by oppressive groups.

This essay helps us to understand our society and culture by outlining the specific forms of oppression that Black women face when they are labelled as outsiders. Being an outsider forces them into a box where they cannot speak up for themselves, because their opinion will either be completely ignored, or it will result in them being labelled as “angry Black women”. Black feminists fighting this discourse are able to understand the reasons why this occurs, and they re-define and value themselves as equals to both White men and women. Outsiders in general are able to see the oppression that occurs that is not discussed. They have an outside opinion that those in the realm cannot understand or visualize. The discourse of “outsiders” allows for a step towards political and social change in our society. Black women being oppressed in White households in which they work forces them to be considered “outsiders”, which many Black feminists fought against.