Reply to two posts,(each one should be around 100words)Please make a simple analysis and express your point of view.reply separately and please mark clearly!!!First post:

The readings this week were really interesting to me.  As a feminist, and a white person, it was really disheartening to read about the fact that so much a white feminism doesn’t adhere to the fact that there are differences for women of color in their sexual orientation, economic status, oppressions, etc.  I have never actively belonged to a feminist group and my participation in movements is limited, so my exposure to the lack of inclusion in this manner is new. 

The readings all fit together in the sense that they talk about how experiences for women of color are so different than for those who are white, and it is so little talked about and acknowledged by white feminists.  In the first reading Lorde highlights that instead of recognizing the differences between women and celebrating/advocating for one another, we separate ourselves.  When we don’t band together and continue to exist not completely unified, it only allows toxic masculinity and the male-driven society to thrive, and we should not let that carry on.

Moraga’s piece discusses the fact that she is light skinned and she was subject to assimilating to “whiteness,” internalizing oppression.  A large part of Moraga was censored due to the fact that she was light skinned and was forced to blend into white culture.  She talks about how it took her years to realize why her experiences in college were so different from her friends’ and admits that she had forgotten that she had roots that differed from the culture she had become so sucked into.  Embracing her lesbianism helped her remember her roots and realize she has not been alone with her thoughts. 

The final readings addresses the Black feminist community and the hardships that they face.  Banded together to recognize the liberation and recognition they deserve, these women face more than just the oppression of being women.  They are Black, lesbian, and women, living in a world where the white man dominates.  They do not have heterosexual, racial, or class advantages that others have and the toll it takes on them is significant.  The article finally addresses the fact that Black men feel threatened by these women who are fighting for power– that their reactions are primarily negative.  But, I guess if they are feeling threatened that sexist tendencies are in danger, it must be doing something, right?

As a final statement about how these fit as a foundation for queer/LGBTQ studies, they project the need for women to band together while recognizing differences.  The experience of a Black lesbian feminist and a white lesbian feminist will never be the same and we should not separate, but acknowledge these differences and accommodate them.  Feminism is about ending sexist actions, disarming the power that belongs to men, and creating a world where women should not have to fight for being themselves.

Second post

I would say all of the readings intersected with each other based on the fact that all the writings came from someone that identified themselves as a woman of color, lesbian, and as a feminist. The first reading, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House,” was written almost as a blunt educational essay. There are a few things that I found to be pretty interesting in the piece. For example, “Advocating the mere tolerance of difference between women is the grossest reformism. It is denial of the creative function of difference in our lives.” “Women have been taught to ignore differences or view them as the cause for separation.” The writer goes on to say how we should be taking our differences and making them as strengths, rather than trying to be a woman that our society finds acceptable. What I found to be the most interesting is when she called out how there are women, particularly white women, who may attend a conference on feminist theory, yet during that same time have a cleaning lady working at her house. Essentially, the author is trying to show some of the hypocrisy that women do. The other readings point this out as well. But before I jump to the other readings, this one also stated how only poor women and women of color really know the difference. I found this to be interesting because I realized how eye-opening this was for me. Of course there have been a number of times I have felt the cons of being a woman, but not in a life-threatening way necessarily. I might be part Assyrian/Middle Eastern, which is how I mainly identify culture wise, I also have some Italian and Native American in me as well. Of course I can’t understand the struggles of women who are African American or Mexican. Plus, I grew up with my dad, who basically was middle class. We were surely not rich, but I we were not poor. My mom was pretty poor and have seen her experience with it, but I myself have not understood that class struggle either (especially having attended private schools growing up, it was more expensive but I guess my dad could afford it). Anyways, my point is that there are certain struggles that I cannot understand because I have not lived them. 

In, “La Guera,” the text reminds me more of a personal diary entry. It still informs the readers at the end about why they mention certain struggles that she faced as a woman of color and as a lesbian, plus the struggles her mom faced as a woman of color and not-educated. Again, it shows the oppression that women face in society, specifically women of color and those in different classes. The author talks about how they felt really oppressed as a lesbian. I believe her mom had darker skin than her, so her mom had more of a struggle. Whereas the daughter was/had “la guera,” which I learned meant fair skinned. “What I am saying is that the joys of looking like a white girl ain’t so great since I realized I could be beaten on the street for being a dyke.” Plus, she goes on to say how her sister gets beaten for being black. “In this country, lesbianism is a poverty-as is being brown, as is being a woman, as is being just plain poor.” “The danger lies in ranking the oppressions.” It goes to show that all problems are problems and really should not be considered worse than another since we all have different lived experiences. Like the first reading, it mentions how class and color are forms of oppression. Also, mentioning how we need to realize our own homophobia or racism even if we are in the LGBTQ+ community and/or are people of color. I liked this line she wrote, “the only thing worth writing about is what seems to be unknown and, therefore, fearful.” I believe she meant talking about issues that seem uncomfortable, but we still need to talk about them. She mentions how the dialogue about these issues have not gotten deep enough yet, but people like her can help reduce these issues with writings like this. Especially, when she talked about wishing she could talk in English and in Spanish at the same time. I too wish I could have learned more Arabic like my Nana knew. I feel ignorant to my own culture for a number of reasons including that reason too. But again, it all came to trying to “fitting in” to our society and what was considered acceptable and “proper” unfortunately. Another interesting point that was made was when she said, “more importantly, so often the women seem to feel no loss, no lack, no absence when women of color are not involved; therefore, there is little desire to change the situation.” This kind of ties in with the last reading as well, meaning a lot of women, including myself sometimes can be ignorant thinking that everything seems okay if we are “all together” and doing fine. However, we are literally blind on including ALL types of women. Again, it has to do with our own racism at some points. We just don’t even think to highlight all kinds of women until something bad happens to women that have different colored skin/different culture than us, and that’s sad. Again, it comes down to realizing we have our struggles but we need to also realize struggles that we as women put on other women too. Lastly, the author adds a quote (from the previous author I believe) saying, “it is looking in the nightmare that the dream is found.” I thought that was a beautiful statement that was an artistic way of saying looking in racism, homophobia, all of the world’s problems, acknowledging the issues is the first step to a free and happy way of life. 

Lastly, the reading called, “A Black Feminist Statement,” was written differently than the first two readings as well. It was like a group of women breaking down their history, beliefs, and goals. In some ways it seemed like a historical and political piece of writing that was made to inform those that read it. It had similar themes like the first two, including the perspective coming from African American lesbians. It started with talking about how the first struggle is that of having to “act ladylike” and in a way, learning at the same time not having self-respect. One of their main points was stating how, “no progressive movement has ever considered our specific oppression as a priority or worked seriously for ending this oppression.” Plus, like the other readings, they want to fight a range of oppressions, including those involved with class as well. They expressed how it was hard for them to accomplish this partly due to how strong the white women’s movement has been. Also, saying how some believe that “black feminists divide the black struggle.” Again, it is sad to read how divided we all still are. These lesbian women of color, like the other readings, just seem like they want to share their experience and want to try to be as free as your average white male or woman. I am not trying to target white people or anyone, it is just sad to read about these rankings that we have had in our society over the years regardless if we have always been conscious about it or not. A statement that seemed pretty powerful was the fact that, “if black women are free, everyone would be free since their oppressions are at the bottom.” Again, I could never 100% understand an African American women’s struggle, but I would like to do what I can to try to understand their struggles in a way that I could help eliminate them as a Middle Eastern woman. The reading goes on to talk about how they are also committed, like the other readings basically said, to constantly examine their own politics, criticisms, and self criticism. And they clearly state how they are not trying to mess with people in the name of politics, rather they believe in a collective process that could hopefully lead to a revolutionary society. 

Overall, all three readings talk about the oppressions that lesbian women of color face in our society, now and in the past, and working towards ending this stigmas/racism in order to have a society that we can all live freely in. We should all be proud of who we are without any fear. 

I believe these works can be considered quite educational for queer/LGBTQ+ studies because they come from first-hand experiences. They are in forms of essay, personal stories from the past and present, political bullet-points, etc. In doing this, it can help all different kinds of people, no matter their reading format preference, try to understand to experiences/issues that women of color in the LGBTQ+ community have faced and still face today in our society. It is one thing for someone who is not a woman and is not in the community to write about their experiences, it is another to hear someone who has actually lived it. (Although, I believe any kind of support and hard work that is directed to help stop racism and homophobia should be appreciated if it is actually helpful).