å Monday, April 3rd, 2017

According to Collins, “outsiders” help contribute to the field of sociology and our understanding of society and culture by providing a unique perspective. Many black women were put in the place of being an “outsider” by being a part of the domestic duties for white families. Even though black women became so intimate with the families they worked for, they were still considered an “outsider” due to the fact that they would never truly belong. To help understand the situation, Collins believes that black women must first define and validate their true-selves. This is a response to the stereotypical claims that the world has made to dehumanize blacks. Creating this definition will unify those who share the same experiences and will expose leaders among the community. Collins argues next that understanding the connection of oppression between race, gender, and class is the second crucial theme of black feminists. Collins shows the importance of this connection by referencing Sojourner Truth and Nancy White; who were both women that were black and poor. They were able to first-hand recognize the struggle in all areas of life and therefore, truly realized the importance of bringing to light all aspects of oppression. Lastly, Collins discusses the third theme of black feminist thought to be the importance of Afro-American women’s culture. She believes that understanding the foundation of their culture will help other young black women overcome other situations of oppression when dealing with race, class, and gender issues. Creating this foundation also tells the unique story of the Afro-American women experience. Learning from their own experiences, as well as others, can help black women teach their daughters to go further than they did in life. This applies to all aspects in life; such as education, employment, politics, etc. Collins puts an emphasis on the fact that all genders, races, and cultures can learn from the ideas of black feminism. By using the struggles of one group, we can see the fault in our society and change it for the better.

According to “ Learning from the Outsider Within by Partricia Hill Collins, the outsiders a group people who hold different points of views and perspective ideas in the society. Also, it’s symbolize means the “marginality” of society stand point on self and family. In the article, the outsider is the black woman who struggles with the oppression. There are many stereotypes about the self-definition, self-valuation and culture background. Collins explains about the situation and oppression black women were facing at that time. Also, it’s a key of how the Africa-culture is developing in the society.

In the society pyramid, the white man on the top of the pyramid compared to the black woman. They usually working for the white family and have inequality stand position in society. There is many literature and art works prove that the Black female culture is on the wedge of the society. They are being limit of academic knowledge and personal identity. There is growth of self-valuation in history, because of the stress and pressure of others. Also, many works prove that the stereotype of race, it’s a factor to push black women to change the negative ideas and impacts. They have more images and ideas about their next generation and future.

The nature of oppression is point out by the black feminist, not only between the different races, but also between woman and man. The self-identifying is shown in the history of black women. It’s constructed the structure of sociology and humanity. Most major key of context is the African-women’s culture is influence the society in political, economies and religious. The creativity oppression effects the group of people to study black women’s culture. Compared to the white man, the Black women’s behavior is a critical way of consciousness. The culture of black women’s history is the oppression of gender inequality. In conclusion, the “outsiders” of the sociology structure become a symbol of different ideology and consciousness.

Patricia Hill Collins voices her opinion on the fact that “outsiders” contribute to the study of sociology and how we understand society and culture in her essay, “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought”. Right in the beginning of the reading, the author begins to talk about how a minority significantly affects the lives of the majority, the example she uses is of African American women. Those women who work domestic duties for white families, and she calls this an “insider” relationship, one where both parties are satisfied, to the point where some whites might say they reveal their love for their black “mothers”. It also allowed for these African American women to realize that white power is not all because of talent or intellect, but more so because of the advantages, they hold due to racism. However, although they were called black “mothers”, the women knew that they could not be a part of these families, they were the “outsiders” (14). Many believe that the outsider within status is quite beneficial than some may think. The benefits include the high probability of individuals deciding to confide in the “strangers” in the way they can’t with each other, the patterns and problems they can notice that others who are involved in such a situation can’t, and Simmel’s definition of objectivity. Mannheim also believes that individuals who hold the outsider within status may develop creative development skills of academic disciplines from the situations they usually have to deal with. Much of these women help Black Feminist scholars in analyzing race, class, and gender, and explaining the sociological significance of black feminists (15). The author uses cross-disciplinary literature to explain not only the Black Feminist thought but also the idea behind sociologists who describe African American women’s outsider within status as usage of their standpoint to conduct research (16).

Patricia Hill Collins’ “Outsiders” represent Black women not only as a group, but as a symbolic foundation of sociology hidden underneath the the facade of white American patriarchy. Collins explains that their oppression is a significant portion of Afro-American Women’s culture, but also to culture as a whole. The “Outsider within” refers to how paradoxically these women are ostracized through multiple negative stereotypes, yet remain relevant as the backbone of black feminism and the targeted minority. This is seen in Collins’ example of African American women being often employed as nannies or house keepers, taking care of white families when they fail to do it themselves.

African American women in particular deal with two fronts of oppression, their gender and race. Being put in the lowest possible position in a white male managed institution creates a necessary perspective on society that must be viewed in order to understand the functioning of American culture. Collins stresses the struggles laid out before Black women, and the sole choice of conforming or rebelling. These are concepts that the white majority do not come across, as there is no need for white males to organize activism against any oppressors. This attributes a unique value to feminist Afrocentric resistance to the inherent domination present in their lives.

It is important to consider this viewpoint due to the impact it has on paradigms, which Collins explains in relation to social consciousness. Outsiders see cultural practices differently than insiders, therefore oppositional thinking within society yields an inequality that is better observed through the eyes of the oppressed rather than the oppressor. This is because, as Collins points out, the status of black women in America as outsiders is the key factor of generating tension with insiders. Only by experiencing true oppression can one make a validated judgement on sociological concepts and issues present in reality.

Outsiders can contribute to the field of sociology and our understanding of society and culture through their experiences and everyday life challenges that they face and how they would tackle that challenge. Collins mentions how African American deals with the oppression that they face from the whites. In one example she mentions how African American women take care of each other because they are in the same position and only have each other to help each other out. By doing this this allows the Afro-American women to deal with the oppression in their own ways while also keeping themselves safe and fighting the oppression in their own quiet way. Collins also mentioned how these Afro-American women consciousness is hidden because they are being oppressed and by not revealing anything they are protecting others African American. One way for them to reveal something without being pressured by the oppression is through creative expression where they are aware of themselves being oppressed and they find different ways to cope with it and continue different activities without letting the oppression get into their ways.

Also outsiders tend to be able to see things that the insiders or sociologist don’t see such as the oppression/racism in a certain area. Collins mentions how Judith Rollins was hired to work in a place and while working the people (employer) there ignored her existence and had a conversation as if she wasn’t there. The people that ignored Rollins were playing the part of the norm that the society had set. Collins mentioned earlier how the dichotomy of white/black and male/female was unstable and that one will always be superior to the other counterpart and this is that norm that was set by physicians (people with the knowledge). Also another example is if you are traveling to another place you will see a different perspective of that place you went to compared to if you were to live there. This is because each person has a different perspective and experience of that place and they each view the place differently. Similarly the African American women has a different perspective compared to white American because they are the ones experiencing the oppression not the whites. That’s why they will find ways to cope with it, but if it were to be the other way around what would happen then?

In “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought,” Patricia Hill Collins argues that oppression fostered a double consciousness in African American women in which they identify their roles as servants imposed by the oppressive structure, but at the same time, African American women developed a hidden consciousness about themselves that separated  from the external definition of who they are as human beings. African American women possess the characteristics of a “stranger”, and observant participant that is detached from within the group, and that detachment provides them with the framework of analysis to explain relations of power.

Black feminist consciousness and culture raises from their opposition to their imposed roles as servants. They identify  oppression, patriarchy, and tension on socially constructed definitions of race, gender, and social class. The thought of black feminist women denotes activism in itself, which rejects the definitions that subjugate their identities as women. Black women are outsiders because they do not want to conform to socially defined norms. They self protect their hidden “true self” identities, which are different from the objectified other.  Black women self -valuate their womanhood, the roles in the family, the churches and creative expression, which produces knowledge and  redefines culture within the “outsider” group.

However, the framework of analysis that black feminist posses is provided by their resistance to oppression, from the inheritance of their past as a subordinated group that was excluded from political right, deprived  from social participation in women’s movements, denied of economic freedom, and impeded intellectual development. Black feminist groups and their stand point reveal an important criticism to our culture and to the Sociology Science because privileged male have dominated the production of true, knowledge and reality, but the standpoint of the white privilege “insiders” is the standpoint of those who have the power. Nevertheless, the black feminist paradigm is a resource to any subordinated group to measure power relations and to identify its effects in society.

Patricia Hill Collins describes how “outsiders” contribute to society and culture. She points out an interesting view about people having “outsider within” status. According to Collins, experience of black women as outsiders, highlights tension in a powerful insider community. Living in “outsider within status” is a brutal form of existence. On one level, that status gave benefits to black women. They were seen as domestic, nurturing and caring. Therefore, in positive views, they could gain self-affirmation in white families. However, on the other hand, there were invisible walls between white families and black women, and they could never belong to them. They suffered from dilemma in self, family, society issues and the reality was often obscured by orthodox. It is shown that somehow they were in both “outside in” and “inside out” status and experienced nearness and remoteness at the same time. In her article, it shows that it is not only black women that were suffering from “outsider within” status. White women were also treated as inferior in homes. However, according to the article, if white women were considered as dogs to their male members of the house, black women were considered as mules. The oppression was in different forms for each group, but they were both treated as subordinate and dehumanized. Also, black men were fighting for their rights as they were suffering from discriminated in society. However, they shared some space with white men because they had commonality as having “manhood.” Black women were in the bottom of the hierarchy because they could not be in the same category as white males, who dominated the society. Therefore black feminism was for both racial and sexual equality. By Collins’s article, it could be inferred that multifaceted oppression that inferior insiders went through has obscure marginality. Any member of society could be inside that group in some sense. However, as black feminist thoughts express that by creating their own self-definition and self-valuation, they should be able to gain denied authority back.

African American women’s role as domestic workers for wealthy, elite, white families has provided them with a significant “outsider” viewpoint for culture, society and race, according to Patricia Hill Collins. Her essay, “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought,” examines the ways in which black feminists authors use the role of the outsider to examine the world from a sociological standpoint.

Collins uses Georg Simmel’s essay on the role of the outsider in sociology to provide a basic understanding of the benefits of being an outsider. According to Simmel, outsiders have a special type of objectivity, which allows them to be near and far, concerning and indifferent. Besides their objectivity, outsiders are also more trusted when someone needs to confide, meaning that they often have access to information that people within the group may not. Lastly, outsiders can use their objectivity to see patterns or situations that people immersed in the group are unable to see.

Black feminist scholars, according to Collins, are one group of “marginal intellectuals” that have the ability to promote further sociological discussions because of their unique perspective. The unique position that black women have as outsiders gives them a more complex understanding of race and class, and allows the black feminist to develop unique ideas. As outsiders, black women often see and hear things that their partners or spouses or even children would not experience, giving them a type of wiseness in regard to life. Due to their role as outsiders, black feminists promote a discourse that engages all audiences and racial groups, as well as engages sociological discussions regarding race, class, and assimilation. Black women are often discredited for their work, but they never fail to achieve academic greatness and inspiration to others. Collins essay provides an understandable context to the position of an outsider, especially regarding black women who are domestic workers.

Patricia Hill Collins uses the ideologies of Black feminist thought to prove that “outsiders” can positively contribute to the field of sociology and our understanding of society and culture. She speaks about the benefits of having “outsiders” while studying the world and different cultures within it. She says that “outsiders” have objectivity instead of subjectivity, therefore they are not biased in thought or action. In society, we tend to confide in and trust those on the outside who have no ties to people on the inside. They have no emotional ties and therefore remain indifferent in their opinions. Lastly, an “outsider’s” objectivity helps them see things people immersed on the inside would not. (Like the idea of seeing something from above to get a different view. Or talking a walk in someone else’s shoes.)

The fact that “outsiders” tend to self-valuate and self-define — which challenges defined and controlling images — helps them to resist oppression and stereotypes. Collins explains that this refusal to accept assigned roles and status as the “other” challenges societal “norms” and the reason for the domination in the first place. By describing the idea of the “interlocking nature of oppression”, Collins shows that those who deal with multiple forms of oppression (gender, race and class; therefore being female, Black and poor) have a clearer view of oppression because they are so far on the outside. They see clearly how society is organized in a specific hierarchical “norm” where whites rule Blacks, males dominate females, facts over opinions, subjects rule objects, and so on (S21).

Sociologists’ goals are to look beyond personal experiences and into the larger political, social and economic issues that affect the lives of others in our society. In order to do this, they need to immerse themselves from the outside to the inside of a strange every day life. Using an “outsider” point of view while trusting their own history and biographies makes the best researchers and helps sociologists understand society and culture in a more complete fashion.

Who are the “outsiders”? The outsiders are people specifically black women as stated in the work of Patricia Hill Collins who have faced various forms of oppression. The oppression they are subjected too has given them the ability to see the world through a different perspective. It has also granted them with knowledge that those who have never been subjected to oppression lack. The oppressive experiences held by many black women has greatly contributed to various fields of sociology, psychology, culture, and society. My response will focus on the oppression of black women.

The maltreatment of the “outsiders” has resulted in many black women banding together. Throughout the history of the world many African Americans have been mistreated by other groups, exploited, and ostracized. The unfair treatment they received from others brought many blacks closer together because not only were they all that they had but if they worked together it helped their chances of survival. Social mistreatment made strangers who only shared the same skin tone family and allies (Collins, 1986). Through a sociological perspective it is fascinating to see how in the face of hardship people band together and seek each other for comfort. Another reason many black women joined together was for psychological purposes (Collins, 1986). Many whites attempted to dehumanize blacks but their interactions with each other helped to reinforce that they were indeed humans. Just having someone be there for you helps to keep you mentally sane. The effects of sisterhood during this time contributed so much to psychology (Collins, 1986).

As their oppression continued the connection between many African Americans grew so strong that they became a community. A certain knowledge spread amongst them that they could stand against this oppression and if they stood against it with each other they would be strong. Again, this greatly contributed to sociology because many blacks saw the difficulties they faced in society and they developed themselves to combat these struggles. This is an example of how humans respond to society and this is what sociology is about. The sense of community between black women also helped them in their fight for their rights. They were excluded from many feminist movements held by white women (Collins, 1986). However, this did not stop them because they banded together in great numbers and created a loud voice that showed their oppressors that they are human and deserve human rights. Actions like this contribute to their culture.

The hardships African Americans have been subjected to has influenced and helped to create black culture. They are knowledgeable and saw how their oppression was unfair so they acted in different ways. Presently, you still hear in their music the activism against their abuse. Music is a way that they can speak to an array of people belonging to different groups and help to open their eyes to the injustices they are blind to. Another way is how they hit the streets to campaign against discrimination. They help us to better understand how society can influence the actions of people and how what we face in society can help create a culture. The “outsiders” have shown sociologists that when facing difficult times people seek the comfort of those they experience it with even if they did not know them before (Collins, 1986). They show sociologist that when faced with a common issue in society people band together to help make change in a society. The “outsiders” show psychologist that human interactions are extremely important and can even help someone survive. Lastly, the outsiders show us that a culture can be created through the shared experiences of people, the common goal they possess to make change, and through their strength.

Collins, P. H. (1986). Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological

Significance of Black Feminist Thought. University of California Press.