å April 2017

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.

According to Collins in her essay “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought,” Black women have decrease White power by working in the households of White families as domestic workers. Black women have made an ingenious use of their “marginality” by using their outsider within status to formulate their own standpoint. Collins points out three key points: Black women’s self-definition and self-valuation, the interlocking nature of oppression, and importance of African American culture.

Black feminist thought describes and explains different observations and understanding about Afro-American womanhood. Black women’s image is associated with many stereotypes, usually negative, which form part of their self-definition and self-evaluation work to replace that stereotypical image with authentic Black female images. Self-definition and self-valuation is very important for Black women can value their own standpoint and to break down the psychological oppression imposed by white people.

Black women suffer a double oppression: for being women and for being Black. Sojourner Truth explains that even when Black men get their freedom and their rights does not mean that Black women can enjoy the same privileges because they will be still oppressed by Black men. It is this oppression that makes their standpoint essential in creating Black Feminist theory and understanding their reality. Collins also speaks the sexist and racist ideologies that predominate in treating dominated groups (the “others”), when they compare or see Black women as obstinate mules, which make the harder work and get beat for their masters, and white women as obedient dogs, which are closer to the master and he let them stay in the house. Finally, studying Afro-American women’s culture result very interesting because there is a kind of sisterhood between them that reinforces their unit as a group that have suffered discriminations, abuses and oppression for a long time.

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.

During the period of slavery, African American were treated as less powerful outsiders compared to white society who were powerful insider. There were no chances for African Americans to impact the society because everything was dominated by the white society. For example, the only chance for African American women to be in the “insider” was hired as domestic workers of white people. As African American became part of the insider, they started to recognized that it wasn’t the natural things like the intellect, talent, or humanity of white people that placed them in the superior status of society but it was the advantage of the racism such as education, environment…etc. Especially, the emerging black feminist literature gave a standpoint of different analyses of races, class, and gender. In the essay, “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought,” Patricia Hill Collins claims that the experiences of the black women society accentuate the tension which created by encountering of the weaker outsider community against the typical thought of a stronger insider community. It’s called The Black Feminist.

The Black Feminist, who was considered as “outsiders”, impacts the sociology fields and comprehension of society and culture. Patricia Hill Collins showed the Black Feminist thoughts with three key themes that represented in the examples of cross-disciplinary literatures. Black Feminist revealed the meaning of self-definition and self-valuation. For example, African American in this period thought they were born as slaves and they were positioned at lower status of the society. However, the literature work by Mae king and Cheryl Glikes revealed the function of stereotypes controlled by dominant white society. Then African Americans started self-valuation. Eventually, African American women were not only available to reject psychological oppression in their internal side but also achieved the inner strength. Another factor that influence the thought of African American women is culture. They put lots of effort to represent the importance of culture, which made huge effects on clarification of African American women’s standpoint.