5 Assignment 08

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.

Due Monday, April 3rd, by midnight. Word count: 300 words. Please make sure everything is in your own words. Absolutely no quotes should be used. If you paraphrase from the text (from Collins’s work or anywhere else), you must be sure to include the proper citation (either MLA or APA).

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” (S29). According to Collins, how can “outsiders” contribute to the field of sociology and our understanding of society and culture?