Intersectionality

"The Social Construction of Gender," by Judith Lorber, appropriately depicts the idea of intersectionality, at least within this particular quote: "In poorer groups that have few resources(such as working-class African Americans in the United States), women and men are more nearly equal, and the women may even outstrip the men in educational and occupational status." To me, this clearly shows the level race plays in society, when we look at the role of women of color. We need to ask ourselves, "Why do we value a white woman over a black woman, if gender is the only issue at stake?" And, to add to that, it's obvious socioeconomic class is playing a role as well. Which raises the question, "Why do we value the economically prosperous over the poor?"

It is clear that we have, as a society, this "norm" that we go by; we literally structure our entire lives around it. Anything that deviates from it makes us very uncomfortable and, therefore, is considered "wrong" in the eyes of the ones who oppose it. Lorber further explains the multiple factors of intersectionality in this quote: "Both "sex" and "gender" are woven of multiple, asymmetrical strands of difference, charged with multifaceted dramatic narratives of domination and struggle." And, hence, we see this same power struggle and dynamic among the racial divide, when adding and applying the gender card. Women, of color, and lower economic status are thrice damned in today's American culture.

Yet, the media, government(people in power, such as politicians), and pop-culture continue to pervert reality in order to convince us all that we are still the overly-welcoming, non-judgmental, land-of-the-free melting pot of the world. In reality, the United States is much less accepting than it claims. The U.S. assumes a position of unanimity, in reference to race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class, etc.-unfortunately, that is just not the case. Yes, we must admit, we have made great strides as a country, when it comes to social biases, however, we still have a long way to go.